BY ARGIRIS MALAPANIS
On July 23, Sali Berisha resigned from the presidency of
Albania. The overtly pro-imperialist president made the
announcement over the radio an hour before a newly elected
parliament was about to convene. Berisha's Democratic Party
fared badly in elections held on June 29 and July 6, winning
27 seats in the 155-member assembly. The Socialist Party won
101 seats, and a number of smaller parties won the remaining
27. The new government is expected to be headed by SP leader
Fatos Nano. The SP-dominated parliament will name the new
president.
The elections were called by a coalition government of the Democratic Party and the SP in an attempt to quell an armed rebellion by workers and peasants that shook this Balkan workers state in February and March. Working people took to the streets in January after "pyramid" schemes, fraudulent investment funds promoted by Berisha as a quick way to get rich, collapsed and hundreds of thousands lost their life savings.
The SP played a major role in inviting imperialist
forces into the country after the army dissolved in the
middle of the revolt. Some 7,000 troops from Italy, France,
Greece and other countries still occupy a good part of
Albania.
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