Summary of the Week 68

Absurdity is an everyday reality, and normal circumstances often resemble a caricature. Yet in recent days, there has been little laughter. Unresolved issues and unanswered questions have been carried over by almost everyone into the new week.

Bridges that divide, foundations that shake stability, bricks crumbling under a petition.

The situation in northern Kosovo is more vivid than an epic poem and more substantial than any folk proverb.

"We don’t need that bridge of theirs," a man from Mitrovica explains the reason why he signed the petition. "We already have a bridge," he adds. "We don’t need a new one."

It resembles a parody, but no one finds it funny. It's not safe either, but no one seems alarmed.

"It has been shown many times so far," historian Stefan Radojkovic reminds, "that even more serious actors like the European Union or important countries of the international community are unable to correct the behavior of the Pristina administration. That is, they cannot influence Albin Kurti," says Radojkovic.

Even if they had changed their behavior 40 attempts ago, the situation in the Kosovo Assembly would still be comical. Today, the public watches it without high expectations — but not without ridicule.

"In this case, there hasn’t even been a tacit agreement," says Stefan Surlic from the Faculty of Political Sciences. "We now have a caricature-like situation where they try over and over to constitute a session by electing a president. Still unsuccessfully."

For some, it's a job; for others, a joke or a song. But for those spending their days by trucks at a closed gate, it's neither music nor comedy.

Truck drivers near Merdare share similar experiences: "We’ve been waiting here for twenty hours already. Business is at a standstill," one of them told Kosovo Online. "They say when the Kosovo terminal gets full, they stop letting people through," he adds.

There is a reason for the delays, the authorities repeat. And even after 9 months, the explanation remains equally absurd.

"Those scanners," sums up Agim Shahini from the Kosovo Business Alliance, "are still somewhere on the way. They set off months ago but never seem to arrive," says Shahini.

You shouldn't joke about institutions. Then again, it's sometimes hard to resist. One decision, same wording, but hundreds of interpretations.

"This could drag on indefinitely," explains political analyst Gezim Kasapolli after the Constitutional Court's decision. "Now even Self-Determination will send a question to the Court, and the delays will go on endlessly."

And while some circumstances and politicians make us laugh unintentionally and spontaneously, there are those who do it deliberately — for whom caricature seems to be the favorite format.