Kosovo: another democratic gamble

The current situation in Kosovo could be characterized by two features, one of which is the procedure according to which the elections of the highest body should be carried out; during the elections of the incumbent or former president Pacolli this procedure has been seriously violated.

The second feature is severe struggle between both contenders for power in Kosovo, I am talking about the Democratic Party of Kosovo, or Partia Demokratike e Kosovës, led by Hashim Thaçi, current Prime-Minister, and the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lidhja Demokratike e Kosovës, which is led by Isa Mustafa, he is now mayor of Pristina.

Practically the equal forces, equal possibilities for both parties produced a situation when Hashim Thaçi appealed to some sort of a neutral figure, and Pacolli presented himself as a neutral one. After the revelations made by contenders - I am talking about the Democratic League of Kosovo - and I should say that in public opinion also it had serious influence, Pacolli practically raised serious discontent. Hashim Thaçi wanted to classify the situation and appealed to mediation made by the United States representatives, and the new situation now is characterized by the interim government, or the interim figure which is selected by the foreign power, I mean the United States. Mrs Atifete Jahjaga is actually representing now the neutral figure, so called the transitional one, and the second step - it could be the changes in provisions of the Constitution, and this time Hashim Thaçi supported the idea of general elections and I think that he is also interested in support of this figure, I am talking about Mrs. Atifete Jahjaga, who is an interim figure and I suppose is interested in getting support for himself or a figure that could be suggested by himself.

It is rather difficult to say that the turn of Kosovo policy could be built now to Belgrade only, of course Pristina is interested in getting some sort of relations with Belgrade, but it is rather difficult to say that Pristina is assured that the Albanian part can now receive full support from the Serbian part in the Republic of Serbia now. I am not sure at all that the turn of the policy in Kosovo will be so drastic and so actively pro-Serbian.

First of all I should say that her association with the police forces began practically 10 years ago, and she is a professional officer, you know, the law body of the Kosovo region. Moreover as I know this step made by those who selected her as an interim figure and nominated for provisional president was practically based on the idea that she is not a politician at all, she is an officer, she is a member of the administration, although she is a high level member but she is not a politician in its formal sense of a word, and I suppose that she is not also interested in making herself politician in Kosovo. Therefore speaking about her background, one can say that she was not involved - until now of course - in any misdoings and abuse of power at all. That is why we can say that if she considered it possible and if the political environment in Kosovo considered it pertinent, she could be pertinent and acceptable person who will be the chief of the state, self-proclaimed state. I should mention one point in this connection. I am sure that changes into the Constitution will be carried out, also, and the power of Prime-Minister will be much stronger than now, and that's why the very position of President of the Kosovo republic will be weakened.

I shouldn't say that this is a democratic experiment or a democratic gamble. Frankly speaking, Europeans or Americans are very strongly interested in democratic development in Kosovo, and the very idea of general suffrage, for example, the very idea of very strong and conspicuous structures of governing or governing organizations, bodies, in Kosovo, suggested by the western representatives, are very important for the plan to make Kosovo democratic. That is why the problem is not the western ideas, the problem is how these western ideas can be applied in the Balkan specific conditions, and the eternal problem in the Balkans, the contradiction between regional traditions, regional laws written or imagined and those existed besides the borders of the Balkan Peninsula, and I suppose that the Albanians and the Serbs, we are talking now about the Albanians in Kosovo, are interested in proclaiming Kosovo not only democratic, but also a European state. That's why the Europeans can push forward the idea of democracy in Kosovo, because they have no other alternatives besides those existed and existing now, only European alternatives to Kosovo.