Berisha: “One more bowl of soup” for the poor so that they give us their votes SOCIALIST PARTY PROGRAM ALBANIA In the election year, the President of the Republic began with election-campaign fever. By trying to raise the optimism of his government officials with the aim of placing themselves, together with him, in the “history” of the turn of the century, he also gave the recipes for this purpose. The main recipe for winning votes in the upcoming elections was: one extra plate of soup for the poor, after four years of hunger, in exchange for their vote. This is how Berisha’s message to the government team at its New Year meeting can be understood, concerning the “increase and consolidation of the social dimension as a major objective of our future program”, the “increase of pensions and wages for lower categories, identification of the poorest areas and groups, drafting projects to assist them, employment of people as the main goal of our social program”, etc., etc. Page 3

Relations between the PS and PDS continue to develop At the invitation of the Democratic Party of the Left of Italy, the Deputy Chairman of the PS, Ilir Meta, left yesterday for Rome. During the one-day visit to Rome, the deputy chairman of the PS will meet with the Secretary for International Relations of the PDS, Piero Fassino. This working visit is a continuation of the PS-PDS contacts developed in Rome and Tirana, which serve to intensify relations between the two parties. Press Office of the Socialist Party

Journalist Gjergj Zefi hit on the head with a crowbar "The government of crowbars and blows from behind" Shkodra does not want the motionists... Page 4

The federal government of the former Yugoslavia decided on Saturday to block grain and flour shipments to Albania Page 6

Former French president Fransua Miteran has died Read on page 12

The first private art salon in Albania is closed Page 4

Former minister Bitincka calls them the swallows of Albanian capitalism, the Prosecutor’s Office accuses them of theft Page 5

On Wednesday, 10.1.1996, at 12:00, the Socialist Party of Albania is organizing a press conference at its headquarters. Journalists from the press, radio and television, news agencies, and representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in Albania are invited to attend. PS Press and Information Office