„Everyone says that Kurti scored an own goal by visiting the north – Belgrade says so, the PDK claims, too, but Kurti is not naive. He has the voting machinery, and he finished shooting at the very beginning, showing his voters that he dared to go to the north. And in campaigns in the Balkans, it is always important to show that you have guts,“ Milivoje Mihajlovic commented for KoSSev on the forthcoming ballot.
Everything currently happening in Kosovo is the result of the election campaign, a longtime journalist from Kosovo and former chief of communication to the Serbian Government, Milivoje Mihajlovic said.
„These elections are special because they are the first elections without Hashim Thaci. This is a big handicap for his party, regardless of the loud campaign,“ says Mihajlovic.
In his words, there is no doubt that these elections will bring Albin Kurti to power back.
„He will definitely win, there is no doubt about that,“ he underlined.
The decision that the 47 MP candidates, among whom is Albin Kurti, cannot run for the election as they convicted of a crime in the last three years, triggered harsh reactions.
Also, the Supreme Court of Kosovo recently decided not to confirm the candidacy of the leader of the Self-Determination, Albin Kurti, and two other members of this party.
Although Kurti does not have the right to run on the MP list, this is still not an obstacle for him to be elected prime minister, Mihajlovic stressed.
Self-Determination hopes to gain the support of more than 50% of voters. On the other hand, the current Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti estimates that Kurti, apart from not having the right to be an MP, does not have the right to be the Prime Minister either.
The scenario of the eventual disqualification of Kurti is unlikely, Mihajlovic claims. „I talk to people all the time, I follow the research, Podujevo is the best example, you saw what happened there in the last elections,“ he said.
I am not writing him off like the others do. He is a new power. He has a postponed victory
Due to the expected victory of Albin Kurti, cooperation between the old coalition partners is discerned, including Srpska Lista, Mihajlovic emphasized, citing the use of similar rhetoric between the SL and Belgrade media and PDK and LDK about Kurti’s visit to North Mitrovica as an indicator of this cooperation.
While Serb media reported on the visit while focusing on Kurti being unwelcome in the north, the Albanian media and the public led a much more heated debate: from the claims that Kurti „embarrassed“ himself, to listing the successes of Thaci’s government in the north, and Hoti’s assessments that this is not the time for provocations and false patriotism.
Kurti has no support from the north, and in the case he becomes prime minister, he would „probably go to war with the mayors“ – as a continuation of what he presented in the previous campaign as the fight against corruption.
„He will pacify them in that way, and they have probably already received that message. That is why those Serbs in those structures in the north are presenting a mild campaign,“ Mihajlovic explained the restrained stance of the leaders of SL during the pre-election campaign.
Therefore, Srpska Lista will try to secure more than the 10 guaranteed seats in the Kosovo parliament, and winning other minority votes is one way to do.
„I assume that Kurti will make an effort for some other Serb team to enter the parliament with one or two deputies, and that will be enough for him to gain the majority and the government. That is not impossible, but it is also unlikely for now,“ says Mihajlovic, adding that Kurti will not make mistakes like he did the last time, when Grenell „overthrew him“.
Kurti’s advantage in this election lies in the fact that „there is no Hashim, there is no Grenell any longer“, he added.
Speaking of Ramush Haradinaj, Mihajlovic said that, although he is raising the topic of a Greater Albania in the campaign, Haradinaj has already picked a side – Self-Determination, in the hopes that he will become the new president of Kosovo.
As far as international support is concerned, Mihajlovic believes that they will accept the reality and support the one who wins and „soften the rhetoric“ after the elections.
Serbs – from „disruptive factor“ to „constructive minority“
According to Mihajlovic, Serbs represent a kind of a bargaining coin. Before the elections, they are often presented in the campaigns as a „disruptive factor“, to become afterwards a „constructive minority“. As one of the most obvious examples, he cited the fact that Srpska Lista did not overthrow the government of Ramush Haradinaj in due time – after the introduction of taxes – although it could have done so.
„We are an electoral trump card,“ he said, emphasizing that Serbs should participate in the elections, even „if they do not recognize them.“
„I have been saying that for 20 years. And it is better to be there, because whoever is not at the table, he is on the menu. Of course, not in the way it was done so far – those marauding variants, but to participate in such a way as to defend the interests of their people,“ he emphasized.
Heightened negative rhetoric towards Serbia, Serbs and the north is therefore expected, Mihajlovic stated, noting that he expects such rhetoric to diminish after the elections.
When asked why are these topics important, Mihajlovic replied: „Well, because there is no vaccination.“ He expressed no doubt that this is an essential issue that currently burdens Kosovo and that strong pro-national messages sent days before the elections are being used to hide the fact that Kosovo is in a difficult situation as it does not possess sufficient resources to fight the Covid-19 outbreak.
„Hoti and the others must hide the fact that the vaccines might arrive after the elections,“ Mihajlovic told KoSSev.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
