Summary of the Week 95

In a week in which major announcements and decisions are expected, it would seem there is no time for games. Yet, in the absence of solutions, the game itself becomes a tactic. How many levels there are, what awaits us next, and who might ultimately win this game—we will know in the coming weeks.

A game with the public, with political opponents, with allies, and above all, a game with nerves. Although many do not know the rules, and some do not even wish to participate, this week everyone was in the game.

“I don’t believe the candidate will be Vjosa Osmani, but in Kosovo you never know,” analyst Aleksandar Rapajic comments on the uncertainties surrounding the presidential candidate.

“Anything is possible. But that will be our main answer to the question of whether Osmani and Kurti are on the same track,” Rapajic says.

Other names are also in play. A game without limits and, at the moment, with an unclear objective.

“There were earlier ideas that someone from the Jashari family could become President of Kosovo, but members of that family have always declined. They did not want to get involved in day-to-day politics at the central level,” says political scientist Ognjen Gogic.

While the rules are sometimes defined in direct negotiations, sometimes at the central level, in Kosovo they are very often determined by the audience and the supporters. Security expert Nikola Vujinovic therefore assesses that Washington will have a say in many matters.

“They are sending the message that Vjosa Osmani is their interlocutor, and that Kurti is not. And his silence thus becomes even louder,” Vujinovic believes.

When money—European money at that—is introduced into the game, the plot becomes even more complicated. And when money turns into a carrot, then everyone interprets the rules and the objectives in their own way. All in order to avoid the stick.

“With the European Union, we have been surprised several times by various demands,” recalls Agim Shahini from the Kosovo Business Association. “We don’t know whether that will happen or not, but it could,” Shahini adds.

It could, but it might not necessarily mean anything. The only rule that always applies in Kosovo remains unchanged. In everyday life, in politics, in the judiciary. Thus, even when evidence is dismissed, it can still remain valid.

“This verdict is absurd, even more absurd than the previous one, although they appear identical,” Dusko Arsic’s lawyer, Nebojsa Vlajic, tries to explain to the public regarding the repeated judgment.

Confused by the rules, citizens continue the game—less often as participants, more often as observers who count the consequences and tally the marks on broken and battered doors of homes and churches. Meanwhile, the key players set new levels for themselves. Next week, we will see whether they manage to pass them.