List ready in three weeks. The corrupt will be jailed The Prime Minister’s order will be implemented by Poçi and Klosi. Family members are also under investigation page 19

Yesterday Prime Minister Majko warned that Albania would experience a real economic “boom” in a few months. Despite the feelings of joy and optimism that such a warning naturally inspires, especially when it comes from the head of government, in the face of the reality in the country—which is not rosy—this “boom” makes you think more that our new Prime Minister is rambling. The fact is that the happy news Majko gave the Albanians was not accompanied by any argument or concrete fact. In a way, with yesterday’s promise Majko took us back to Vlora two years ago, when his predecessor, Nano, promised the people of Vlora and all Albanians the return of the money lost in the financial pyramid schemes. Above all, the fact he cited in an attempt to make the idea of the “boom” convincing—“that Albanian companies made investments worth 1 billion dollars during 1998 alone”—is just as paradoxical as the news of the economic “boom,” particularly when viewed against Albania’s bitter reality. Under these circumstances, anyone might think that such illusions are a consequence of his optimistic nature, his insufficient understanding of the country’s economic situation, or simply his naivety, since he readily believes figures and data supplied by some minister such as Ylli Bufi and others. It is not known what influence the experts may have had, since Majko’s staff, in this case, delivered this “bombshell” to Albanians while he was attending the inauguration of a telephone exchange. The very presence of Majko, Meta and some other official at such a ceremony brings to mind the tradition inherited from Hoxha of “greeting congresses with successes and novelties.” Thus, both taking part in the ceremony in question and declaring that an economic “boom” awaits Albania and the Albanians are part of the pre-congress propaganda campaign. In the same vein, yesterday Majko’s deputy, Meta, gave a commitment to an official of the Council of Europe that “Albania would be a serious partner of the Stability Pact.” However, having been burned more than once by politicians’ promises, starting with Hoxha’s “war on gold,” Albanians must have learned to trust deeds more than words. Consequently, in the absence of signs from Majko that herald the arrival of an economic “boom,” there is every likelihood that promises like this will boomerang.

Davids, on the field with drugs P. page 25

Skrapar, the quarrel starts with the women; a family massacre The dispute had begun between 35-year-old Lulieta Kushova and her brother-in-law Astrit Kushova. Lulieta hurried to tell her husband, Luan Kushova, who took an axe to strike his brother. As soon as he went out the door, he regretted bringing the weapon, because his brother had taken him seriously and grabbed a Kalashnikov. And he did not hesitate to empty it into the bodies of his family members, although afterwards he regretted what he had done. But it was too late, as everything had taken the worst possible turn. page 10

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