Drecun: Kurti’s debacle, Albanians expected solutions to economic issues

The Self-Determination Movement and its leader Albin Kurti suffered a complete political debacle in the local elections in Kosovo, said Milovan Drecun, Chairman of the Serbian Parliament’s Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs. He added that Kurti believed hatred toward Serbs and the militarization of Kosovo would be rewarded by Albanians, but they, he noted, expected solutions to economic problems, Sputnik reports.

Drecun pointed out that Kurti defied the law of probability, as he lost the local elections even though the ruling party traditionally wins at the local level.

“This time, something entirely different happened, because, according to the first reports, Kurti and his Self-Determination Movement suffered a true debacle. Albanian voters clearly turned their backs on them, as they lost in almost all towns in Kosovo and Metohija. For that reason, it can be freely said that Kurti suffered a heavy political blow, since he did not win an absolute majority anywhere. This is also an indicator that from the parliamentary elections in February until these local elections, he has been in political decline,” Drecun emphasized.

He noted that the number of people who voted for Self-Determination at the local level is not yet known, but Kurti’s political failure is evident.

“It seems to me that this is a consequence of his policy focusing on the militarization of Kosovo, on an intense anti-Serb hatred, and on terrorizing Serbs, believing that this alone would be enough to secure as many votes as possible in the local elections. However, it is obvious that Albanian citizens expected these elections to address economic development, local growth, job creation, and similar issues. Instead, he decided to spend even the modest economic resources on armament and other things that mean nothing to the average Albanian citizen in their everyday life. That’s why he was punished,” Drecun noted.

According to him, Self-Determination’s main base of support in past years was among the younger generation, but due to militarization, many of them have left Kosovo.

“Several hundred thousand young Albanians have emigrated in search of a better life. It is clear that in such economic migration, it is mostly young and middle-aged people who leave, while older people are less likely to do so. This means Kurti has also lost a large portion of his existing or potential voters, and all this has contributed to his failure,” Drecun said.

He recalled that Kurti, immediately after the announcement of the local election results, stated that his party was still analyzing them, but also said that if a government is not formed soon, he is ready for parliamentary elections.

“So it is completely clear to him that his political trajectory — both personally and for Self-Determination — is on a downward path,” Drecun concluded.