The relationship between Prime Minister Mehdi Frashëri and his government with the press of the time (1935-1936)

• Author: Valentina Hushi
• Pages: 217-227

European Journal of Economics, Law and Social Sciences

IIPCCL Publishing, Graz-Austria

Vol. 4 No. 1

January, 2020

ISSN 2519-1284

Acces online at www.iipccl.org

217

The relationship between Prime Minister Mehdi Frashëri and his government

with the press of the time

(1935-1936)

Valentina Hushi

Abstract

Mehdi Frashëri 's government, which came to power on October 21, 1935, has a number of

elements that make it special and of interest to the study, one of which is his relationship with

the press of the time. His short tenure coincides with a long list of incidents with the la er.

The press’ initial reaction to his coming to power was positive unlike previous governments.

Unfortunately, it would not last and quickly changed to frequent criticism rarely applied to

previous governing bodies.

Mehdi Frashëri was set amidst a journalistic storm between people with opposing beliefs

about how to govern. In fact, the ba le between "Young" and "Old" had begun seven years

prior. "Youth" or "Neo-Albanianism" was an idea put forward by Branko Merxhani and

Vangjel Koca in the Gjirokastra press fi rst and then spread in some Tirana newspapers. They

demanded the coming into power of new people, with new pure minds, and moral principles.

In their view, a complete social renewal was needed which could be done by overthrowing the

old hypocritical, immoral, and evil administration. Enlightened people with an Occidental,

patriotic, and most of all dynamic mentality had to come to power (Minerva 35, October 1935,

p. 1, "Erdh koha jonë..). Represented by the newspapers "Illyria", "Arberia", and "Minerva",

with leading fi gures Nebil Cika, Tajar Zavalani, Odysseus Pascal, Stefan Shundi, etc., the press

openly critiqued the methods of the government and categorized the political ruling class by

the term "Old." The prime example was the minister of the interior Musa Juka, appointed by

King Amet Zog. Constantly making decisions without consulting the people, his talks and

a airs were completely secret from the eyes of the population and were only disclosed in

the form of laws. He did not believe that common people understood problems of state and

therefore everything was done without their consent or opinion (Ibid., Pp. 1-2).

On the other hand, there was press close to the authorities, represented mainly by the daily

newspaper “Besa”. Its publisher Fiqiri Rusi, a deputy in the Dibra area (Arkivi Qendror Shqiptar,

F. 149, V. 1936, D. I-1534, fl . 108), was supported by politicians including Abdurrahman Crosse,

known as one of King Zog's closest confi dants. In this sense main objective of this manuscript

is the analysis of the relationship between Albanian Prime Minister Mehdi Frashëri and the

press of the time.

Keywords: Albania, Mehdi Frashëri, government, press.

Introduction

The constant demand for a change in the form of governance was answered only in

October 1935 when the king elected Mehdi Frashëri as prime minister and charged

him with creating the new government. This king's decision was euphorically

conveyed by Youth press like never before. Mehdi Frashëri was considered an ideal

example of how "Youth" politicians should be. He stood for liberal but also critical

beliefs with the existing political class. In a series of writings, Frashëri analysed the