Miskeljin: Serbs could decide the winner of the American elections in the "swing" states

Marko Miskeljin from the Center for Social Stability told for Kosovo Online that the Serbian diaspora could decide the winner of the next American elections in the so-called "swing" states, where the election results have changed over the years and the difference between candidates in recent election cycles has been no more than a few percentage points.

He stated that the Serbian diaspora places much greater trust in Republicans, which he says is natural when considering the relationships different administrations have had with Serbia, especially the Democratic administration in the 1990s.

"As for whether they can influence the actual election results in states with Serbian votes, although it is indeed a small number, when we look at the final tally, it can make a difference, especially in Wisconsin and Michigan. We see that both are marked as 'swing' states and could perhaps be decisive in the final electoral count, so from that perspective, of course, every vote matters," our interlocutor says.

Regarding the Albanian diaspora, he notes that it is most widespread in areas where Democrats win, so it doesn't have a significant impact on the outcome.

"From our history, we know that the Albanian lobby primarily finances the Democratic establishment, and when we talk about specific states, the safest ones for Democrats are those where Albanians have the highest number of votes. We talk about Chicago as a major Serbian city with many of our people, but there are simply so many votes for Democrats that it's not expected Illinois will become Republican. Similarly, when we talk about New York, which also has a large Albanian presence, even though Republicans might wish to win New York, especially since it's Donald Trump's home state, it's not realistic," Miskeljin explains.

He states that the support the Albanian lobby will provide to the Democrats is expected and will contribute to an already anticipated victory.

"On the other hand, we see that there is a possibility in several 'swing' states, even though there are fewer people of our origin there, that their votes can mean much more," he concludes.
He points out that Serbia must be ready to cooperate with whoever wins the election.

"We can have our favorites, just like in any other race, and especially in this election year worldwide, but what awaits us, if this administration remains, is a continuation of this path, meaning too often turning a blind eye to the other side's mistakes. With the Trump administration, and the fact that he once appointed Richard Grenell as his representative in this region, we can expect a more pragmatic approach and, let's say, a more equal position," Miskeljin says.

When asked if the debate between Trump and Biden has changed anything and whether it's possible for the Democrats to change their candidate, he says that it might be the first television event in history in which Donald Trump participated and wasn't the main topic, but someone else was.

"The biggest change might be that now there is more pressure on Biden than on Trump. We have a situation where the focus is not on what the candidates said during the debate but on how they looked during the debate, and for that reason, Joe Biden is in the spotlight. Now we have statements from his vice president rejecting the possibility of her candidacy and giving him support. What we can see is that almost every other potential Biden successor is the loudest in supporting Biden himself, which suggests that a change of candidate at the last moment is unlikely," he concludes.