Baraliu: Vucic strengthened his position; I do not expect a change in the policy towards Kosovo

Constitutional Law Professor at the University of Pristina, Mazllum Baraliu, stated for Kosovo Online that preliminary election data in Serbia indicated that President Aleksandar Vucic had strengthened his position, and he did not expect a change in the course of the policy towards Kosovo.

"I do not expect changes in the policy towards Kosovo, neither in terms of course nor towards Kosovo, nor towards the West. It is clear that Vucic, his party, and his allies, as they said last night, will not change much; they will only tactically buy time, and continue with that policy towards both the West and the East, which will be difficult to sustain because those in the West are mobilized, the EU has some policies and intentions. We will see if the intentions and tactics of the West to strengthen the policy towards Vucic, in terms of distancing from Russia, will materialize", Baraliu said.

He is not sure, he says, how the dialogue will proceed, adding that he does not expect significant changes.

"It is obvious that Mr. Vucic and his list have won an absolute victory, and there's nothing to be said about it, regardless of the thousand and something polling stations yet to be counted. If he decides to further solidify the ranks within the coalition, within that list, between the right-wing factions, in some way, regardless of how they officially refer to themselves, and their parties, then it is not to be expected that there will be a different tactic, or realistically, the behavior of the new government, depending on what it will be, when it will be formed. I think that for a certain period, the government will not be formed, but based on everything we saw yesterday, the mosaic of parties and associations, there will not be any drastic change in course, neither towards Europe nor towards Russia. This is because Vucic and his government will somehow be sandwiched between the East and the West, specifically between Russia and the European Union. Considering the recent statement of Mrs. Brnabic in Brussels and Vucic not going there, it is obvious that it might mean something. Therefore, a course change cannot be expected, but if there was, it would be good for the Serbs, for the Balkans, and Europe", Baraliu said.

During the campaign, Vucic often reiterated that there would be no recognition of Kosovo and that Serbia would fight to prevent Pristina from becoming a UN member. However, Baraliu emphasizes that this cannot be influenced.

"Whether Kosovo becomes a UN member or not cannot be decided by Vucic, Serbia, the Balkans, or us. There is a democratic mechanism for voting, and it depends on the member countries of that organization. As for Serbia's influence on joining international organizations, it can exist. For example, publicly, regardless of what Vucic and Serbia verbally accepted, both the Brussels Agreement and the Ohrid Agreement, they were clearly and loudly against it", Baraliu said.

It remains to be seen, emphasizes Baraliu, what the policy of the new government will be and its relationship with the Socialist Party of Serbia.

"We will see if the government will have a majority even without that party, but, of course, it will solidify its position towards the opposition, and if it has full support, it will most likely join other parties such as the Vojvodina Hungarians, Bosniak parties from Sandzak, the two parties that received two mandates each... We will see how this restructuring will go, but most likely, it will also affect whether Dacic's party will be with Vucic or not, and whether with these new alignments, so to speak, leaning towards the right-wing factions supporting Vucic, and whether the Socialist Party of Serbia will align with all of that", Baraliu said.