The leader of the SP begins making public threats against candidates who are not socialists Yesterday at the “Dreri” restaurant in Tirana, MP Vladimir Fejzo, the independent candidate for mayor of Vlora, was threatened by the chairman of the SP, in the presence of Culture Minister Edi Rama and former DP MP Genc Ruli page 4

By Aleksandër Çipa What will the picture be of the electoral concert that is gripping all of Albania these days? The dilemma, which has come to be so mainly for citizens, is being propelled toward a new, brutal tone by the political sides. Meanwhile, these sides have set up their competing “units” within themselves, creating, in quite a few cases, noise that eclipses the duel between the two camps in the larger picture. At this electoral start, the socialists have ignited new debates within their own ranks. The motivating language of political officials seeks to emphasize that their candidates are committed to competing. This has, for a moment, shifted the campaign’s “center of gravity” from between the sides to within each camp(!). For Tirana Municipality alone, five public figures are competing in the socialist camp (Majko, Dedja, Danaj and Meksi are mentioned, along with Rama (the minister), “the representative delegated by civil society”). The competition among these names has naturally dispersed the main governing party’s energy for selecting a candidate, while opening up new areas of debate and disagreement. Faced with this process of selection, the main opposition force has entirely excluded debate over the selection, leaving unconfirmed mention of several names, such as Topi and Maltezi, unchallenged. In their party’s fictitious internal stance, the reformers have found at least one alternative candidate. Meanwhile, the other opposition forces have mentioned two or three other public figures as candidates. From this picture of the contenders for the country’s main municipality, it is easy to understand that the socialists, unlike the others, are in the predicament of choosing among themselves. As events are showing, the campaign competition, growing more intense by the day, will lead to new clashes and discontent which, at the decisive moment—that is, the election—may work against voters’ convictions. From this point of view, this is another threatening precedent for them. But the “selection duel,” with the same echoes, also seems to be appearing in Vlora, Kuçovë, Korçë and Gjirokastër. This competition, supported in various ways by the candidates’ backing groups, will continue to have an effect even after the party center’s governing body makes its decision and announces the official candidate. In this two-sided picture, the shortened (in time) campaign for local elections has disrupted the polyphonic harmony of both main political forces. In the comparative image, the sides perform: one has been left with “mountain-top song” and the other with “Labëria-style song,” loudly and aggressively, while in any case the “calls” and “elbows” of the groves keep pushing and tearing at one another.

POLITICAL HUMOR: Berisha and the socialist majority

Military-uniformed personnel entered the home by surprise at 7:00 in the morning page 2