The Prime Minister will not be dismissed, but some cabinet ministers will leave their posts In the first round of the Socialist Party Presidency meeting, the Prime Minister manages to draw. The Friday match is expected, when Nano will accuse specific ministers of corruption and of being linked to Meta Page 5

The clash between Prime Minister Meta and Socialist leader Nano over the unexpected dismissal of Deputy Foreign Minister Ben Blushi, considered close to Mr Nano and one of the strongest candidates for the post of Foreign Minister, risks leading to unpredictable developments in the socialist camp. This is because, if the disagreements degenerate into open conflict between the two leading figures, respectively at the head of the Executive and of the largest party in the governing coalition, the political consequences would be potentially unpredictable—not only for Nano and Meta, but for the whole party. The more or less equal balance of forces between them makes one fear the worst that could happen if fists take the place of debate and accountability. Ultimately, this would be the greatest contribution to bringing the opposition back to power. In fact, matters have reached the point where a complete retreat by either of them cannot be expected. Thus, while Nano cannot accept Blushi’s dismissal without a victorious “compensation” from Meta’s “camp,” the latter also finds it difficult to eat his words. However, by continuing along the path of conflict, there is every likelihood that everything will go through confidence votes, the most likely outcome of which would be early elections, which the opposition is promoting as “the only means of resolving the crisis.” Moreover, both Meta and Nano have calculated that, given the consequences mentioned above, by declaring war on each other they would first and foremost fail to win the support of the party structures. On the other hand, Meta knows clearly that he is at the head of the Government thanks to the votes of the party led by Nano, while Nano would find it difficult to justify another Government overthrow before the party structures, following Majko’s, which would be seen as an excessive luxury. Aware of this, the head of the Executive and the head of the Party may have begun looking for ways to reach a peaceful, even temporary, solution. The very fact that, following the Nano–Meta–Çeço meeting and the party Presidency’s two-hour meeting yesterday, it appears that Meta and Nano are giving each other time to reflect in order to reach a compromise. In any case, it would be best for any solution to pass through the filter of the Party Statute, since an understanding would then be long-term and stable, at least enough to put out the problems in the local elections, which will be the most important test for all political forces. If the Prime Minister does not show a sign of understanding by Friday, then Nano will convene the Extraordinary Congress of the Socialist Party, where the majority is on his side, not forgetting that the proMlokot have this time turned proNano. Thus the Government is fertilized, keeping Prime Minister Meta in place by force, but the entire cabinet is remade with other, more capable people who have the authority to solve people’s problems.

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Large forces block the crossing 5 km inside the Montenegrin border After the agreement to open the border between Albania and Montenegro, the Serbian army moves in. NATO forces commander Clark warns of a coup and a state of war in our northern neighbour — pages 11, 15

Prime Minister Meta and his Turkish counterpart Eçevi† at a press conference yesterday

— Pages 2–3