Milic: Question remains whether Osmani will be seen as the most objective mediator between parties

Dimitrije Milic, Program Director of the "New Third Way" organization, says that the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, could be helpful in resolving the political crisis in Pristina, but questions whether she will have the political strength and whether she will be perceived as the most objective mediator between the warring political factions.

Milic notes that, according to available public opinion polls, Osmani ranks among the more popular figures in Kosovo — which, he points out, is often the case in political systems where the position of president enjoys relatively high visibility but has limited powers and does not implement controversial policies, which are typically the domain of governments.

"Osmani has a certain degree of political legitimacy, but whether she will have the political strength and whether she will be perceived as the most objective mediator in the process of forming a government is another question, because there is a difference between formal powers that come with a position and the actual political weight carried by those powers," Milic told Kosovo Online.

He observes that Osmani clearly enjoys solid Western — both American and European — support for her activities, as evidenced by some of her recent visits abroad.

"Most recently, she visited the Finnish President Alexander Stubb, so I assume that Western actors have a certain level of trust that Osmani could help resolve the political crisis. However, the problem is broader than that, and her capabilities will be more limited by her personal abilities and by how political actors in Kosovo perceive her — whether they view her as truly objective and capable of acting as a mediator between the warring political factions," Milic points out.

He adds that this is not the first time Kosovo’s political life has seen complex relations during the process of forming a government, nor is such a Machiavellian style of politics unique to Kosovo, as similar dynamics often occur in parliaments where support is more dispersed and no single political option holds an absolute majority.

"I would say that she is more likely to help than to harm, but the real question is to what extent her capacities can stretch," Milic concludes.