ALBANIA: Poll Brings Old Recipes, New Expectations

• by Claudia Ciobanu (bucharest)
• Tuesday, June 23, 2009
• Inter Press Service

According to an April opinion poll conducted by market research group Zogby International, 38 percent of voters favour the ruling Democratic Party led by Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Another 36 percent support the Socialist Party led by the popular mayor of capital Tirana, Edi Rama.

The Socialist Movement for Integration, a party formed in 2004 by Socialist Party defectors, gets another 6 percent. Ten percent of the voters sampled declared themselves still undecided.

Albania, with a predominantly Muslim population of 3.6 million, is one of Europe's poorest countries. Like other former Communist states in Eastern Europe, it is looking to European Union (EU) membership as a means of achieving prosperity and stability.

In April last year, Albania was accepted as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). This is perceived in the region as a stepping- stone towards joining the EU.

The Albanian government submitted a formal application for joining the EU in April this year, despite suggestions by European officials that the application be made after the elections in June. Past elections have been marred by allegations of vote-rigging. The EU considers that clean elections this year would be a strong indicator that the rule of law is being respected - a crucial criterion for evaluation of applicant states. This year's poll will be monitored by 400 international observers.

The early application for EU entry is likely to boost the popularity of the prime minister and his party, says political scientist Jonida Bregu from Tirana. 'The fact that Albania has been accepted as a full member of NATO is considered by many as an exclusive achievement of the present government,' Bregu told IPS.

Another success of the Democratic Party, which can impact the result of the elections, is the inauguration this month of a highway linking Albania and Kosovo, dubbed 'the patriotic highway'. Close ties with the young state of Kosovo, where 90 percent of the two million population is of Albanian ethnicity, are considered important by many in Albania.

The political importance of this route is highlighted by the authorities' willingness to pay more than a billion euros for this project, while poor transportation infrastructure countrywide remains a chronic problem.

The huge investment was undertaken without a feasibility study. Last November the prosecutor's office accused Foreign Minister Luzlim Basha, the main promoter of the highway, of accepting above-market prices proposed by the builder, the U.S.-Turkish consortium Bechtel-Enka. Prosecution of the minister has been blocked by the court of appeals.

In the face of such allegations against his government, Berisha has been trying to revamp his image into that of a pro-European reformer and moderniser. But his image remains tainted by his presidential term (1992- 1997), during which the country went through a civil war following the collapse of pyramidal schemes that cost Albanians close to a billion euros in lifetime savings.

Rama presents a more fresh image. Now in his third term as mayor, his image is thought to have improved considerably through such visible actions as painting old socialist blocks of flats in bright colours, clearing the banks of the river Lana, and making room for close to 100,000 hectares of green land and parks.

Like Berisha, Rama has been trying to promote a pro-Western agenda. He has announced that if elected, he would push for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan in order to sustain investments in economic growth, and minimise the impact of the global financial crisis.

But Bregu thinks that Albanians may give the Democratic Party another four years in government. 'While Rama seems to be a model of local governance, he has never been a deputy, and many doubt his capabilities as a politician at the national level,' says Jonida Bregu. 'In addition, his chances of becoming the new prime minister are limited by the fractioning of the opposition.'

Rama has expressed reluctance to form an alliance with the third largest party, but the leader of the Socialist Movement for Integration, Ilir Meta, sees his party as 'kingmaker' in this month's poll.

Whether the Democratic Party or a post-electoral alliance of opposition parties forms the new government, 'big changes in the direction of the country and how politics is made are unlikely,' says Bregu. 'People in Albania are disappointed with politics, seeing politicians as corrupted and interested in the citizens only during the election campaigns.'

© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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