Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07TIRANA1054
2007-12-14 13:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:  

THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, DECEMBER 7 - 14, 2007

Tags:  ECON PGOV PREL SCUL AL 
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 001054 

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DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL SCUL AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, DECEMBER 7 - 14, 2007

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 001054

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DEPT FOR EUR/SCE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL SCUL AL
SUBJECT: THIS WEEK IN ALBANIA, DECEMBER 7 - 14, 2007


1. (U) The following is a weekly report prepared by Embassy
Tirana's local staff to provide political and economic context and
insight into developments in Albania. These updates will supplement
post's DAR reports and reporting cables.

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
--------------

2. (U) MORE POWER TO THE YOUNG: A snapshot of Albanian political
actors today would show the fresh new faces that occupy several
important seats in the government. They include Minister of Justice
Enkelejd Alibeaj, Prosecutor General Ina Rama, a new Deputy of the
Hich Council of Justice Kreshnik Spahiu, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Lulzim Basha and Minister of Transportation Sokol Olldashi, all in
their mid-30's. They are all law students who happened to study
with Argita Malltezi, the Prime Minister's influential daughter.
Judicary reform is a key condition for Albania's application to
NATO, and these young professionals are confronting this task. "This
office is a great responsibility and a challenge not only for me but
for that whole group of people that I represent," new Prosecutor
General Ina Rama said. While no one doubts that Premier Berisha, a
surgeon in his early 60s, remains the undisputed leader of his
party, the introduction of new faces has lead to discussions of a
shift in the generational balance of power.


3. (U) While the opposition has charged the ruling party with
nepotism due to the influence of the PM's daughter, the next
generation is rising there as well. Under the slogan "A New
Beginning," opposition leader Edi Rama, among the youngest of the
establishment at 43, has brought fresh blood into the Socialist
Party and pushed traditional faces to the sidelines as he works to
consolidate his power as party chairman. Seventeen years after the
fall of communism, those who came of age in its aftermath are
entering Albanian public life.


4. (U) TOURISM IS THE FUTURE: Last week the World Bank Presence in
Albania, in cooperation with GOA, presented its recommendations to
develop the country's beautiful and unspoiled southern coast. The
plan to develop and regulate the Southern Coastal Zone should
provide a framework for regulated development, preventing the

uncontrolled sprawl that has engulfed the once-quaint town of
Durres. Albania has entered quite late into competition with its
Mediterranean neighbors for an economic slice of the tourism pie.
Unlike Croatia and Montenegro, where tourism flourished in the
former Yugoslavia, Albania was not a tourist destination during
communist times and still lacks sufficient infrastructure to support
substantial numbers of international tourists. However, there is a
silver lining: the spectacular southern coast remains undeveloped
and relatively unspoiled to this day.

5. (U) Inconsistent regulations and unsettled property rights have
been the major impediments to coherent development of Albania's
coastline. The city of Saranda, considered the jewel of the Ionian
Sea, has recently experienced aggressive development that endangers
its tourist potential. However, the remainder of the southern cost
has mostly remained underdeveloped, mainly due to poor
infrastructure access. The Southern Coastal Zone Regulations Plan
comes at a crucial stage in Albania's economic growth. As it moves
away from international assistance, it must develop a path to
sustained economic growth. That said, the approval of the plan is
only the first step; the real challenge remains in its successful
implementation.
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6. (U) ELECTORAL REFORM - BIG FISH VS. SMALL FISH: The Ad-hoc
Parliamentary Commission on Electoral Reform is considering adopting
one of several European electoral systems, including Spanish, German
or Greek. Small parties have sensed the tendency of the two big
parties (ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the opposition Socialist
Party(SP)) to consolidate the political scene and reduce the number
of parties represented in Parliament. Ten small parties (whose
representatives have never been directly elected; they acquire their
seats through vote bartering with the large parties) agreed to
jointly advocate for a German mixed majoritarian-proportional
system. This would guarantee their existence in parliament by
maintaining the possibility to manipulate proportional lists through
deals with the biggest parties. The group also declared they would
not tolerate an increase of the existing 2.5% electoral threshold
for parliamentary representation, further ensuring their survival,
although the German system has an electoral threshold of 5%.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the Commission (members of the largest
parties, SP and DP) want to reduce the number of parliamentary
parties from the currently unmanageable 15 to about six. Between
the two positions lies a quandary.
"A fish may love a bird, but where would they live?"
Drew Barrymore


7. (U) 1,000,000 TIMES BETTER: Tirana Airport Partners, the
managing company of the Tirana International Airport, registered
last week the one millionth passenger since the airport's opening in
March. (See http://www.tirana-airport.com.al) The achievement,
which comes three years ahead of initial projections, is the result
of greatly improved infrastructure and services. Higher security

TIRANA 00001054 002 OF 002


standards have contributed to the recent increase in the number of
airlines connecting Tirana with the rest of the world, including
Lufthansa and British Airways. The impressive increase in the
number of passengers and flights may convince the company to begin
the airport's planned expansion soon.


8. (U) QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "The Government of Albania has done its
duty by fully supporting the United States intervention in Iraq,
with the full conviction that the world without Saddam Hussein is
much freer and secure, in the same way that it is without Slobodan
Milosevic."
Albanian PM Berisha during a press conference in Tirana with Kuwaiti
PM Sheik Al Sabah


9. (U) THIS WEEK IN ARTS AND CULTURE: The first Encyclopedia of the
uniquely Albanian iso-polyphonic music has been published, thanks to
a grant from the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation.
Printed in Albanian and English, this is the first publication
dedicated entirely to iso-polyphony after this music was awarded the
status of a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of
Mankind" by UNESCO.


10. (U) Albanian iso-polyphony is a sophisticated form of choral
music, performed mostly by men. The term iso is related to the ison
of Byzantine church music and refers to the drone, which accompanies
the polyphonic singing. The drone is traditionally performed by the
Tosks (a culturally distinct group of southern Albanians) and
includes staggered breathing and rhythmic tone performed to lyrics.
The rise of cultural tourism and the growing interest of researchers
are contributing to the revival of this unique folk tradition.

WITHERS