Prodi’s phone call to the prime minister: “The recovery of the Otranto victims will begin on Monday” Pages 3, 5

A visit to the United States by an Albanian politician is a rite that has tempted every generation of those who have pursued this profession in Albania since 1991. All those who led this country for five years in a row were invited to Washington in one way or another. The “testing” of the political class of the formerly communist countries of the East is a regular procedure in the offices of the American administration, and the prime minister of the second coalition government, Bashkim Fino, was no exception. Invited to the United States by Secretary of State Olbrajt, he is preparing to shake the outstretched hand of the Americans and seek the Clinton administration’s help in pulling the country out of the impasse into which the tense pre-electoral situation has plunged it. The invitation to Prime Minister Fino was made public yesterday, but the United States’ declaration of support for his cabinet was made on the very day the ten political parties decided to divide up the posts in a reconciliation government. A year after the Americans had asked Berisha to organize new elections in the country, they now have to face a completely different situation, one that cannot be considered the best. Nevertheless, on the other hand, the United States has been the principal country pushing the parties toward the 9 March agreement and has welcomed it. But now the problem is different. The American invitation to Fino comes at a time when he has just announced that he intends to attach a vote of confidence in his cabinet to the electoral bill that will go before parliament. This means that Fino will remain in office only if parliament passes the Ngjela proposal. The strong reactions by the PD to this announcement showed that the prime minister had applied pressure at exactly the right point. Taking responsibility for bringing down the government would be an exceedingly heavy burden for a party that is already being accused of being chiefly responsible for Albania’s destruction. If the Assembly controlled by Arbnori and Berisha were to bring down this coalition government, its guilt would be even greater, while its opportunity to justify itself would be smaller. The Reconciliation Government would be the second experiment interrupted halfway by Berisha, after the Stability Government in December ’91. Fino’s visit to Washington at this moment is a sufficient gesture of open support, but also a warning not to embark on the adventure of bringing down the cabinet, which would take Albania to early elections. Meanwhile, the visit to Washington could be a good opportunity to make contact not only with political circles but also with financial ones. The IMF and the World Bank are two institutions with which Albania will have much to do in the near future. After a long period of crisis caused by the pyramid schemes, this would be the moment to restore bilateral relations to their former level. Holding early elections has been the United States’ main objective in its policy toward Albania. Although the formula proposed a year earlier was postponed for implementation under previously unforeseeable circumstances, its essence has not changed. In Washington, they believe that Fino and his government are the only hope for taking the country to elections. And, given the situation our country is going through, elections mean a solution: the only possible way out of the hell of anarchy and civil war. A.P.

An Algerian prisoner in the desert Photo: Reuters

For several days, a new pyramid scheme called “STAF” has been operating in the center of Tirana, where people are putting in money every day from 10:00 to 12:00. Only foreign currency is accepted. This is the latest pyramid scheme, following “Populli” and “Gjallica”. Amounts in foreign currency of over 1,000 dollars are accepted.

Three in hospital after attack from a van near the presidency Page 15

Targets: the Lana Bridge and the local radio station Pages 5, 13