Gogic: The focus of the election campaign in Kosovo will be "for" and "against" Kurti

Political scientist Ognjen Gogic believes that the pre-election campaign in Kosovo will revolve around being "for" or "against" the current Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who has successfully placed himself at the center of the campaign. He noted that the Self-Determination Movement will focus on relations with Serbia and the dialogue, while the opposition will highlight the damage Kurti has caused in relations with international partners.

"The election campaign in Kosovo will be focused on the personality of Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti as a central theme, and there is actually a polarization among the majority parties into 'for' and 'against' Kurti. The same applies to the Serbian community, because here too, the main topic is the Government of Kosovo's policy towards Serbs. Everyone is declaring their stance on his policy. He has successfully placed himself at the center of the campaign," Gogic told Kosovo Online. He believes that the focus of the pre-election campaign of the ruling Self-Determination Movement will be on the relationship with Serbs and Serbia, as well as towards the dialogue.

"They portray themselves as someone who has dealt more successfully with Serbia and the Serbs and has managed to establish some things that their predecessors did not, such as allegedly bringing the north under Pristina's control and eliminating Serbia's presence in Kosovo in another way," emphasizes Gogic.

On the other hand, opposition parties will try to point out the damage that the current regime of Albin Kurti has produced in relation to the international community.

"They primarily point out the anti-Americanism that Kurti encourages, which they consider very harmful to Kosovo's future and Kosovo's relations with the international community. This refers to the main opposition parties DSK, DPK, and ABK," Gogic indicated.

Analyzing the current course of the campaign, he says that the Democratic League of Kosovo, compared to other parties, is trying to focus more on life issues, particularly the problem of unemployment.

"However, all these issues remain overshadowed by much larger topics - relations with Serbia and the Serbs and relations with the international community. Whenever the opposition points out the extent to which Kurti has damaged Kosovo's relations with the USA, he always responds that he did so because he did not want to give in to Serbia and the Serbs. This actually leads us to a situation where the opposition does not have a real answer," highlights Gogic.

He assesses that, when it comes to the Serbian sides, the situation will be much more dynamic than usual because there are five opposition groups opposite the Serbian List.

"Generally, in Serbian communities, the campaign is more conducted on the ground, or from 'ear to ear,' it's more about personal contact among people, but of course, it also reaches the media where severe accusations are made against each other. It is clear to everyone that the position of Serbs has dramatically worsened over the last three years and then there is room for seeking blame, but also for seeking alternatives. So, there is actually a debate here about what different actions can be taken and whether a different response can be made to these unilateral actions of Pristina to stop this trend of deteriorating the position of Serbs in Kosovo. However, the campaign has so far started very sharply as if the Serbian actors do not realize that they are all in the same boat, and that this boat is starting to sink," concludes Gogic.