The new government leaders discuss the possibility of joining forces behind a single candidacy. Meta as chairman of the PS, Majko as prime minister The new government leaders discuss the possibility of joining forces behind a single candidacy Majko-Meta: the second pact against Nano Meta as chairman of the PS, Majko as prime minister page 3

After yesterday’s earthquake that struck Greece, the Balkan peoples have undoubtedly been gripped by general panic. Most of them are weighed down by the anxiety caused by the terrifying question: “Who will be next after Athens?” Every person, whether Bulgarian, Albanian, Romanian or Serbian, feels as though in a few weeks, or perhaps days, they might find themselves beneath the rubble. Having paid little attention to the catastrophic earthquake that caused thousands of deaths and incalculable material damage, with the thought that Turkey is an earthquake zone, it has now become very difficult to find reassuring reasons, as images show Athens’s buildings dancing a terrifying dance amid tremors measuring nearly six on the scale. For several reasons in particular, Albanians should be more worried. First of all, since nearly half a million Albanians currently live and work in Greece, it can be said that Albania has already been affected by the earthquake epidemic threatening to engulf this peninsula, which is also shaken by other kinds of upheaval. Yesterday, quite a few Albanians from Albania rushed to telephones or sat glued to their televisions, worried about the fate of their relatives in Greece. Secondly, the war in Kosovo and the Serbian massacres of the Albanian population meant that only a few months ago Albanians were at the centre of a human tragedy, with consequences perhaps even more tragic than those that natural disasters such as earthquakes can cause. Specifically, images coming from Turkey not long ago remind Albanians both of the ruins left by Serbian medieval barbarity, and of the tents where expelled Kosovars took shelter, as well as the convoys of aid from all over the world. And, without forgetting the everyday problems that define most Albanians here, now, before the wounds inflicted on the poor people have even properly healed, many find themselves once again under the anxiety of the danger of another catastrophe. This anxiety is all the greater when one considers that Albanians, more than any of their Balkan neighbours, are living on hopes and illusions of a miracle of prosperity, supposedly thanks to the Stability Pact. The mere thought that a whim of nature could send everything up in the air is enough to give even a vague idea of the psychological effect caused by the fear that tomorrow it may be Albania’s turn to suffer an earthquake. Faced with all this, everyone turns their eyes to the sky, repeating the refrain: “God, protect us from earthquakes.”

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My improved health following my family’s car accident in Greece gives me the opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who took an interest in my prompt recovery and attentive care. I am eager to thank the highest Greek authorities, the team of doctors at the Ioannina hospital, the Albanian authorities, the Albanian consul in Ioannina and, in particular, the Minister of Health, Leonard Solis. Nikollë Lesi

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