The boss of Italian politics and media, Silvio Berluskoni, will help, promote and finance the PD’s campaign for the local elections Gramoz Ruçi: “Berisha should help Berlusconi win the elections in Italy, not Berluskon-Berishtë” page 3

BY MARTIN LEKA Any politician who may think it is still too early to focus on this year’s local elections should be reminded that it is not at all difficult to prove otherwise, if we remember that delays in getting things done, especially in public administrations, multiply during the summer that is approaching. Meanwhile, it is striking that more foreigners working for us talk about this year’s elections than we do ourselves. By now, everyone understands that the autumn elections are far more important than an ordinary election campaign. (Unfortunately, Albania has continually had only “extraordinary elections.”) For many, many reasons, this year’s elections will finally be the test of the country’s emergence beyond the excessively prolonged confines of transition. Moreover, they will put both the majority and the opposition to a major test. The governing majority, which perhaps does not even know its own achievements during these three years in government, or, worse, has not known how to promote them. Overall, taking charge of a state reduced to rubble and left as if after an invasion is more than an act of courage. Giving this state shape is more than a merit. The opposition, which for its part has managed to survive in the way the Albanian opposition knows how. On the other hand, the opposition deserves credit for rebuilding itself after a defeat compounded by the weight of responsibility for the events of ’97. In fact, Albanian voters will be the authors of the country’s future, in these elections and in those to follow. But the actors—that is, the politicians—must be wiser. Those who could obstruct the normal conduct of these elections, as they have repeatedly done, are all identifiable. We hope Berisha’s political rhetoric will change, first and foremost for the opposition’s benefit, but also for his own. On the other hand, part of the opposition, including the United Right, has no reason to imitate the leader of the Democrats (an imitation that has proved successful only on stage). The country needs a constructive opposition, to make stable and desirable political balances possible. OSCE head Gert Ahrens warned yesterday that if this year’s elections fail, regardless of whether one side or the other is to blame, Albania will be the loser. The warning? It should make all of us, absolutely all of us, remember the tragic high points in Albania’s history over these ten years. We should simply not forget that we have often been very close to the yoke. We should simply remember that we are a proud nation with a history in Europe, and remember that we are very far from Sierra Leone. NOTE: The word “yoke” originates from a wooden plough fitting into which an ox’s neck is placed to work the land. It is also used when a country is occupied by foreigners, as in the expression “under the yoke of the occupier.”