Seferi: In the Balkans, culture is the most dangerous thing; it depends on what it is used for

Everyone says that politics should not interfere in activities such as sports and culture, but somehow politics likes it because those people have more fans than the heads of governments and states, a journalist Idro Seferi says, commenting on cases when famous personalities send political messages.

Seferi assesses that this should not worry anyone because "systematic things are not in question".

"Lobbying goes through very organized systems. But in the Balkans, when someone succeeds somewhere in the world, then he is ours. And as long as he is in the Balkans, we won't let him succeed, and then that's why people compete over Djokovic, Rita Ora, Dua Lipa, and others who are still world names and have a global audience", Seferi emphasizes.

He adds that such people are expected "to say something, not to forget their people".

"They primarily have PR services that deal with much more serious topics than political issues in the Balkans. But, simply, when they say something, we are always a little happy about it. On the other hand, they are still millionaires by nationality, compared to what they are actually ethnically. Although, of course, there is this thing that they are associated with some emotions, but it is ungrateful and unfair to ask them to always express themselves about some things that our governments cannot solve so easily on their own", our interlocutor says.

According to him, normal states solve problems and conflicts related to politics through institutions, authorities, states, i.e., governments and diplomatic sources, and other things are there to fill social issues, such as culture.

"Obviously, culture in the Balkans seems to be the most dangerous thing. It can bring people together but also create major conflicts, depending on how it is used. Of course, there are also sports. Generally, everyone says that politics should not interfere in these activities, but politics somehow loves sports and culture because realistically, these people have more fans than heads of governments, states, etc. Simply put, they attract a larger part of the audience, and as public figures, they attract people from different parties, and there is also the need to use them for various political campaigns. But I would say, may we have more people like Djokovic, Dua Lipa, and Rita Ora around the world, and fewer tensions. Who knows where we would end up", Seferi concludes.