Are there any Albanian parties that want sincere cooperation with the Serbs?

A political option among Kosovo Albanians that would sincerely cooperate and negotiate with the Serbian community currently does not exist, and according to Kosovo Online interlocutors, the reason for this is that the ruling Self-Determination Movement has defined political issues as matters of identity, making it difficult for parties that were previously willing to negotiate to maintain that course and retain voters.

Only in the current crisis caused by the abolition of the dinar, we can see that opposition parties criticize the government solely out of fear that Pristina might spoil relations with Western countries whose demands on this issue are not being met, without addressing how this decision affects the lives of the Serbs.

Would any Albanian political party willing to publicly extend a hand to the Serbian community and work with it to solve problems be punished in elections?

University Professor Nexhmedin Spahiu tells Kosovo Online that all Albanian political parties in Kosovo, even those that emerged from the war, declare their willingness to communicate and negotiate with the Serbian community, but the challenge lies in translating that into practice.

"I recently heard an interview with Ramush Haradinaj and Fatmir Limaj who precisely stated that it was in the interest of our society to do so, however, I see little evidence of that on the ground. I don't see anyone denying it, but I see a lack of inclination to implement it in practice," Spahiu notes.

When asked how much time it would take for politicians to move from words to actions, Spahiu responds that on this issue, political parties in the past had little support from international actors.

"Those who had real power here in Kosovo, namely the Americans, did not support such political parties or did so very little, just enough not to be considered against such ideas. It was a faint support, and if it had been stronger, then Kosovo society would have been stronger and progressed faster," Spahiu said.

Referring to the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Spahiu recalls that an agreement has already been reached within it, and it can be heard from Albin Kurti that he is ready to implement it and that he even offered to sign the agreement to President Aleksandar Vucic at the Security Council session, to which Vucic was not prepared.

"There might be parties that would implement this agreement on credit - so that Kosovo first forms the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and then expects Serbia to take action towards tacit recognition, but precisely because of such a stance, these parties do not gain support in Kosovo. Parties that have already stated that Kosovo should fulfill its obligations first and then wait to see what Serbia would do and whether the great powers would compel Serbia to do its part, due to such attitudes, have very low ratings in all polls and have lost supporters," Spahiu pointed out.

Historian Aleksandar Gudzic tells Kosovo Online that the parties of the wartime coalition in Kosovo, as well as Ibrahim Rugova's party in the past, have shown willingness to cooperate with the Serbs, however, he states that their return to power is now only a theoretical possibility, as at the moment Albin Kurti is the absolute master of the political scene in Kosovo.

"Thanks to extreme nationalism, Kurti has homogenized his voter base and is now the most popular politician in Kosovo. The dominant narrative that emerged in the 1990s and 2000s in Kosovo is that the Serbs are the exclusive culprits for the war. The political elites of Kosovo Albanians behave as if history has had the final say and forget that empires come and go from these parts. What will happen the day when the US empire expires? When Serbs and Albanians find themselves face to face? This is the question that the political elites of Kosovo Albanians should be thinking about. The Serbs and the Albanians will remain here even when Americans are gone and when Russians are gone," Gudzic noted.

When asked what remained for the Serbs in Kosovo if there was no political force among the Albanians willing to extend a public hand to them for a coexistence agreement, Gudzic notes that their only option is to try to cooperate and negotiate, as even the worst negotiations are better than conflict.

However, he recalls that Albanian society is homogenized when it comes to national ideas and the right of the Albanians from Kosovo to reunite with Albania and create a "Greater Albania", an idea that has been present and alive since 1878 and one that unites Albanians.

Furthermore, he adds that both Belgrade and Pristina need to find a compromise solution by acknowledging certain facts.

"To acknowledge the fact that for the Serbs, Kosovo is an area of the most sacred historical memories, in a word, a holy land - what Israel is for Jews, Mohacs for Hungarians, the Alps for Swiss, Ararat for Armenians. But, the Serbs also need to acknowledge the fact that Albanians represent the majority here. With these two answers given to themselves, both Serbs and Albanians can reach a compromise solution," Gudzic says.

All questions related to the normalization of relations, not only between Belgrade and Pristina but also between the Serbian and Albanian communities, have been raised to the level of escalations, assesses Dragisa Mijacic, Coordinator of the National Convention for Chapter 35, and therefore, there are no political factors in Kosovo that calm the situation and build bridges between the two communities, attempting to find solutions that benefit both communities.

As he adds, generally in the Balkans, nationalist rhetoric unfortunately gains more votes than any peace policy, and parties that promote cooperation usually do not fare well in elections.

Therefore, he believes, it should not be surprising that opposition groups or any political formations are more guided by 'hardline' positions and nationalistic rhetoric than they work on bringing communities together, uniting peoples, and building bridges of cooperation.

"This is evident among political entities in Kosovo as well. Despite occasionally criticizing the Government of Albin Kurti on certain issues, it is more criticism in terms of methodology than criticism in terms of the essence of what the Government of Kosovo is doing in Serbian communities, which is truly wrong," Mijacic says.

Although in the past there were Albanian political factors in Kosovo that were willing to make certain agreements with the Serbian side, Predrag Rajic from the Center for Social Stability says that currently, it is difficult to find a party with which a concrete agreement could be reached that would take into account the genuine interests of the Serbian side. As he explains, Albin Kurti has significantly raised the bar in Albanian society in Kosovo, and the issues he has defined as topics of identity will dominate the Albanian political scene for a long time.

"We must acknowledge that there were political options among the Kosovo Albanians that were at least willing to engage in dialogue. For example, we had the Washington Agreement signed during the previous administration, both in Washington and Pristina. It was possible to negotiate on certain issues. I'm not saying that it was something spectacularly different. But other political factors in Kosovo and Metohija were willing, if nothing else, to negotiate at some stages and on some specific issues. With Kurti, that is impossible, literally even on issues of a technical nature," Rajic says.

Even if there were a change of government after the parliamentary elections in Kosovo, Rajic does not believe that it would bring about flexibility in terms of cooperation with the Serbs.

"Kurti has significantly raised the bar in Albanian society in Kosovo. It's hard to imagine someone doing now what Kurti hasn't, and we've seen what he's like when he's in opposition, both he and his party would eagerly await the chance to overthrow the government, just as they did when they were in opposition, especially on those issues. The issues he has defined as identity-related topics will dominate the Albanian political scene for a long time. Unfortunately, that political scene will be fueled by a kind of unhealthy nationalism, and Kurti, who raises the bar for himself, simultaneously raises it for other political entities among the Kosovo Albanians. Even if there is a willingness among other factors to improve relations with the Serbs, the question is whether they could carry it through to the end when they have Kurti or his political option against them, which is a relevant factor even when in opposition," Rajic said.