Kosovo like Greece

Kosovo today finds itself in the same situation as Greece. Although we had elections five months ago, we are forced to vote again. Although Greek citizens had voted five weeks ago, they were forced to vote again. And so Kurti finds himself in the same situation as Mitsotakis

Within five months, Kosovo will hold two elections. Although this is a new situation for us, other countries have experienced this type of situation before us. In two previous columns, I wrote about what happened in the case of Israel and Bulgaria, which went through an endless chain of elections. In these countries – as in ours – political polarization was a consequence of structural dynamics and at the same time tectonic movements imposed by the change of generations. Thus, as if in ours, the political debate was organized around topics such as “new hope” vs. “old guard”, “will of the people” vs. “defense of democracy”, “vetting” vs. “state capture” and the like. In the case of Israel, political polarization has produced five elections within three years. None of these elections offered a solution. Israel remains a polarized country with a government that continues to suffer from a lack of legitimacy. Now, in a few months, Israel will hold elections again. Bulgaria held eight elections in five years, however, unlike Israel, after eight elections Bulgaria broke the political paralysis and gained a government with full legitimacy. Tired of the chaos and polarization of traditional political camps, Bulgarian citizens elected a former general to bring stability and hope to Bulgaria.

Thus, Israel and Bulgaria offer a grim warning for the future of Kosovo. So the experience of these countries teaches us that a possible future that awaits Kosovo after June 7 is a future of political paralysis, wasted time, and an endless cycle of elections. But there is another, more optimistic future for Kosovo. It comes from the example of Greece.

We will hold two elections within five months. If that seems like a lot, imagine if we had held two elections within five WEEKS. That is what happened in Greece. On the evening of May 21, 2023, the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, had every reason to be happy. He and his party had just made history. They had achieved record victories in modern Greek democracy.

“This is political weather,” said Mitsotakis after the first results were released. However, Mitsotakis had a problem. This victory did not allow the creation of an independent government and imposed the formation of coalitions with opposition parties. Mitsotakis refused to do this. He rejected the opposition for two reasons. First, Mitsotakis knew that if he initiated new elections – due to the new legal framework – his party would gain more MPs, even if it maintained the same result. Second, the election result showed Mitsotakis that although the government had experienced several serious scandals – such as the wiretapping of the opposition and journalists, as well as the Tempi train tragedy – it still enjoyed the trust of the citizens since the opposition was not a credible alternative in the eyes of the citizens. Thus, without wasting any time, Mitsotakis immediately rejected the mandate to form a government and initiated new elections. In the campaign that followed, he portrayed new elections as a referendum between a responsible majority and an irresponsible opposition. Between stability and chaos. Mitsotakis' message was clear – I want a majority to end the paralysis of the country. And that is exactly what the Greek citizens gave him. Although he achieved the same result as five weeks ago, this time thanks to the new legal framework and the decline in support among the opposition, Mitsotakis achieved an absolute majority and formed an independent and stable government. 

Kosovo today finds itself in the same situation as Greece. Although we had elections five months ago, we are forced to vote again. Although Greek citizens had voted five weeks ago, they were forced to vote again. And so Kurti finds himself in the same situation as Mitsotakis. Although the reasons were different, their position was the same. Like Mitsotakis, despite the historic victory, Kurti found himself in an impossible position to govern. And like Mitsotakis, Kurti is portraying future elections as a referendum between a responsible majority and an irresponsible opposition. Between stability and chaos. Between progress and blockade. And where Mitsotakis believed that his victory would be guaranteed by the new legal framework, Kurti believes that his victory will be guaranteed by the delegitimization of opposition obstruction. In other words, both leaders have interpreted their massive victories not as a path for political negotiations, but as a means of cleaning up the political scene to achieve complete and unhindered dominance. To achieve this, they are using different strategies. Where Mitsotakis used electoral legal gymnastics, Kurti is counting on his Spartan capacity to convince citizens of his just cause.

Thus, on June 7, we will have several futures before us. One future is that of political paralysis and loss of time, as in the case of Israel and Bulgaria, while another future is that of Greece, in which the elections will serve as a means of resolving the political impasse, not cementing it. Time will tell which of these two futures will ultimately come to fruition.