PS: If Berisha does not accept, we will reconsider our position The Prime Minister proposes two candidates for SHIK to Berisha: lawyers Arben Rakipi and Arben Kartini Thorns in Fino’s side The “Shehu” case, in which so far, in the contest between Fino and Berisha, the latter has emerged the winner, shows that the Government of National Reconciliation will face many obstacles in carrying out its work normally as it strives to create the necessary conditions for holding elections within June. But it would be only a small part of the problem if the issue of changes in an administration filled with Berisha’s fanatical loyalists were reduced to the case of A. Shehu alone. The government, but also the opposition, by dealing only with A. Shehu, television, or something else, have forgotten the state administration, which is filled with people who were hired not for their professional ability, but solely because of their party militancy and loyalty to Berisha. And in this respect, chief police officer Shehu at least did not lack ability, which he demonstrated while serving the previous regime. It does not take much thought to see that no government can work under normal conditions when its ranks include people who obey others outside it more than its head or the heads of its departments—people who have shown on at least one occasion that they intend to undermine the reconciliation government, or at least turn it into a blind instrument, just as they had the government of Mr. Meksi until recently. This is not about launching an “anti-PD” purge, nor about issuing an order or law similar to the infamous 24/1, which sent PD opponents home. There are very honest people in the PD, and therefore in its administration, skilled specialists, admirers and committed people who serve the homeland. But one cannot ignore the fact that for a long time the opposition has made a fuss about such negative phenomena as corruption, nepotism, and incompetence, which had engulfed the entire state administration. Now, seeing the government’s passivity—above all that of its leaders—in taking action within the administration, the first impression is that the government has accepted this state of affairs or is incapable of changing it, bearing in mind the “Shehu” case; or that all the noise about the failings of the administration appointed by the PD was linked to electoral aims or, as Berisha himself puts it, “to regain the lost seats.” If Mr. Fino has difficulty familiarizing himself with the administration he leads, we are ready to help by publishing documents showing the criteria by which some of the people “serving” him were appointed to their posts and positions. Finally, if Mr. Fino finds it easy to work with incompetent people, accused of corruption, hired as “a relative of Comrade Xhemal,” and to put people in special posts who are a thorn in his side, then at least he should take into consideration the warning about the state budget’s dire situation. It is paradoxical that while being forced to make drastic cuts in spending across various sectors, the Fino government is extraordinarily generous in paying incompetent people—or worse, people who work against it. G. L. Fino has put his final candidates for the head and deputy head of SHIK on Berisha’s desk. Arben Rakipi and Arben Kartini are the two names put forward by the Prime Minister, proposed respectively as number one and number two of the Albanian secret police. It is reported that Arben Rakipi is a lawyer by profession and is currently an attorney. Arben Kartini, proposed for deputy head, is a representative of the Republican Party, a December student and a torchbearer of Democracy; he is 35 years old and an investigator in Kavajë. Well-informed sources said that the two candidacies had the consensus of the political forces and that Berisha’s approval was expected. Meanwhile, the PS said yesterday that this was the last chance that would be given to the president. In the event of a refusal, the entire coalition and the 9 March agreement, founded on consensus among the political parties, could split apart. The battle over SHIK has been going on for a month, since Berisha received Gazidede’s resignation request. The former head of SHIK then asked to be given the opportunity to leave the post he had held for five consecutive years. But since then, Mr. Gazidede has continued to remain in his office, from where he tries to retain control over the leadership of the detached structures of his institutions. Meanwhile, the president had rejected many candidates proposed by the political forces and the government. The names mentioned include Agim Fagu, Fatos Klosi, and Neritan Alibalit. Clinton in California. Photo: Reuters