As the husband of Sweden’s ambassador in Tirana, Elsa Hastad, he recently lived in Albania, where he also wrote some poems inspired by our country.

The Prime Minister presented Leandoer as an atypical character, due to the fact that he is completely unknown in Albania.
“He is atypical due to the fact that we are used to talking with ambassadors, for ambassadors, while the guest of my podcast today is the husband of an ambassador. The reason for the invitation is because the ‘companion’ of the Swedish ambassador is a writer, a connoisseur of letters and an author who, during his stay here, also has written poems that were inspired by Albania,” Rama said during his presentation.
In response to the question what it is like to leave Albania, Leandoer answered that this is the only country that he would miss.
”You know, I pride myself of never looking back, I pride myself of being absolutely no-nostalgic and never sentimental, I pride myself of living in the now, but to be quite honest I can tell you this is the first country we live that I already know I am going to miss,” Leandoer said.

Rama: Before I ask you why?

Leandoer: Partly, it is because I am older now and more honest with myself but also partly because of Albania.
Rama: Before asking you why you think so, I want to ask you to elaborate a bit on non-sentimental, because if I would have the stereotype of a Nordic, I would say they are cold people, but I know I am your certain age and I was blessed to have met incredible people in my life , amazing people before and after I got this job and because of the job I could lead a life full of surprises in terms of people but also bad surprises, but this is another thing and I think based on the Nordic people I know I would never say they are cold people, that does not mean no-sentimental.

Leandoer: It means not dwelling on what has been, what could have been or should have been, but concentrating on what actually is, I guess, it is something I have partly developed as an ideal through the little Buddhism I have tried to practice, through life but it is also in my nature I think, I just don’t look back so much, it is more interesting to be in the present.
Rama: Is it fair to say that when one contemplates the Swedish cinema, which is what I know the most, because I am obviously ignorant about the Swedish literature, Swedish cinema in particular but also Swedish art somehow, there is a deep sentimentality about what has been, about what has passed, about the very notion of time that is like extended and stretched beyond any capacity for Mediterranean people or Latinos to just cope with it like living every breath and suffering from every breath that is going away. Is it fair to say or you don’t think so.

Leandoer: This is interesting coming from an Albanian, I mean, having and living in a history that is partly longer than ours . I mean Apollonia, Bylys, Butrit were cities that when we were hardly out of the caves, so you have a longer history than we do.
Rama: Yes, this is what I am saying. We are having a longer history, but our notion of time is totally different. It it looks like we are far less careful about what it was, trying to live now, and it looks like, when you watch Bergman you have the sense of being emerged in a very deep soul where time is like suffering a thing to deal with.

Leandoer: Is this a very polite way of saying that you think these movies are slow?

Rama: Yes, it is not polite, it is bluntly saying or asking you whether this slowness is not about sentimentality, the sense of death, the sense of loneliness, the sense of the soul being tortured?
Writer: First and foremost, I know Bergman is very much the stereotype in the world of what Swedes are supposed to be like. I have a friend actor of mine who has played in a film alongside Tom Cruise and because he was Swedish Tom Cruise never called him anything else but Bergman, addressing him: hey Bergamn, come here. But we find Bergman slow, painful to watch and infuriating, we see him with your eyes too, although of course he addresses something in our national soul, but I do not think it is so much sentimental at all, I think it is more existential sadness, you mentioned death, it is very much about death, I think he is also a religious artist. I think, the line you are drawing is not maybe between the Mediterranean and Nordic peoples, I do not think it is a sense of history , it is differences because of religion, because we have the protestant religion since 500 years and that is a religion that takes all the burden of life or personal life or the moral choices you make and other religons and tries to take them away from the person and give it to God or other entity, Protestantism does the opposite, it gives it back to the individual and says,: Here it is the burden of all the choices you made, live with it. You are responsible, so you are free.

Rama: You politely told me that I have a stereotype of Bergman, which is not the Bergman you watch, but we both have in common that we can’t stand peacefully or graciously his magnificent films. Let’s go back to more trivial questions, because talking about Bergman risks keeping us here for days on end.

Leandoer: He kept the whole of Sweden for 50 years.

In response to the question, what we would say to those asking him what you like about Albania: he said: To keep the ping pong game going, this is something that every Albanian sooner or later asks me. I talk about what do you think about us? What I will carry home or the best thing about Albania are definitely, hands down, the Albanians. There is no question to it. The mountains are fantastic, the food is great, vineyards, the sea, birdlife, etc, but for me it is the Albanians. Such a thing very often surprises the Albanians. You are warm people, fun-loving people, you are clever, you like to have fun and you are fun to be with. For a slow-flowing rather than a free-flowing in northern Bergman type it is liberating to be here. We had a lot of fun.

/sm/