Spahiu: All topics in the pre-election campaign have been exhausted

Political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu assesses that all topics in pre-election campaigns have been exhausted and that the messages of political parties will be the same as in the previous elections, as well as that even the narrative of “calming the north,” promoted by Kosovo’s caretaker Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, no longer resonates with voters.

The only novelty, according to Spahiu, is that the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and Nisma are not participating together in the elections.

“Everything has been exhausted. I do not see anything special in this campaign compared to the national elections on February 9. There is not even a significant change on the candidate lists. The only new thing is that Haradinaj and Limaj are no longer together, which is Albin Kurti’s hope that neither of them will pass the threshold and that he will win the majority of those parliamentary seats. Whether that will happen remains to be seen, but there is nothing special in this campaign, and I do not expect results different from those on February 9,” Spahiu told Kosovo Online.

He believes that political parties have no trump card they are saving for the end of the campaign.

“We are going around in circles. They have already started sending the same messages, with the difference that mutual insults have been significantly reduced, probably because they have concluded that this does not work in their favor,” Spahiu added.

According to him, voters are tired of electoral processes.

“Those who usually do not turn out to vote have some strange behavior. I do not know whether anyone will manage to persuade them to vote. People are tired, of course, and are waiting to see what else will happen,” our interlocutor said.

He added that the focus of all parties will be on the diaspora.

“Since it is now New Year and the diaspora is arriving, calls are mainly directed at them and parties are striving to secure their votes in order to make a shift compared to the previous elections,” Spahiu believes.

In his assessment, Serbs will not be part of the pre-election campaign of Albanian parties, and, as he adds, even Albin Kurti’s slogans about the north can no longer resonate with voters.

“Albin Kurti refers to the fact that he has calmed the north and that he has thereby achieved some success that his predecessors could not, and that is the only thing he can boast about, but I do not believe that this can still resonate,” Spahiu concluded.