Parliament’s work off to difficult start

TIRANA, Sept. 25 – Albania’s new parliamentary speaker, Ilir Meta, has a tough job in front of him. Parliament has started with the sort of debate and squabbles among the group leaders that will make it hard to govern, analysts say.
The main thing agreed on Tuesday was the make-up of the different parliamentary commissions.
Parliament will have new goals and challenges with the new leftist coalition dominating with 83 seats following the June 23 elections.
More than a dozen draft laws sent there from the previous Democratic Party-led coalition were turned down and will be reconsidered by the government or the proper institutions in charge.
The general view of the parliament, however, does not seem to have changed – it has simply reversed. This time, the leftist coalition has its leader Edi Rama in parliament. The main opposition Democratic Party has its leade, Lulzim Basha, out of parliament as mayor of Tirana, the same position Rama held until two years ago. The Democrats have their former leader, Sali Berisha in the hall, and if the past few sessions are anything to go by, he may be the proper person to keep the debate alive.
For the moment the main opposition Democrats have focused their political fight warning the new cabinet not to fire public employees from their posts because of their political affiliation. They have also launched an internet site for the complaints.