Berisha Claims Successes This Year, Opposition Counterattacks

TIRANA, Aug 16 – Prime Minister Sali Berisha of the Democratic Party said, last week, that this year was a success story for the country, listing a series of achievements his executive had accomplished during its first seven months.
The premier claimed fast economic growth, which he considered as the only tool in the fight against poverty and unemployment.
Berisha criticized the opposition for not supporting some important laws, such as for property titles and the opening of the former secret police Sigurimi files.
But he also was optimistic that cooperation with the opposition would continue, especially in developing the electoral code.
Berisha claimed that the NATO membership invitation and the start of talks on visa liberalization with the European Union were clear indications of the international support received by his executive’s reforms.
The opposition labeled those accomplishments as false, saying that international institutions were proving that corruption had significantly increased. Fighting corruption was the key issue used by Berisha to come to power three years ago. They also claimed that poverty and unemployment had increased, along with prices.
The opposition also said that Berisha had increased the cost of the Rreshen-Kalimash project at a time when it could have used the money in so many other projects throughout the country. The government recently said 100 million Euros more were needed for the project, increasing its total cost to some 620 million Euros.
The premier also spoke about the ongoing investigation of the March 15 blast in Gerdec which killed 26 and injured 300 people. When asked about the alleged hampering of the investigation, as mentioned by a U.S. diplomat in a meeting with some journalists, Berisha said there was no statement from any diplomat or government that Tirana was creating obstacles to impede the investigation of Gerdec. He added that the government was providing all assistance, since it could not conduct the investigation by itself.
“Those claiming the government is hampering the investigation are creating inventions,” he said.
The opposition says that Berisha is trying to place obstacles before the prosecutors’ work on the Gerdec blast.
The premier also insisted that next year’s general elections would be held in June based upon the law and would not be postponed, as some opposition politicians had predicted.