Facing Majko: Meidani the “sheep” and Nano the “wolf”
If the Prime Minister loses against the President and the parliamentary group, he may resign and the country will enter a political crisis. After that, early elections
The arrival of the British Prime Minister has merely postponed by one day the eruption of the volcano expected to explode in the Socialist camp.
If the “Koçi” case passes through the “sieve” of the Socialist parliamentary group, the issue of dismissing the Minister of Public Order will then bring all activity by Socialist MPs to a standstill. Under other circumstances, all this would represent a routine procedure; but given the situation within the PS’s governing forums, where someone is preparing to seize the party leadership, the final decision of the Socialist parliamentary group takes on special importance. At this meeting, things could go even further in [?] establishing the balance of power between Majko and the group of young politicians on one side, and people linked to Meidani—otherwise known as the “presidentialists”—as well as the “Nanoists,” on the other. By presenting himself as a “victim” of the Majko-Berisha meeting or of the “Pact for Public Order,” Koçi has sought to rally the Socialists against the Prime Minister and turn them against him. Whatever the result, however, Prime Minister Majko is in a more favorable position than some may think. This is not about the influence of his followers and supporters within the parliamentary group, but rather the support he enjoys from the international community. One indication of this is the arrival in Tirana today of British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair’s vitality and the esteem he enjoys are expected to secure support for his Albanian counterpart. There is no longer any doubt that Majko, Meta and the rest of the young people at the head of the PS are considered the future of Albanian politics, freed from the complexes of the past that brought it to the brink of the abyss. One of the reasons the PS retains a considerable electorate is precisely its new class of leaders, against whom Berisha feels disarmed. These months in government have been a positive test for the Majko-Meta duo. Leaving aside the specific problems facing the country—problems inherited from the past—Majko and Meta deserve credit for easing tensions in relations between the governing majority and the opposition, which is helping to manage the difficult situation at this moment. Under these circumstances, if the Socialist parliamentary group decides against Koçi’s dismissal, Prime Minister Majko could easily attempt a show of strength by threatening to resign. But resignation would be followed by a political crisis. No one in the PS is believed likely to choose a crisis over the alternative of overturning the Prime Minister’s decision. After the crisis, the next step is clear: a decision to hold early parliamentary elections. Naturally, it is unlikely that two-thirds of the current MPs, who have not exactly made themselves popular with the electorate—though not entirely through their own fault—would be elected as representatives of the people again. So they cannot afford to lose the privilege of being MPs merely to indulge the whims of certain politicians or even President Meidani. All the cards held by certain politicians, perhaps even Nano, are in an inferior position. But it should not be forgotten that “sheep” Meidani, like a tame wolf, has seized key positions in the Albanian state, while “wolf” Nano still has structures and activists working for him and, naturally, experience and influence across Albania. Nevertheless, the roots of the “old wolves,” in their efforts to compensate for this disadvantage, have so far inflicted only minor wounds on those in the stronger position. But the Majko-Meta duo is still considered young, if only because of their age; now they possess a defensive strategy on a par with the old-timers’ offensive one.