Milenkovic: Self-Determination is becoming autocratic, this could lead to further departures

Marko Milenkovic, program manager of the NGO "New Social Initiative," told Kosovo Online that more departures from the ruling party could occur, especially because it is turning "into a movement that is undemocratic, autocratic, and primarily follows the ideas and policies of one man who leads this movement."

He emphasizes that Korenica and Rahmani left Self-Determination for political reasons, due to disagreements with certain policies, and like Drita Milaku, who also left the party, they joined other political options, meaning they remain in politics with different beliefs.

"What is interesting is that there are indications that the first two left the party due to religious beliefs and their positions on certain laws. If this trend of confrontation with the majority of the population continues on the part of Self-Determination, we might expect a larger number of people leaving the party. As for Mrs. Milaku, we haven't seen specific reasons, but what we know so far is that she also left the party due to political views," Milenkovic points out.

He recalls that Self-Determination emerged as a "catch-all" movement, where people from different backgrounds and with diverse views gathered, without much consensus on key political issues.

"They were primarily united by the idea of nationalism, but also by the idea of some civic resistance. Let’s remember what the campaigns were like and what Self-Determination was at the very beginning, an organization that organized protests and so on. I think that in those two segments, Self-Determination is still following that policy. We now see resistance even toward the international community; they have not taken on the role of being in power but still behave in many respects as if they are in the opposition. On the other hand, we have an extremely nationalist-oriented policy, which reflects the views of these people," our interlocutor says.

Regarding other issues, he notes that there are differences within Self-Determination, which, in his opinion, could lead to more departures.

"Especially because Self-Determination is turning into a movement that is undemocratic, autocratic, and primarily follows the ideas and policies of one man who leads this movement," Milenkovic says.

Still, according to some analyses, it seems that Self-Determination is doing well in terms of votes, but whether this will change in the coming period depends on several factors, primarily on policies and the mood of the electorate, which can fluctuate based on both external and internal factors.

"To me, half a million votes seem attainable, even though the population in Kosovo is decreasing, but we have a highly engaged diaspora. We see that Kurti is paying attention to voters from the diaspora. In the past few days, he has been active in Germany, meeting with the diaspora at various gatherings, which roughly suggests that the election campaign will be conducted both in Kosovo and with considerable attention to the diaspora as a large voter base," Milenkovic says.

He also points out that the will of the voters will depend on the election campaign and how the opposition positions itself, noting that at this moment, there is no clear definition of what potential coalitions might look like or how Self-Determination will look internally, how Vjosa Osmani will position herself, and what influence can be expected from the international community, which could play an important role in the election process.