Lavdim Hamidi says today that PM Thaçi’s campaign resembles to a great extent that of Albania’s former Prime Minister, Sali Berisha. Two or three months prior to the elections, Thaçi has opened the budget of Kosovo distributing money to different categories of citizens, convinced that he would be rewarded with their votes. By increasing salaries and pensions for 25 percent, Thaçi hopes to gain the votes of thousands of Kosovo families, however, he has forgotten that the number of the families that do not have any employed member, and who live in poverty, is much bigger.
Despite the increase of salaries, he should not be counting on the votes of the public servants either. For more than six years, Thaçi’s government has been known for numerous corruptive affairs, proving to have employment of family members and party militants as priority. Citizens understood that promises for “a Government with clean hands” and “opening of thousands of jobs,” are only an illusion. Thaçi should not forget one essential fact: voters of this year, are not the same as the ones in 2007. Local elections were a sufficient signal that the mentality has changed and not all of them can be manipulated.
In order to repeat the Albanian scenario, Kosovo opposition should be more proactive and united. They should dismiss all those officials who abused the budget in the past, in order to make their promises convincing, says Hamidi.
