Overpopulation works in their favor On page 8

“THERE ARE NO ENEMIES IN THE SP” On page 3

Ilir Babaramo Fatos Nano must know poker exceptionally well. With the bluff he played yesterday at the Congress, he took another major step toward bringing the party completely under his control. His opponents expected him to make a mistake, so that the Congress, which they were absent from, would turn into their trap. But Nano did not give them the satisfaction of comparing him with Berisha. He repealed the article that prevented the General Committee from being constituted, paving the way for 36 socialists—most of them his outspoken opponents—to join this body. In short, he let his opponents make a mistake, showing them that all their comings and goings had been nothing but childish obstinacy. Because, in the end, Nano’s move in convening the congress had the same result they were seeking to achieve by another route: the 36 members of the KPD, who had received no more than half the delegates’ votes, were legitimized. By this action, Nano took on the role of the one insisting that the rules of the game be followed, while making it clear that the others—his opponents—should be seen as a bunch of anarchistic, divisive individuals who, out of hostility, are ready to trample on what socialists hold most sacred: solidarity. Nano played the strongman. He insisted to the very end that his plan be carried out. And he won. In the socialist arena, the value of his shares rose sharply yesterday. From the 297 delegates’ votes he received just two weeks earlier in his clash with Maiko, the number rose to 420 yesterday. Meanwhile, the number of delegates who, like Nano’s opponents, boycotted the congress was only 150. With the situation increasingly in his favor, the SP chairman could have acted differently, too. In fact, the harsh statements he had made before— Continued on page 2

Ministry experts closely monitor the work of the Tirana Directorate On page 7

The Court again On page 19