The government is in crisis. The Council of Ministers is not functioning Minister of Defense Hajdaraga, Minister of Finance Angjeli, Minister of Labor Rrapi and Foreign Minister Milo are ignoring their boss page 4

We are tired, disappointed, exhausted. I believe no one in Albania can deny this, whether a leader or a pig keeper. We are still in the middle of the tunnel,

We are tired, disappointed, exhausted. I believe no one in Albania can deny this, whether a leader or a pig keeper. We are still in the middle of the tunnel. Some say: at the end of the tunnel there is light, and “our party” can switch that light on; others say: we have entered a dead end… The parties and their leaders, spokespersons and bodyguards, ministers and minister-designates, former this-and-that and nobodies who have become somebodies, attack us day and night through the press, through daily press conferences, and through countless other means—that is, bombarding us with what is called in “Anglo-Saxon” speech: demagoguery, or, in Albanian: lies, namely: 1. Only they can save us and make us happy. 2. They tell us their opponents are ruining us because they are thieves, criminals, smugglers, immoral, etc. 3. One side is nationalist, while its opponents are sellouts, traitors, genetic enemies going back to their grandparents and great-grandparents… 4. Europe and the USA love one side, and do not even want to hear the names of its opponents. In other words, they own the present and the future. 5. Some are former communists and some are anti-communists. 6. Some are young—that is, untainted—and some are old, out of date, that is, deformed by the dictatorship. The first group should hold their heads high; the second should step aside… Otherwise, we will expose them! 7. Someone enjoys unlimited immunity, along with a mobile phone, a car with a green license plate, bodyguards and endless yes-men, while defying the organs of justice; others sell the law, eat, and have no guarantee even of their lives, can smoke cigarettes and eat bananas and have no guarantee even of their lives, and may be killed even while roasting corn on the sidewalk; some can kill as much as they like and be declared free and innocent! 8. Some build careers—and thus money and wealth—by undermining others and serving a powerful person; others chew over and swallow insults and slander as if they were pure truth… The former have no trade and nothing recorded in their employment history except: minister, prime minister; the latter are former professors and former master craftsmen whose lives have gone down the river. The person called the people must vote, and that is all. (Continued on page 17)

Socialist leader Nano warmly welcomed yesterday by “Zëri i Popullit” editor-in-chief Erion Braçe Photo L.Filopati Fake pensioners, Social Security accuses The judges, pension thieves Courts across Albania have issued thousands of rulings changing people’s ages, enabling them to receive fake pensions without having worked. This accusation by Social Security, based on undeniable facts, is expected to trigger an unprecedented scandal in the justice system. To benefit financially themselves, judges have issued entirely absurd rulings that have snatched millions of lekë from Social Security—money that could have been used to increase benefits for genuine pensioners, who earned their pensions by working for more than 30 years. page 19 Socialist leader Nano warmly welcomed yesterday by “Zëri i Popullit” editor-in-chief Erion Braçe. Photo L.Filopati