Spartak Poçi: “An extraordinary party conference should be convened” Page 3

BY MARTIN LEKA It is all too true that the meeting between Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko and the leader of the Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, otherwise christened “Positive Dialogue,” has eased the Albanian political climate to some extent. This is evident not merely from the theoretical exchange and the occasional greetings—whether from the political forces within the country, supporters of political parties across the entire political spectrum, the domestic and foreign mass media, or the international leadership—but also in practical terms. There are no more rallies in “Skënderbej” Square, and the numerous police forces deployed to maintain order among demonstrators along Tirana’s central boulevard are now effectively fighting crime. The often criminal attitude of the sides toward one another has changed, and so on and so forth. The so-called dialogue has, at least on the face of it, produced its first result. But the parties’ temptation to keep trumpeting a single Majko–Berisha meeting as a genuine success increasingly reveals the shadow of a farce. The Majko–Berisha meeting was simply a meeting, and undoubtedly a political move worthy of approval. Dialogue, this Albanian term derived from ancient Greek, simply means communication between two people or sides. Two people can engage in dialogue merely by winking at one another; two people or sides can engage in dialogue simply by laughing or crying; two people or sides can even engage in dialogue while laughing, with firearms pointed at one another... In this particular case, for the positive dialogue inaugurated by the Majko–Berisha meeting to grow in scope and take on a genuinely positive shape, it must necessarily become cooperation among Albanian political forces, primarily within institutions. This is suggested not only by Albania’s murky situation, but above all demanded by the extremely grave, difficult and explosive situation in Kosovo these days. If we keep commenting on such a meeting, we will simply show that it was a farcical dialogue, or a momentary move made merely so they could talk more with one another over the New Year holiday.

Durrës Carnage in a car, 3 dead Among them, a 22-year-old woman from Romania page 2

Political commentary The total kioskification of brains or the ruin of Albania BY Kiço Blushi page 5

Economy Privatization, nobody is buying All auctions fail page 13

Pensions rise Now, 6 thousand lekë more page 14

Culture Divorce on Christmas night A defeat for singer Rod Stewart page 25

Caricature illustration; signature: [illegible] 9