Is the US overthrowing the government of Albin Kurti?

Opposition leaders in Kosovo are increasingly frequent guests in the United States of America, and in recent months the presidents of the Democratic League of Kosovo and PDK in Washington have held numerous meetings with senators, congressmen, and other American officials. The Prayer Breakfast at the beginning of February was attended by Memli Krasniqi and Ramush Haradinaj, while the invitation for Albin Kurti did not arrive, so many speculate whether the initiative to overthrow the current Kosovo government is coming from the US.

More and more often, you can hear the US criticizing Kurti, and now mostly because of his refusal to form the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities despite many requests from the West.

The US envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, said that the CSM would be formed with or without Kurti. Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier did not invite Kurti to the discussion on the CSM held on January 31 at the US Embassy in Pristina.

At the same time, the Ambassador of Kosovo in Washington, Ilir Dugolli, informed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gervalla, that he was constantly updating the requests for meetings in the US, but that there was only a "half-hearted commitment" on the part of the American authorities.

"After the developments of the last few months, every time we updated this request, the US side took a more negative stance than usual," Dugolli wrote.

Baraliu: It is possible, but it is not democratic

Following the example of when the first government of Albin Kurti was overthrown after less than two months, the question arises whether the US administration, by ignoring Kurti, wants to show that it is time for someone new to be the prime minister in Pristina, with the idea of being more constructive and obedient to their requirements.

Kosovo analyst Mazllum Baraliu told Kosovo Online that overthrowing governments in Pristina had become a tradition.

"Unfortunately, it has become a tradition, and it is not democratic. It is possible, the power of God does not beg, but it is not a good model. We have an example when the previous Kurti government was overthrown after 50 days, and a government was formed that was not logical, it was artificial and unprincipled and that's why it didn't last. The people responded to that with 50 percent or more confidence in the current government," Baraliu said.

According to him, the approach of Escobar and other officials was wrong, because he said, the word of the people should be decisive.

"This way of acting by Escobar and any other representative from the West or the East is wrong. The will of the people is the will of God - it was said a long time ago. Envoys and diplomats should not behave like that because public opinion and the people can do anything," Baraliu emphasized.

Mijacic: Currently, there is no adequate replacement for Kurti

Coordinator of the Working Group of the National Convention on the EU for Chapter 35 Dragisa Mijacic believes that there is currently no adequate replacement for Kurti in Kosovo.

He adds that stronger pressure can be expected for Kurti to fulfill his obligations in the dialogue.

"At this moment in Kosovo, there is no adequate replacement for Albin Kurti, and any adventurism that would lead to his replacement would not yield the desired results. The representatives of the American administration are aware of this, so we can expect greater pressure on Kurti to fulfill the obligations undertaken earlier, including the formation of the CSM, but to expect the US to work on his overthrowing. It should also be borne in mind that next year there are presidential elections in America, which will also affect relations in Kosovo, so even from that point of view it is not realistic to expect the overthrowing of Kurti," Mijacic said.