Summary of the Week 59

Some choices are easier than expected, others still impossible. Some decisions are easier than expected, while others remain unattainable. Some dilemmas have been obscured for centuries, and others—despite appearing logical—have once again become uncertain. So, every May, we revisit the question: is it truly better to be the victor than the defeated?

The saying that anything is better than nothing—or in this case, any government is better than none—does not always hold true. Even a short-term look ahead reveals looming problems.

"Every law would require a battle for every vote," explains Milos Pavkovic from the Center for European Policies (CEP), describing what the legislative process would look like—even if a majority could be secured.

The counting of every ballot from the recent elections has just concluded, yet voices are already emerging, suggesting that a new vote would be better than a parliamentary circus.

“The actions and positioning over the previous period suggest that we’re already in a kind of political campaign,” says Dusan Milenkovic of the New Social Initiative for Kosovo Online.

Looking ahead, we can only guess which option is better. History ought to have resolved such dilemmas. Yet, some lessons continue to stir debate—this week, it was about Skanderbeg.

“One Skanderbeg is not enough to create a shared history or enable dialogue and reconciliation,” says historian Petar Ristanovic.

There’s no question that reconciliation is better than war. But whether it’s better to celebrate something rather than nothing remains unresolved this year—by both victors and the defeated.

“Victory Day and Europe Day—one cannot go without the other. The politicization of both has become increasingly significant in the context of EU–Russia relations,” explains historian Boris Stojkovski.

That politicization disrupts daily life is no longer news. But the rule remains: it’s better to be persistent and determined than to give up at the first obstacle. Sometimes, that rule will yield victors. Other times—as in the case of document recognition—defeat is inevitable.

“In the end, they told me not to bother trying anymore. I can try if I want, but I won’t get an ID card,” recounts pensioner Danica Jevtic from Leposavic in an interview with Kosovo Online.

And so, some choices narrow to impossibility. Others, initially predicted to be difficult, end up concluded—marked by white smoke. And the third kind—parliamentary ones—will carry over into next week.