Muhaxhiri: Kurti wants to present himself as a powerful leader who can say 'no' to the international community

Kurti is playing a different political game compared to the international community in Kosovo and compared to his predecessors: he wants to show that he is different from them, that he has real power, and he wants to project that power in Kosovo onto the international community, analyst Artan Muhaxhiri emphasizes for Kosovo Online.

"Previous leaders had the idea that support from the international community would make them more powerful in Kosovo, but Kurti has the opposite logic: that power in Kosovo will strengthen his position in relations with the international community," Muhaxhiri points out.

As he mentions, there is also a logical aspect to this political stance of the Kosovo Prime Minister.

"He wants to show that even small countries can have power compared to great powers. However, since Kosovo has a very specific political context, I don't think this is an appropriate approach because Kosovo needs a lot of support worldwide, and with this approach, the most important projects will be delayed. They won't be canceled, but they will be postponed until a solution is found," our interlocutor believes.

But now even the Quint reacts to such Kurti's approach, and it is much harder to work with him than with previous leaders, he adds.

"He wants to have such an image, and when he was in opposition, he criticized earlier leaders who did everything the international community told them to do. All of this is part of his political image, and he wants to present himself as a powerful leader who can say 'no' to the international community," Muhaxhiri says.

According to him, the Quint has ways to discipline Kurti and he reminds of the Eurointegration processes that countries can block whenever they deem it necessary.

"Besides, Kosovo needs to be part of many international organizations. This membership cannot be realized without the help of powerful states. We see what is happening with the Council of Europe. You have to make compromises, to give something, in order to get something. That is why the decision regarding the Decani Monastery land was made. He was absolutely against that decision for years, but now he did it because he saw there was no other solution. The same goes for the CSM draft now. The US, Germany, and Italy are pressuring Kurti to send the draft to the Constitutional Court. I think Kurti has limited room for maneuvering. He can do what he wants, but it will have consequences," Muhaxhiri concludes.