Spahiu: Hamza's candidacy aimed at preserving PDK unity; strong LDK candidate needed for Kurti's defeat

University professor Nexhmedin Spahiu says that although Bedri Hamza, as the candidate of the Democratic Party of Kosovo for prime minister, could boost the party's ratings by a certain percentage, the only contender who could compete with Albin Kurti would be a candidate from the Democratic League of Kosovo with strong support.

"Hamza's candidacy was more about preventing the DPK from dispersing after its leaders went to The Hague because there's a power struggle there. His nomination aims to preserve the unity of the party," Spahiu says for Kosovo Online.

He points out that Self-Determination led by Albin Kurti did not come to power by taking votes from the PDK but from the LDK.

"For Albin Kurti to fall, the votes he took from the LDK need to be returned to the LDK, as they won't go to the PDK since the LDK and PDK have deep ideological divisions, many post-war political murders, and it is difficult for LDK members to join the PDK and vice versa. Kurti got over 50% of the votes when LDK voters switched to him, so if someone wants to topple Albin Kurti, they must invest in getting LDK votes back to the LDK," Spahiu says.

He adds that the intention of opposition parties is not to prevent Kurti from being first again but to lower his support below 40%, so they can either force a coalition with him where power is shared or form the government themselves and leave him in opposition.

Regarding Hamza's potential approach to the Serbian community, Spahiu says it could be inferred from his previous relations with North Mitrovica before Serbian mayors in the north resigned.

"While Agim Bahtiri was the mayor of South Mitrovica, he had contacts with Rakic and others, had some cooperation, but Hamza during his term had no contacts," Spahiu says.