Economic promises in the pre-election campaign – They sound good, but is there budgetary backing?

Doubling salaries and pensions, or increasing wages by 50 percent for all public-sector employees, are among the promises heard during the campaign ahead of tomorrow’s parliamentary elections. Interlocutors for Kosovo Online believe that these pledges have no backing in Kosovo’s budget, that they are populist in nature, and that politicians have failed to explain to voters how they plan to implement them. While some citizens may be swayed by such rhetoric, most are unlikely to take it at face value.

Written by: Dusica Radeka Djordjevic

Both ruling and opposition parties were generous with promises during the campaign for the extraordinary elections.

The leader of Self-Determination and acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti promised that, if granted a new mandate, the average salary in the public sector would exceed €1,000.

The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (DPK), Bedri Hamza, stated that salaries for all public-sector employees would be increased by 50 percent, while the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj, promised that salaries and pensions would be doubled.

The leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Lumir Abdixhiku, promised €200 per month for each newborn over a twelve-month period, as well as guaranteed employment for six months with a salary of €500 for every university graduate.

According to political analyst Artan Muhaxhiri, parties make sweeping promises during campaigns, but once in power they find excuses for failing to deliver—such as claims that the opposition is blocking initiatives, that certain problems have arisen, or that there is a global crisis.

Promises without a plan

Experience from previous elections, Muhaxhiri told Kosovo Online, shows that nearly 90 percent of major campaign promises were not fulfilled once parties assumed power.

“Whatever they say should be taken with a reserve and effectively cut in half. They simply make promises without any foundation or concrete plan, without explaining how they intend to implement them step by step, which is the most important part,” Muhaxhiri said.

He added that even in this campaign there is no indication that parties have prepared thoroughly to introduce a new model or make a genuine step forward; instead, they have reverted to traditional, typical political campaigns—suggesting, in his view, that things will largely remain the same.

Campaign promises such as salary and pension increases, according to Milos Pavkovic, Director of Strategy at the Center for European Policies in Belgrade, have very little grounding in the budget—especially given that the caretaker government has not adopted a budget for the coming year.

Even if a new government is formed and a new budget is adopted during 2026, he adds, such ambitious financial targets discussed during the campaign will not be realistic.

As long as Kosovo operates under a technical budget, Pavkovic notes, it merely reflects the previous year’s framework.

“There is no room for introducing additional financial mechanisms such as child benefits or a 50 percent salary increase. That is certainly not envisaged in last year’s budget, and a new one has not been adopted. From that perspective, these promises are clearly not achievable. Of course, it is possible that a new budget will be adopted in 2026 once a new government is formed, but even then I believe such ambitious financial goals are unrealistic, because Kosovo’s economy is not growing and is not developed enough to support such levels of budgetary expenditure,” Pavkovic told Kosovo Online.

Attracting voters’ attention

Promises of salary increases made during the campaign are, according to Arbëresha Loxhja, a researcher at the Group for Legal and Political Studies, poorly calculated.

“Even in the past, when salaries were increased, they were not necessarily aligned with economic development trends or with the criteria Kosovo must meet in fulfilling its obligations or agreements with the IMF. These promises are not well calculated, either in terms of budgetary impact or broader economic effects. Most promises are made to attract voters’ attention and gain electoral advantage. They are largely megalomaniac pledges that citizens generally want to hear,” Loxha said.

Journalist Lazar Stevic from North Mitrovica does not believe Kosovo has the capacity to immediately raise public-sector salaries by 50 percent, one of the campaign promises, because the economy is, as he puts it, nearly stagnant.

In Kosovo, he notes, people are already accustomed to parties promising “the moon” before elections.

“Champions of grand promises are Self-Determination and Albin Kurti, who had already promised a 13th salary for public-sector employees when a draft budget proposal for 2026 was adopted. He has now gone a step further, with the caretaker government deciding to grant €100 each to pensioners and children ahead of the New Year holidays. Many have characterized this as vote-buying, and I also believe it is nothing more than that—an attempt to remain in power by any means,” Stevic told Kosovo Online.

According to him, this decision alone will cost Kosovo more than €100 million, raising the question of where the funds will come from, given that the Assembly has been blocked for nearly a year and that, although a draft budget for 2026 exists, it has not been adopted.

As for how party promises would affect Kosovo’s budget, Stevic says the outcome of tomorrow’s elections and the composition of the new government must first be seen—particularly how stable it will be to make such decisions.

“Many of these promises will not be fulfilled; they are just empty rhetoric, as before every election. Kosovo’s economy is nearly at zero—there are no factories, no significant state-owned assets. The economy largely depends on foreign donations and inflows of foreign capital, as well as on citizens who return during the holidays and bring in large amounts of money. All these promises therefore remain in the realm of science fiction, especially those made by Albin Kurti,” Stevic concluded.

How much faith is placed in fine words?

However, political rhetoric does not necessarily mean that citizens will accept everything uncritically.

According to Artan Muhaxhiri, voters will once again largely refrain from believing everything they hear and will vote based on complex psychological mechanisms—sometimes choosing the least bad option, sometimes voting for a personality rather than a program.

Milos Pavkovic, on the other hand, warns that some promises can even be dangerous.

“In the Balkans, we have considerable experience with populist politicians and promises that are not grounded in reality or actual capacity. It seems to me that Kosovo has now also entered a kind of competition over who can promise more. Even when voters are aware that such promises are unrealistic, they may still be swayed or think, ‘Well, if everyone promises something, at least something will be delivered.’ That is why such promises can be dangerous,” he cautioned.