Pavkovic: The opposition has no leaders who could "challenge" Kurti

Milos Pavkovic, a fellow at the Center for European Policy, assesses that the opposition in Kosovo lacks leaders capable of "challenging" Albin Kurti, as his reliance on the nationalist "card" prevents opponents from raising key economic issues.

"When we talk about the rivals of Self-Determination, the Democratic Party of Kosovo and the Democratic League of Kosovo as the main parties, they lack leaders who can truly challenge Kurti," Pavkovic said to Kosovo Online.

According to him, the main question for the February elections is whether Self-Determination and Kurti will achieve an absolute majority or whether, due to a decline in ratings, they will need to include some opposition parties and potentially representatives of the Serbian community in the new government.

"So now, it seems the main struggle is whether Self-Determination can form a government on its own or not. It seems to me there is no adequate rival, and such a rival does not exist. As things stand, there is no possibility for Self-Determination to lose power and be entirely replaced," Pavkovic stated.

He emphasizes that by playing the "nationalist card," Kurti effectively "ties the hands" of the opposition.

"The opposition finds itself in a very difficult situation because Kurti is playing the nationalism card and, with this series of unilateral moves, essentially ties the hands of the opposition, which has to play the same card. Clearly, this is a well-known terrain that Kurti controls and dominates, thereby disabling the opposition," Pavkovic noted.

For the opposition, he sees an opportunity through a pre-election campaign focused on economic issues.

"What the opposition might be able to capitalize on is the economic situation in Kosovo, the high level of emigration... But it seems they fail to stand out on these issues precisely because they are overshadowed by events in northern Kosovo, which Kurti constantly keeps in focus and under tension, preventing the opposition from criticizing his other policies," Pavkovic explained.

When asked how the departure of deputies and members who were once part of Kosovo's administration might affect Self-Determination's electoral results, this analyst stated that the reasons vary, including disappointment, however, he noted that this had not significantly impacted the party's rating.

"They have largely managed to handle this. Although all research shows that Kurti's ratings are declining, I am not sure whether this is due to the departure of some of his associates or whether the primary reason for the decline is that the Kosovo Government has lost the support of the international community and has strained relations with key partners such as Germany, France, and the United States. It seems to me that their internal departures and resignations have not significantly influenced Self-Determination's rating," Pavkovic concluded.