To try to interpret the events in Albania is a daunting task. The media is putting out mixed messages. President Berisha was an architect of 'heroic materialism' who had the rug pulled out from under him by the European Union and communist malcontents in Albania. Some on the left have portrayed him as a pyramid salesman and mate of the Mafia. To outsiders it might seem odd that the Albanian government should suffer for commercial malpractice.
Matters are rather more complex.
The Democratic Party headed by Mr Berisha was lavishly funded by the directors of these dubious enterprises. It also benefited from the artificial 'feelgood' factor they encouraged. This situation helped Berisha's Democratic Party win an election last year. In exchange the pyramid companies appear to have operated in a freely unregulated market. This year's riots are part of a pattern which has been going on throughout the 1990s.