Bodo Weber, a Western Balkans analyst, said in an interview to the news website that following Ramush Haradinaj’s resignation as Prime Minister it is logical for Kosovo to go to new general elections. He said that the resumption of the Pristina – Belgrade dialogue depends on the election outcome and how soon a new ruling coalition will be formed in Kosovo.
How did you see Haradinaj’s resignation? Do you think that he really resigned because of the Special Court or do you see it as a political move related to the dialogue?
Prime Minister Haradinaj’s sudden resignation and the explanation he gave for that surprising decision, leaves a lot of room for speculation behind his real motives, including the independence of the Special Court and a possible push by Washington for territorial exchange (even though at this point there is no clear indication that they support this option). The first talks about swings in politics in Kosovo, and the second unfortunately is about the crisis of democracy in one part of the West and the unsustainability of the West when it comes to the rule of law in Kosovo. Personally I don’t understand what would the supporters of the dangerous idea for territorial exchange gain from the Prime Minister’s resignation.
Do you think it is a bad idea to replace Haradinaj with another Prime Minister? Do you think that Kosovo must go to new elections as soon as possible and form new legitimate institutions?
This is up to the parliamentary parties and institutions of Kosovo. But bearing in mind that since the 2017 elections, the circumstances for internal politics have changed completely, i.e. they are dominated by the final phase of the political dialogue and disagreements within the current ruling coalition and constant calls by the opposition for early elections. As a foreign observer, I think it is logical to hold early elections because of the political stability in Kosovo. Even though it is difficult to predict if elections will result in a stable ruling coalition.
What do you think about the resumption of dialogue? Do you think after all these developments, Kosovo and Serbia are likely to meet this year?
I believe that after a two-year process of dangerous and mismanaged negotiations, at the April meeting in Berlin and although the next meeting in Paris in July was cancelled, there are favourable circumstances to resume the negotiations which would return dialogue to an original and reasonable framework. In this sense, it was always clear for political actors in Kosovo and foreign observers that the only suitable time to go to elections was during summer or in early autumn. Whether or not this will make it possible to return to the table of talks this year will depend on the election outcome. Because it depends how soon a ruling coalition will be formed.
