INTERVIEW / The revolt of Apostoli, Fino, Malaj... TIRANË - “Now let’s see Majko.” This was the final testament left by three important figures in the Nano Government. Fino, Malaj and Apostoli, now removed from the government cabinet list, have said that they will support the new Government and would not seek revenge. This is despite the fact that the people now grouped together in the Government had once gone overboard with their criticism of the Government. Bashkim Fino said that he would wait to see the results of this Government in the fight against smuggling and corruption, and especially in restoring Order. Gaqo Apostoli, meanwhile, is more severe; his name was bandied about in recent days as the outlines of the Majko Government were being put on paper. According to him, the socialists created this Government in order to destroy it themselves. Apostoli said that the Government had lost a hard-working minister, while the new Prime Minister had lost a serious partner. If Apostoli’s words about phone calls and subversion prove true, then the picture of this government would look bleak. On page 3

ROBERT DE NIRO SALI BERISHA Albanian former president Sali Berisha is placed alongside the famous Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, on the cover of the prestigious Italian magazine “Panorama.” The placement of the two personalities next to each other has nothing to do with a political event, but rather with the resemblance between the two figures. This magazine often features such “pairings” of well-known people from around the world in the column “Un danë kur linden.” For the former head of the Albanian state, this is the second time. Months ago, the Italian colleagues had placed him beside another famous Hollywood figure, Robin Williams; Berisha also bore a strong resemblance to him. ROBERT DE NIRO — SALI BERISHA. Albanian former president Sali Berisha is placed alongside the famous Hollywood actor Robert De Niro, on the cover of the prestigious Italian magazine “Panorama.” The placement of the two personalities next to each other has nothing to do with a political event, but rather with the resemblance between the two figures. This magazine often features such “pairings” of well-known people from around the world in the column “Un danë kur linden.” For the former head of the Albanian state, this is the second time. Months ago, the Italian colleagues had placed him beside another famous Hollywood figure, Robin Williams; Berisha also bore a strong resemblance to him.

OPINION The formation of the Government by the PS also signaled a further development in its process of Europeanization, bringing younger figures onto the stage of state management, as well as representatives of its different groups, Majko-Meta. Personally, I am against the theory of generations, but I see the younger actors being presented to us, given their very young age, as representatives of a cultured left-wing generation, with a low probability of having been indoctrinated by pre-democratic ideological institutions. Meanwhile, the inclusion in the Government formula of independent professional intellectuals is a step toward creating a party based on the idea that joining a party brings privileges or positions of trust, and will open the way to the genuine Western concept of professional meritocracy. This will lead to a sensible and realistic, depoliticized civil service. Therefore, rejecting this phenomenon would seem to us closer to conservatism. In established systems, politicians serving a term until the preparation of the Constitution referendum, or for some other fixed period, would appear to be supported neither legally nor in terms of the economy and the stabilization of order. This obstructs the idea of increasing the responsibility and authority of leadership and of an open country in the face of voluntarism and party crises. Bringing the institution of rights into balance with confidence in Parliament would determine accountability over time and the choice of government terms. The new and fragile developments in our country, and the lack of an experienced statistical? elite, have not yet fostered an emotional understanding of changes grounded in the modern civil and legal institutions of the West. This would protect society from a feeling of panic about tomorrow. Let us also recall an important historical moment. Directly from Kosiges. It did not lead to a slight crisis of confidence throughout society. The reason should be judged through the common formula of ... traditional, and will pave the way for to a civil service that is established and genuinely depoliticized. Therefore, rejecting this phenomenon would seem closer to conservatism. Among the known systems of state management are the American one, based on changes in the administration every five years along with the election of the President, and the Italian one, based on ongoing government crises. It is worth opening a parenthesis here to recall the conclusion reached by the Albanian analyst Kizinger in the foreword to Andreaotti’s memoir “America Up Close”: there is greater continuity among Italian politicians in government than in the United States. The same people appear in successive cabinets for more than 40 years, changing portfolios after each crisis. This was especially evident during the pentapartite system. Andreotti alone was Prime Minister six times and was always Foreign Minister in successive cabinets. This means that the Italian system of government allows many aspects and differences in the views of numerous parties to be expressed, most of which represent over 10 percent of the electorate. In this way, Italy, with a mobile government system and a pluralist parliamentary system, increasingly strengthens its institutions and creates a new foundation from the more than seven hundred institutions mentioned; the institutions relinquish their governance roles and Parliament is strengthened, responding to the aims and, above all, to the pressure of party politics within or outside coalitions, while remaining insulated within the legislative power. The institution of resignation is a new experience for Albanian politics. The cases are extremely few, and the circumstances in which they took place are known. In this context, however, we will single out Mr. Godo’s resignation as party chairman, a wholly civil resignation, free of any sense of pressure or fear concerning the future of his power and personal authority. The new government, headed by Mr. Majko, will continue the governing of the “Alliance for the Future of Albania” coalition. Its mandate must express continuity in its ties to the objectives and the ongoing work of this Alliance. Therefore, the idea expressed by some, based on the modern civil and legal institutions mentioned above, which would lead society away from a feeling of panic about the next day. Let us also recall an important historical moment: Kosiga’s resignation. It did not lead to a profound crisis of confidence in the Albanian government. The reasons were found in the appropriate formula for the distribution of powers and the institutions mentioned above, and in their establishment and advancement. Therefore, overcoming the current phase of confidence, we hope, will also bring the historic opportunity to adapt the legal process for building the independence of institutions and fundamental branches of power, which will serve in the future as an objective safeguard against a crisis spreading from one branch of power to the entire system. Recent events put the entire democratic system to the test, but especially its fundamental institutions: would they be able to resolve a crisis through dialogue? Last year, a politician with a strong mandate from Europe came to resolve the crisis. The Albanian people are grateful to Mr. Vranicki for managing to bring the parties in conflict closer together and open the way to elections. By placing at the outset of his work the power that embraces, within the framework of independence from the parties, the esteemed President Meidani had every opportunity to achieve a formula for rapprochement through dialogue, while ensuring the fulfillment of the first clause of the Constitution, “We express the unity of the state.” Meanwhile, as was known, the ties with a powerful legal unity to preserve this role, removing from the very beginning of cooperation the institutions of order for the unification of the Albanian people, without any legal authority, to create the formula “the Albanian fault is Albanian-ness,” without limiting the three religions, on the contrary, as ... The position of Albanian politicians against violence and in favor of dialogue and consensus within Parliament will also provide greater scope for Western intervention to resolve our national question; otherwise...

Kadri Rrapi, Ingrid Shuli and Musa Ulqini join Hajdaraga from Dibër Priority to the North: three more ministers TIRANË - The new Government now has more ministers from the North than before. Majko seems to have managed to put together a cabinet that includes representatives from all regions of the country, a shortcoming of the Nano Government that was criticized several times, most recently by Nikolas Pano, a commentator on Albanian affairs in the US. The number of ministers representing the North has risen to four, with Kadri Rrapi, another man from Dibër, added alongside Hajdaraga. Meanwhile, for the first time, there will also be ministers from Shkodër. Ingrid Shuli and Musa Ulqini are the two new names in the Government from Shkodër, reflecting at the same time the city’s characteristic division, one Muslim and the other Catholic. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s post continues to uphold tradition by once again remaining in the hands of someone from Gjirokastër; on the other hand, the people from Vlorë in the Government are more or less in their same positions, although one Malaj has “weakened” them somewhat. On page 2 The Majko Government during the oath-taking ceremony before President Meidani (Photo: Hektor Pustina)

Three hours later, a barrage of gunfire at the Yugoslav post Yesterday, Serbs attacked a post on the Kukës border. The soldiers at Pogaj came under a hail of heavy machine-gun fire and mortar shells fired from across the border. After three hours, the fighting shifted to the Serbian post at Goruzhopë. The gunfire continued for about an hour. The Serbs submitted a protest note in which they denounced the attack on their post by the Albanian army, while Albanian official sources categorically deny this. One Serb is suspected to have been killed. On page 4

Buildings shake