The Prime Minister will be at the Vatican with the Pope on 15 January and in America at the end of the month. Page 3 The Prime Minister will be at the Vatican with the Pope on 15 January and in America at the end of the month Page 3

At last, the government too has become aware of the need for changes within its ranks. Voices are being heard from within Mr. Majko’s own cabinet about changes in the government in the very near future. Perhaps some moves at lower levels in certain departments can be taken as a warning of the changes announced within the government. However, more important than the changes themselves are the criteria on the basis of which they will be made and, above all, the extent to which the political reality of recent times will be taken into account. Contrary to the illusions created after the 29 June elections or by Nano’s statements about so-called “meritocracy,” the formation of governments and… the changes within them throughout this period have followed a consistent pattern. This is because “meritocracy” has given way to meeting the interests of coalition partners, and even more so to those of various factions within the SP. The fact that most of the commitments and promises made two years ago by the Socialists and their allies have remained on paper is closely connected precisely to the phenomenon described above. Thus, even now, Prime Minister Majko’s good intention of bringing capable people into the government risks being compromised by the struggle between factions in the SP, where each will move every piece on the board to get its hands on the “fruitful” ministerial portfolios. In this respect, changes in the government represent a challenge for the future of the Prime Minister’s political career and, in a way, for the entire new generation of Albanian politicians. Majko’s success is closely linked to overcoming the powerful factions in his party, which would have no qualms about sacrificing him too. This can be achieved only by choosing the selection circle while ignoring the satisfaction of the whims of the coalition’s smaller partners. Without even mentioning strengthening the cabinet with genuine specialists and well-known non-party figures, Majko would commit no great sin if he also opened the way into government to representatives of the opposition, including the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or even the DP itself. Recent political developments greatly strengthen Majko’s hand in taking such a step, although it is still not known what he discussed with the American ambassador, Lino, late last night, until nearly 20:45. Apart from significantly improving the government’s effectiveness, such an opening would help further reduce tensions and establish an ongoing dialogue, beginning with a Majko-Berisha meeting.

Minister of Information Musa Ulqini: “Petro, start the purges in the police or they’ll purge you” Photo A.RAMA Berisha supports the return of former members who left the DP — “I would not rule out an alliance with PAD.” The chairman of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, said yesterday that he would be willing to accept back into the DP members who had left the party. “Personally, I have nothing against their return to the DP; on the contrary, I appreciate the contribution some of them have made against negative phenomena in Albanian society,” Berisha said at a press conference. Berisha also did not rule out the possibility of an alliance with the Democratic Alliance Party. “But that depends on the forces within our party,” he said. Since its founding on 12 December 1990, the Albanian Democratic Party has suffered an “exodus” of its founders, who left the DP over party-related issues. Thus, in mid-1992, a group of intellectuals who had founded the Democratic Party, after submitting a motion to reform the party, were excluded from the DP’s governing structures. They later founded the Democratic Alliance Party, which today is part of the center-left governing coalition. In 1995, another group of intellectuals, led by Pjetër Kalanuka and Abdi Baleta, left the Democratic Party and founded the Right-Wing Democratic Party. A short time later, former chairman Eduard Selami also left the DP; he was expelled after calling for deep reforms in the government of the time and in the party. Meanwhile, shortly before the elections of 29 June ’97, another group of intellectuals who had founded the DP left the party and formed the Movement for Democracy, led by Dashamir Shehi, Genc Ruli, etc. Berisha’s latest political moves, apparently dictated from abroad, are putting the smaller parties in a difficult position; they had survived on the Berisha bogeyman alone. With Berisha’s return to parliament, the “authority” of the smaller parties will be affected, and parliamentary debate by the DP could push the minor players in politics—that is, those with less than 2% of the electorate—out of the picture. Berisha’s statement about an “alliance with the Alliance...” is also more of a challenge than a reality that could come to pass. K.K.

Last night, at around 18:00, the American ambassador urgently entered the Prime Minister’s Office.