by This is a a short unpublished commentary on the 2019 Kosovo elections for SPUTNIK KOSOVO 2019 elections Kosovo’s opposition Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) are running neck-and-neck in the parliamentary election, the latest results with around 96 percent of the votes counted, show. According to the latest data from the Kosovo Central Election Commission, the Self-Determination party has 25.79 percent of the votes, while LDK has 25.05 percent. President Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo is third with 21.15 percent of the votes. The coalition led by Kosovo’s former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj – Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Social Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSD) – is fourth with 11.63 percent of the votes. I
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Stavros Mavroudeas considers the following as important: Kosovo, Mavroudeas, Uncategorized
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This is a a short unpublished commentary on the 2019 Kosovo elections for SPUTNIK
KOSOVO 2019 elections
Kosovo’s opposition Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) party and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) are running neck-and-neck in the parliamentary election, the latest results with around 96 percent of the votes counted, show. According to the latest data from the Kosovo Central Election Commission, the Self-Determination party has 25.79 percent of the votes, while LDK has 25.05 percent. President Hashim Thaci’s Democratic Party of Kosovo is third with 21.15 percent of the votes. The coalition led by Kosovo’s former Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj – Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and Social Democratic Party of Kosovo (PSD) – is fourth with 11.63 percent of the votes. I would appreciate receiving brief comments in context of the above information regarding the following issues:
- How do you asses the current outcomes of Kosovo election? What they signify for Kosovo?
The outcome of the recent Kosovo elections is truly ambiguous. One the one hand the thugs of UCK have lost the government and a purportedly left-wing party (Vetevendosje) has won. However, the terms right and left do not signify much in the context of Kosovo politics. UCK and the parties that emerged from it were suitable for Western powers (USA and EU) I order to further the disintegration of Yugoslavia. They did their job but at the same time created a zombie-state that is actually a hub of international criminal activities. Now their usefulness has been exhausted. So Haradinaj’s well-known war crimes came under investigation and he was forced to resign. Vetevendosje appears as left-wing because it objected to the widespread privatisations that were instigated by the UN mission and that created widespread poverty and misery in the Kosovo population. However, Vetevendosje and his coalition partner have not made a pledge to reverse privatisations. Also, its declaration to combat the endemic corruption remains to be seen. In any case Vetevendosje gives a better international face to the Kosovo zombie-state (than the UCK war-mongers) and facilitates Western efforts to promote the incorporation of Kosovo in NATO and the EU.
- What consequences in your point of view may have the outcomes of the Kosovo election on the Serbian settlement? Do you expect any progress?
The West will try to fend fences but the problems are insurmountable. Also, Vetevendosje was at least a supporter of Kosovo’s integration into a Greater Albania. This is almost a casus belli for Serbia and the Serbian minority in Kosovo. The Western plan is probably a land swap between Kosovo and Serbia (exchanging the Kosovo Serbian majority enclaves with the Presevo valley). However, this appears difficult to be accepted from both sides. It is a violation of the principle of no-changing borders that has far-reaching repercussions. The Balkans are an area of mixed populations and complicated border arrangements. A change in one border will foment controversies around other borders. This can ignite a very dangerous domino of conflicts and even military confrontations.
- In your point of view winning of the opposition party what impact will have on the situation in the Balkan region in general and chances of Serbia’s accession to the European Union?
The West is trying to secure the Western Balkans under its dominance and to fend away the Russian influence. However, it has already created a mess as most of the states of the area because of the Western political and economic policies are poor, riddled with poverty and corruption and with disgruntled populations. Serbia is the biggest problem as anti-Western feelings (because of NATO bombardments in the Yugoslavian wars and the dismemberment of Yugoslavia) are very strong. Also, the bait of entering the EU is no longer attractive as the latter has shown in many cases its ugly and exploitative face. So, I think that bringing Serbia into the EU would require almost a political coup d’ etat there. And even in this case its possibility of success is limited.