Greece’s plan to create the Athens–Belgrade economic axis is being realized with the help of Albanian government officials The Albanian side is represented by: Anastas Angjeli, Edvin Rama and Makbule Çeço page 19

BY MARTIN LEKA The recent visit of Albanian Prime Minister Ilir Meta to the USA has been commented on by the media and relevant analysts in various ways, with a certain degree of politicization often prevailing. This politicization, rather than being about the facts surrounding the visit and the talks, which are known only to the protagonists of the one-on-one meeting, or about the dominance of efforts to help public opinion in this country be realistic, has more to do with the election campaign, which officially begins in two days. If we were to take into account the tendencies of political forces, both those in power and those in opposition, under the circumstances described above, we would be left believing in two alternatives. The first is that Meta’s visit to the USA was a failure, a diversion, a falsification of public statements, etc., etc. For the Albanian opposition—Albanian, that is—this would be normal. The second is that the Albanian Prime Minister’s visit to the USA was an extraordinary, highly successful visit, an endorsement of the prime minister’s party in the upcoming elections, etc., etc. This, too, would be normal by Albanian standards. The United States of America has made it clear several times that it does not interfere with the preferences of Albanian voters. I believe this has also been made clear to the public, at least since the day the “Hajerson phenomenon” left Albania. Today, this stance toward Albania is also an indication of the growing level of democracy in this country, which has faced many problems during these ten years of transition from totalitarianism to an Open Society. Despite the many conjectures about the much-discussed visit and the Meta–Ollbrajt meeting, we believe there is another opinion, closer to realism and further from politics. At its heart is the reshaping of US–Albania bilateral relations. One basis for such an opinion about Meta’s visit to the giant state is the fact that Kosovo now has a different status and the Balkans themselves are increasingly losing their “powder keg” status. If previous visits could be described as interregional cooperation, or as having to do with stirring up passions in the region, we do not think this latest one had that status. And not simply because Ollbrajt was set against the backdrop of the Albanian flag, but also because Defense Minister Gjoni was invited to the Pentagon, and because Reno was pleased to meet Albanian government officials who are working to rebuild the institutions. Given the very strategy it uses to dominate the world, the USA also acts in Albania with admirable foresight, staying “above the parties,” especially in the absurd theater of Albanian politics, where, without batting an eye, the party that may lose the elections calls the USA itself “American imperialism”(1)

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The PD candidate, with the support of his party, allied parties and the Reformist Movement, can defeat Edi Rama Page 3