DOMESTIC POLITICS: The new government appears to be far less stable than its predecessors, because it has a wafer-thin majority in parliament. In the June parliamentary election the electoral alliance led by the DPA won only 70 of the 140 seats, marking the first time since the restoration of multiparty elections in 1991 that a winning party or alliance had failed to secure a clear majority. Mr Berisha has brought into the coalition government the small, centre-left SMI in order to be able to govern. This will give considerable power to the leader of the SMI, Mr Meta, who broke away from the Socialist Party of Albania (SPA) in 2004, after he was dislodged by party rivals, initially from the post of prime minister, and then from the government itself. Although the SMI has only four seats in parliament, Mr Meta has exacted a heavy price for keeping Mr Berisha in office. Mr Meta has secured the posts of deputy prime minister and foreign minister for himself, as well as one-fifth of all senior posts in the administration for his party. This will be a new experience for Mr Berisha, who is not used to sharing power; a rift between Mr Berisha and Mr Meta could bring the government down. In spite of the many points of possible discord, the new government is expected to function relatively well in the short term as Mr Berisha comes to terms with sharing power and Mr Meta enjoys a return to office. They will both be seeking to put to rest claims by the SPA of irregularities in vote-counting in several electoral districts. The government's initial priority will be to rein in expenditure--which was boosted by pre-election spending--and to bring it into line with the shortfall in revenue, following the slowdown in economic performance in 2009. The government is also expected to continue to implement the main policies of its predecessor. These include reforming the public administration, strengthening the rule of law, fighting corruption, improving the business environment, and pursuing EU membership and closer integration with fellow members of the NATO. There is much that needs to be done in translating this agenda into practice. The government's unimpressive record on tackling corruption remains much criticised. Few senior officials have been put on trial, let alone convicted, in spite of a large number of apparently well documented cases of corruption or negligence of duty. Another area needing improvement is in the organisation of elections. The general election in June demonstrated that Albania is not yet capable of holding a vote that is fully in line with international standards. Problems over elections are combined with concerns in the US and in EU countries regarding the independence of the Albanian judicial system.

Source: Albania: Country outlook