On Tuesday, Clinton meets Fino in Madrid. Albania gets its foot in NATO’s door. Monarchy or republic: the dilemma will last another seven days Problem areas are sabotaging the elections. Voting may be postponed until the last Sunday of the month. The President decides on the procedure

. The NATO summit, attended by representatives of member countries, as well as heads of state from Eastern countries who hope to join the alliance in the future, will be held on Tuesday in Madrid. The Prime Minister of the Government of National Reconciliation, Bashkim Fino, has also been invited to this event. His presence in Madrid is interesting for two reasons: first, the invitation has gone to the prime minister rather than the head of the Albanian state, despite the fact that the prime minister’s term ends in just a few days; and second, US President Clinton, who is attending the summit, has also invited Mr Fino to a one-on-one meeting. Bearing these two facts in mind, it is easy to reach the now familiar conclusion that the international community, above all the United States, recognizes the socialist prime minister of the Government of National Reconciliation as its interlocutor, and that, in its eyes, Berisha is a spent force with whom it is not worth wasting time. At one time Berisha regarded his meeting with Clinton as the greatest achievement of his foreign policy, although the invitation addressed to him two years ago was more a result of the enthusiasm of Albanians in America. In this respect, however, Fino, despite having been at the head of the government for only four months, has had the good fortune to meet the US president twice, not counting the visit made at the invitation of Mrs Albright. What matters is that the invitations addressed to Fino have not needed the prompting of Albanian-American supporters in the United States. It has been nearly a year since any invitation arrived for the current Albanian President to take part in important events with his counterparts. Such an openly demonstrated boycott of Berisha was carried out not only to show him that he was failing to meet his commitments regarding democracy, but also to weaken his position at home. The boycott of Berisha also grew because of his quixotic campaign against the US administration, which was targeted by propaganda orchestrated by him or by statements from some senior PD official. On the other hand, the invitation addressed to Prime Minister Fino makes one think that the West sees in the team that will lead Albania next a serious interlocutor, with whom it can accomplish what Berisha was unable to do. Specifically, the Clinton–Fino meeting will also address bilateral issues, something the US president could not do with the man who wrecked these relations. It is no surprise that Western countries may have reached this conclusion also after the frequent statements by Nano and other socialist leaders about a policy oriented toward Euro-Atlantic institutions and alliances, which will be a priority for the government that emerges from the current elections. Of course, Albania cannot become a member of NATO in the near future, since it is still far from meeting the basic requirements for taking that very difficult step. At this time, the lack of stability within the country makes this impossible. But the invitation to Fino is even more a way of telling Berisha that he should pack his personal belongings and leave the presidency, putting an end to the games with which he would prolong his term and further destabilize the country.

01:07, July 4, 1997. Mars calls Earth. The Pathfinder spacecraft sends the first photo, 21 years after the last mission. Photo: REUTERS

Pages 12–13

Page 4

The staff of Radio “Koha” and the journalists of the newspaper “Koha Jonë” are once again with you: “Minute by minute with the second round of the elections.” Stay tuned to Radio “Koha” to find out everything that happens over 24 hours throughout the territory of Albania during the second round of the parliamentary elections. All correspondents of the newspaper “Koha Jonë” are asked to go on air after every news report. Thank you.