Interview with comedian Sejfulla Myftari (the well-known Ceke...) Interview with comedian Sejfulla Myftari (the well-known Ceke...) p. 2

Interview with the rector of the University of Tirana, Prof. Dr. Nestor Thereska p. 4

The rightward weighting of the Eurobarometer results now reflects Albania’s political landscape, which has maintained its stability and its favorability toward the Democratic Party. The 58% attributed to the Albanian right further strengthens the conviction of a forthcoming landslide victory for the Democratic Party. The Eurobarometer results fully justify the economic policy of democratic governance and also make the case for taking power for a second time. Compared with the left, which groups three parties together and represents 29% of the electorate, the Albanian right has no competitor with a probability of winning, but enters the election campaign as the winner. The campaign’s mission remains to build on the results it offers, bringing this spring’s campaign much closer to that of ’92. The only change lies in the forms and programs, which will move closer to pragmatism. The surveys were conducted in the final months of last year, thus very close to the electoral atmosphere, but nevertheless in a situation in which respondents were more liberal toward the political contest that takes place during the campaign. It remains to establish a basic premise for their answers: that the results reflect the political contest taking place during the campaign. It remains to believe that the basic premise behind their answers has been the concrete individual results of the past four years. The Democratic Party has achieved maft in these four years. Conveying them to the Albanian electorate is an important moment in the election campaign and, likewise, creates the basis for the confidence needed for the next four years. The figure of 58% can certainly be adjusted even further upward. The electoral situation favors a further increase in this percentage, which is essential for stable governance by the next democratic government. This is made easier still by the fact that the Democratic Party faces a wholly conservative left-wing opposition with no clear programmatic alternatives. So far, only some of the lists of parliamentary candidates have emerged from Socialist Party headquarters, with their sights set on 1991. As for alternatives, they continue to accuse the Democratic Party and its government of corruption and destruction without saying anything else about the future of Albanians. Their social program is based on saving and retiring people, while their economic program is the opposite of what has happened so far in the Albanian economy. Such an alternative is not present among the overwhelming majority of Albanians, and consequently the legal system for regulating the reform has also been well assimilated by them. The Eurobarometer results, whose headquarters are in Brussels and which is incorporated into the institutions of the European Union, are a powerful thing that gives the Socialists [the text is unclear]. Tomorrow they will shout that Albanians have been manipulated by Europe and the Democratic Party, while we say that Albanians are present in Europe and in the alternatives offered by the Democratic Party. Dokle, meanwhile, is unlikely to shout much, since a year ago he declared that the only reliable data were those of the Eurobarometer. The figure given for the tenth in this survey is very close to the one released a few days ago by the American Republican Institute, which means that Albania is very close to a stable future and stable governance. The country has no time for crises, nor to return to those who ruined it. Albanians seem to have understood that there is no wonderful and ideal government, but rather a government that creates the opportunity for wonderful and concrete achievements.

Question: “If general elections were held tomorrow, which party would you vote for, or be inclined to vote for?” Age 25–39 = 20% Age 40–54 = 15% Age 55 and over = 39% Percentages by party: Agrarian Party = 0% PAD = 4% PBK = 3% PBDNJ = 2% Democratic Party = 45% PDK = 1% PDD = 2% PE = 0% PLL = 2% PS = 22% PSD = 3% PR = 6% Percentages by level of education: DEMOCRATIC PARTY Eight-year education = 42% Secondary education = 46% Higher education = 46% SOCIALIST PARTY Eight-year education = 25% Secondary education = 20% Higher education = 14%

President Berisha took part in commemorating the anti-communist resistance of 11 February in Synej and in the inauguration of two schools in this municipality After the anti-communist protests and the protests by Albanian intellectuals, 11 February 1990, when the first anti-communist leaflets were distributed in the village of Synej in the district of Kavajë, would mark the beginning of anti-communist resistance in Albania. The words on those leaflets, “The situation can no longer be tolerated,” “Down with the dictatorship,” would become the battle cry of the movement for the victory of democracy, which would subsequently grip the whole country. The message sent by this village, 60 km from Tirana and with around 4,500 inhabitants, was also mentioned by “Voice of America” as a symbol of resistance against dictatorship. The example set by many young people from this village, including 12-year-old Arben Voci, was followed by young people from the high school and other residents of Kavajë, a city that is To commemorate this significant day for the residents of this village, a ceremony was organized here, attended also by President Berisha. In his speech, the head of this municipality, Durim Çaça, recalled the poverty inherited from the communist regime of agricultural cooperatives and pointed to the major changes that had taken place during these four years of Democratic Party rule (Continued on page 3)

And European institutions place them in the same bloc PS, PSD and PAD protest Yesterday, the leaders of the PS, PSD and PD “protested” at “KJ” over President Berisha’s description of them as a “Red Front.” What immediately stands out in the statements by Ceka and Apostoli is their objection to the color red, while Dokle offers just one of his clownish quips. The Front does not directly object to any other color, and it could hardly be otherwise. Now these three parties are grouped in a front which, whether they like it or not, cannot have any color other than red. In the Eurobarometer survey, too, these three parties are placed in the left-wing bloc; this survey was not conducted by the PD or Berisha, but by European institutions. Perhaps the leaders of the PSD and PAD will protest against these institutions as well, but however much they protest, they can no longer erase what has been made public: their placement alongside the far left. A. DAJTI

According to “ZP,” 12% rate the government’s work positively, while according to “KJ,” only 8% 64% of respondents trust that state institutions can solve their problems On the survey by the Association for Democratic Culture It is not the first time that “ZP” and “KJ,” acting on orders from the same boss, have interpreted polls according to the interests of their party. They did this with the results of the American Republican Institute’s poll, which they tried to interpret as favoring the opposition. But later, when the poll’s own organizers issued a denial, these newspapers had no choice but to publish their bosses’ attacks on the IRA, alongside PS and PAD. “ZP” and “KJ” are doing the same with the poll conducted in Tirana by the Association for Democratic Culture (SHKD), except that this time their bluff is quickly exposed by the headlines they have chosen—the bosses have made a mistake. Thus, “ZP” says that according to the poll, “Only 12% of respondents rate the government’s work positively,” while “KJ” gives the figure as 8%. This fact alone would be enough to prove that these newspapers have manipulated the results. In reality, the results show that a large number of respondents have confidence in this institution. Of those surveyed, 50% say they have various personal problems, but at the same time they express confidence that the institutions of the Albanian state can solve these problems. 64% of these people say they believe their problems can be solved by the President, Parliament, Government and local authorities. In other words, 64% of the capital’s residents have complete confidence in the institutions led by representatives of the PD. As for the government’s work, the capital’s residents surveyed do not express a negative view, as “KJ” and “ZP” claim; the actual figure among respondents is 48%. Thus, the interpretations offered by “ZP” and “KJ” do nothing but confirm once again that they serve the same master. E. PALOКА

Tomorrow the PS leaders discuss 115 candidates for parliament Tomorrow, the PS leaders will meet, and its leadership will begin discussing the party’s many candidates for parliament. There are around 230 names; these will be narrowed down to candidates, while the PS leaders will select 115 to give the party a chance of winning the electoral race. Although the number of PS parliamentary candidates is around 350, not everyone can make it onto the list, including well-known members of the intellectual elite who have contributed to the PS and have even held high office in the party. Meanwhile, the party’s grassroots are dissatisfied with these candidates, among whom are representatives of the PDSH and PS leaders. Placing them on the long list of candidates is not the slightest problem for the PS leaders, because they will be the ones to give them the “final kick,” sacrificing candidates starting tomorrow. According to sources within the PS, the 115-person group will consist mainly of individuals who have declared themselves reformers and leaders of the group opposing the conservative leaders in the PS leadership, calling for the party’s program to be changed and Marxism removed from it. The logic of the PS leaders is quite straightforward: “If you’re a Marxist, you have no place in the PS.” Many well-known intellectuals considered moderate could not escape this outcome, but the PS leadership did not even put them on the long list of candidates. Bashkim Zeneli could not get onto this list either, despite being one of the people who contributed greatly to the PS and its former foreign secretary. After he was declared an anti-Marxist, the PS leaders removed him from the party leadership and ultimately left him off the list of parliamentary candidates, replacing him with some former cooperative chairman or former PPSH secretary. The group of reform-minded intellectuals expected to follow Zeneli is thought to be small, since few of them have managed to become part of the party’s candidate slate. A large group that will be dropped from the list of candidates appears to be those who supported anti-communist ideology, because the special logic in question will not allow people who made a particular contribution to consolidating the dictatorship in Albania to become members of parliament. Tomorrow, the PS leaders will discuss who will represent their party’s Marxist program.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY Age 15–24 = 46% Age 25–39 = 49% Age 40–54 = 47% Age 55 and over = 32% SOCIALIST PARTY Age 15–24 = 15% Percentages by area: DEMOCRATIC PARTY Capital = 54% Other large cities = 44% Small towns = 39% Countryside = 48% SOCIALIST PARTY Capital = 11% Other large cities = 27% Small towns = 26% Countryside = 17% Percentages by area: SOCIALIST PARTY With primary education = 25% With secondary education = 20% With higher education = 14% PBDNJ = 2% Democratic Party = 45% PDK = 1% PDD = 2% PE = 0% PLL = 2% PS = 22% PSD = 3% PR = 6% PRD = 0% PUK = 0% With higher education = 46%