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Agim NEZA Just when we thought that the protracted transition had an end and Albanian citizens had hope for a better standard of living, the actions of our politicians are not only disorienting public opinion and their electorate, but are also confusing Western politics in its relations with Albania; indeed, the latter have almost entirely failed in their predictions regarding Albanian politics. Albania’s harsh politics seems far removed from the Western democratic way. As a result of this politics, the events of March 1997 and September 1998 unfolded. Not only were state institutions destroyed, but the trauma is extending to future generations, who are still unable to determine which party leaders can solve their troubles and problems. What is happening here at this moment seems to be crossing democratic limits. Naturally, in the West it is understood that an opposition party fights to come to power, just as it is understandable that there should be democratic rivalry among contenders within a party led by a party leader. This is incomprehensible to Western democracy, where the contest for leadership and power is regarded as a “fight for survival.” In this struggle, the contenders, whether they are ... The campaigns ahead of the two congresses of the two largest parties are degenerating, turning into arenas of punching and bloodshed, inside halls where those who claim they will bring us “paradise” if they take the helm are present. The harm caused by these clashes lies not merely in the superficial attacks the contenders make on one another, but in the fact that none of them is presenting concrete evidence identifying the specific people who are corrupt or protagonists of organized crime, or explaining what these leaders will concretely change for the good of citizens, even over a two-year period. Indeed, former Prime Minister Nano declared in Elbasan: “I will expose the new and old corruption.” And, unfortunately, most of those filling the auditoriums to listen to their “idols” feel satisfied simply cheering and applauding, without remembering or bothering to ask: “Why does none of these former state leaders mention a specific name or even a single fact about someone involved in new or old corruption?” In this façade of clashes between the PS and the PD, which has now spread mainly within the parties themselves, it is not only these parties that have failed. More on p. 2

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