Kurti has not dealt with Kosovo Serbs in the first 100 days of his government; in this period, he placed focus on establishing party infrastructure within the institutions. Albanians, however, will be disappointed with this government as well. Especially because this government, like no other so far, built great expectations among common people, the director of the Center for Affirmative Social Action, Miodrag Marinkovic, estimated.
In a statement for KoSSev, Marinkovic reflected on the first 100 days of the new Kosovo government, headed by Albin Kurti.
„A hundred days is still not enough time for a reliable assessment of the results when it comes to a complete change of the ruling nomenclature, as is the case with Kurti’s government,“ Marinkovic warned.
He pointed out that Kurti focused on establishing the party infrastructure within the institutions, and that he was engrossed in repairing the damage he caused to himself by giving populist promises before coming to power.
„It is obvious that Kurti has not dealt with Serbs in Kosovo in the first 100 days of his government, in this period, he placed focus on establishing party infrastructure within the institutions. In addition, it seems that Kurti was preoccupied with repairing the damage he inflicted on himself by giving populist pre-election promises, which became a burden for him as he switched from the comfortable role of the oppositional critic to taking over the decision-making responsibility, facing international pressures and other real obstacles, which do not tolerate unconstructive oppositional populism.“
According to Marinkovic, this can be best seen when it comes to the issue of participation in the dialogue with Belgrade, as Kurti, after initially undervaluing the importance of that issue in his own agenda, still agreed to meet with Vucic – following international pressure to do so.
Successes – a meeting with Vucic and the fight against coronavirus
„This meeting, regardless of Kurti’s unconstructive behavior, can still be interpreted as a positive step by the new prime minister. Because the talks officially started with that meeting,“ Marinkovic stated.
Kurti’s government also delivered another positive result by introducing the unpopular measure of closing catering facilities at a time when the number of coronavirus cases was on the rise, thus succeeding in containing the outbreak and reducing the number of infections, Marinkovic assessed.
According to Marinkovic, when it comes to the Kosovo Serb community, however, Kurti is continuing the practice of his predecessors.
„He continues to neglect the rights and interests of Serbs from Kosovo. I remember that after entering the cabinet, in one of his first interviews with Serb media, he said that one of the priorities of his government would be the full implementation of the Law on Civil Service, which requires 10% of public servants in central institutions to be members of non-majority communities. That promise has obviously been forgotten and I am afraid it will be a pattern of attitude toward non-majority communities.“
Marinkovic recalled that Kurti’s victory, according to several analysts, was the product of promises to fight endemic corruption and crime in government.
„It is something that both Serbs and Albanians can benefit from. And in that area, no progress has been seen in the first 100 days (cf. of Kurti’s government). So, if we need to give a general assessment of the work of the new government, based on the patterns we have been able to see so far, I think that Kosovo Albanians will be disappointed with this government as well. Especially because, like no other so far, it has built great expectations among common people,“ Marinkovic told KoSSev.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
