Pages 8–9 Mezini leaves, Arbnori on hunger strike. Nano: Local government is legitimate. Meidani orders the collection of the Presidency’s weapons

Nano outmaneuvers Berisha on the field of national reconciliation. The man who theoretically insists on ideas he has put into practice with both feet must have been unprepared for his opponents’ latest move. At yesterday’s meeting with representatives of local government, Prime Minister Nano found an opportunity to express, through concrete actions, his willingness to involve the opposition in the sphere of shared governance. By highlighting the need for a high degree of local-government independence from the executive—expressed through decentralization and the avoidance of tutelage—the head of government is taking the decisive step toward changing the course of relations to date between central and local government. In fact, the independence of local government is one of the parameters by which the level of democracy in a country is assessed. If President Meidani’s statements, made two days earlier with Lezhë officials, are also taken into consideration, one gets the impression that such an approach in this respect will be one of the pillars of the current government’s policy. Furthermore, Prime Minister Nano’s stance toward local government, which he unequivocally considered legitimate, is also a timely response to Berisha’s maneuvers in recent days, with his roundtables where he is constantly talking about national reconciliation, the need for dialogue, and his readiness to help the government, but where, at the same time, accusations against the governing side are also not absent; according to him, it is opposed to this “reconciliation” that Berisha and his allies are trying to achieve. The spirit of cooperation between the executive and local government, which Nano strongly emphasized during yesterday’s meeting, is a shrewd political move. With it, the head of government not only takes the initiative to help achieve reconciliation, but, more importantly, finds a way to draw the Democratic Party into shared governance without knocking on Berisha’s door. As is known, local government is dominated by the DP, which, despite the claims, was the winner of the 20 October elections. In this regard, Nano’s statement seems significant: “The winners of 20 October should govern together, not with the winners of 29 June.” In this way, by bringing the local-government leaders closer, the ground is laid for a considerable contingent of the DP to break away from Berisha’s tutelage and his intransigence toward cooperation with the opponent. After this, Nano leaves the ball in Berisha’s court. Here, the impact of the weakening authority of the DP leadership in some of its branches, especially in the south of the country, should also be taken into account. It is Berisha’s turn to show whether he agrees with the idea that the local-government leaders of his party should cooperate with the executive led by his main opponent. Following the agreement reached a few days ago with the Association of Former Persecutees of the communist regime, yesterday’s meeting is another step by Prime Minister Nano, with which he once again confirms the independence of today’s government in its efforts to achieve national reconciliation. The West takes note of practical actions more than statements. “Let me become a bride once again; I know how to play the bride,” says an Albanian saying. Nano is becoming a bride for the third time; Berisha must by now have begun to understand this. KJ

Albanian Deputy Prime Minister Bashkim Fino waiting for the result on 29 June Photo: G.SHКULLAKU

Chinese and Italians, clients of 400 prostitutes Page 2

Letter to the Albanian State Committee; Nano in Washington Page 8