Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni made a controversial diplomatic move by paying at her own expense the bill of four Italian tourists who left a restaurant in Albania without paying. At the same time, the official called these travelers “idiots”.
The incident happened in the city of Berat, located on the banks of the Osum River, around the same time last week that the prime minister and her family arrived in Albania as guests, Politico reported. At the same time, the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, brought this issue up for discussion, contacting his Italian colleague.
Georgia Maloney’s reaction caused a storm of emotion in the press, as she advised her ambassador to “go and pay the bill for these idiots”. It was clarified that the total amount of the bill was about 80 euros. The Italian Embassy in Albania confirmed that indeed the tourists’ debt to the restaurant was paid off with Meloni’s funds. “Italians respect the rules and pay their debts, and we hope that similar episodes will not be repeated,” the embassy said.
Italian Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida told Reuters that it was a matter of national pride and compliance with international norms and rules. “She offered to pay the bill. The ambassador was returning to Tirana and was ready to do so. A few dishonest individuals cannot disgrace a nation of decent people,” Lollobrigida said. At the same time, the owner of the restaurant in an interview with Albanian Report TV said that four Italians praised the food and it was the first case in his practice when customers left without paying for some reason.
In a recent interview, Rama said that this year, Albania expects to receive about 500,000 Italian vacationers, some of whom have abandoned domestic tourism due to rising prices and have chosen Albania as a beach holiday destination — while against the background of expensive Italy, it seems to them more profitable: accommodation and beach amenities are cheaper, read more in the article – “Italians go to Albania as migrants: tourists flee from the Apennines in search of affordable rest“.