“Faced by a country like Albania that continues to have problems of unemployment, corruption and widespread poverty, the winners of the elections must now be asked to pass from promises to facts and to work together with the opposition for the country’s development”, said the archbishop of the Albanian capital, Tirana, Msgr. Rrok Mirdita, in a briefing to SIR commenting on the results of the recent general elections, of which the outright victor is almost certainly the leader of the centre-right Sali Berisha. “The social problems of Albania are well known added Archbishop Mirdita and the population is conscious of the need for everyone to pull together to overcome the difficulties. Otherwise people will continue to emigrate, and corruption and organized crime will grow. Moreover continued Mirdita we also need to consider the European perspective. On this point it can be said that all Albanians are in agreement: only by joining Europe will we really be able to progress. It is virtually the only point on which there is no dissension, with the exception of some small extremist groups”. Archbishop Mirdita also recalled that from the viewpoint of relations between the Catholic Church and the Albanian State, the recent accord between the Holy See and the government enables us to look to the future with some confidence. “I wouldn’t say it is an idyllic situation, but the accord establishes some fixed points that will help both sides to develop mutual relations”.
