Stevic: Kosovo’s economy is almost at zero; many campaign promises are empty talk

Journalist Lazar Stevic from North Mitrovica assesses that many of the promises made by parties during the campaign—such as increases in wages and pensions—are empty talk. He does not believe that Kosovo has the capacity to immediately raise public-sector salaries by 50 percent, one of the promises made to voters, because Kosovo’s economy is almost at zero.

In Kosovo, he notes, everyone is already accustomed to parties promising the moon ahead of elections.

“We’ve heard Bedri Hamza promise a 50 percent increase in wages; other parties promise assistance to young married couples for purchasing a first home, as well as higher pensions. The champions of promises are Self-Determination and Albin Kurti, who—back when a draft proposal of the 2026 budget was adopted—promised 13th salaries for public-sector employees, and has now gone a step further: the caretaker government decided to pay pensioners and children €100 each ahead of the New Year holidays. Many have described this—and I agree—as nothing other than vote-buying, because he is trying by all means to remain in power,” Stevic told Kosovo Online.

According to him, this decision alone will cost Kosovo more than €100 million, raising the question of where that money will come from, given that the Kosovo Assembly has been blocked for nearly a year and, although a draft 2026 budget exists, it has not been adopted.

As for how party promises would affect Kosovo’s budget, Stevic says the outcome of tomorrow’s elections must first be seen, along with the composition of the new government—specifically, how stable it will be to make such decisions. He adds that some polls show Kurti will not be able to form a government on his own, while the opposition might—but that stability remains questionable, as does whether opposition parties will resolve their disagreements to ensure stability and finally get institutions functioning.

“I believe many of these promises will not be fulfilled and that they are just empty talk, as before every election. I don’t think Kosovo has the capacity to immediately raise public-sector wages by 50 percent. We know their economy is almost at zero; they have no factories or state-owned assets, and largely depend on foreign donations and inflows of foreign capital—namely, from citizens who come to Kosovo during the holidays and bring in significant amounts of money. So all these promises remain in the realm of science fiction, especially the promises made by Albin Kurti,” Stevic concluded.