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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