Radojkovic: Increasingly visible powerlessness of Self-Determination

Historian Stefan Radojkovic stated that the fourth interruption of the constitutive session of the Kosovo parliament shows that this institution is in a deadlock and that the powerlessness of the Self-Determination Movement to secure the necessary parliamentary majority is becoming increasingly visible.

“It is becoming more and more evident that the position of Self-Determination after these elections is politically weaker and weaker. At first, Albin Kurti refused to resign as prime minister according to a law that, among other things, was passed during his term, and then that happened. Then they expected the entire Bosniak community to vote for the election of Albulena Haxhiu. It was clear there, too, that they didn’t have enough votes. It was also anticipated that Nisma would be the deciding factor tipping the balance. It is clear that didn’t happen either. And it is apparent that if the opposition were to agree, they could actually elect the president of the Assembly of the Pristina institutions,” Radojkovic told Kosovo Online.

He emphasized that, despite the Self-Determination Movement being the winner of the February elections, its inability to elect its own speaker of parliament shows that it has weakened politically and no longer holds the decisive role it had over the past four years.

Radojkovic said the party would try to persuade the president of the Social Democratic Union (SDU) and Bosniak community MP Duda Balje to support their candidate by tomorrow, but he is skeptical they will succeed.

“They will likely try within the next 48 hours to win over Balje, from the Bosniak community, and convince her, if nothing else, to support the Self-Determination representative for Assembly president, but it seems that won’t happen. That would then lead to a deadlock. Then the question arises whether the opposition can do what Self-Determination cannot, which would signal to voters and other coalition partners, especially minority communities, that it might be time to help or support the opposition parties, primarily PDK, LDK, and AAK,” Radojkovic said.

When asked whether the crisis in forming the Kosovo parliament is the result of a tactic by Albin Kurti to prolong his time as prime minister in a caretaker mandate, Radojkovic said the sequence of events so far indicates the opposite – his powerlessness.

“Kurti tried to remain in the position of prime minister under a caretaker mandate. That didn’t work either because the opposition simply forced him to respect the law passed during his term. In that sense, he dug a hole for himself that he fell into, not the opposition, which also shows a certain degree of weakness,” Radojkovic believes.

He is convinced that, given this turn of events, the opposition is growing stronger.

“The opposition seems to be getting stronger and stronger by the day and is signaling especially to minority communities that it is time to stop supporting Self-Determination, which they had done during the previous term,” Radojkovic said.