The ex-communist government rejected Germany’s economic aid

TIRANA, March.21 – In a visit to Albania, Max Strauss, son of the Premier of Bavaria Franz Josef Strauss, spoke for the popular Opinion+ show on the much-discussed German Offer of the 80’s. According to Strauss, in a visit of the Albanian delegation to his father’s 70 anniversary the later had offered considerable amount of money as an assistance plan for infrastructure in Albania. The rigid communist delegates had strict orders to refuse the offer which would have changed a lot in the economic outlook of the country.
“The officials of that time did not even know the value of money, he comments. To them a million and a billion was the same thing.” Max traveled to Albania first in 1984 and recounts seeing the country in a miserable state of poverty with severe problems in the field of energy and roads.
His father had the support of the Federal government when he made that offer. “The party members that were in high positions and controlled the state finance would have backed him up in practice,” Max adds.
There are still historical guesses whether the German offer could have ended the regime or could have lasted its days through the money serum. Now Max Strauss is a regular visitor to Albania, something which e comments he considered “impossible” 20 years ago.