Judging from the election campaign so far, political parties have openly reflected insecurity regarding the final result of upcoming elections, says the paper’s editor-in-chief Arbana Xharra. This year’s elections, apart from being a challenge for leaders, are also a challenge for political parties which will most likely undergo a reconfiguration process in case of a defeat. “Someone is fighting for survival and someone for increasing votes”, she claims.

The two biggest parties, Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), are leading contrasting campaigns. LDK is campaigning in the same way it did in the past by holding rallies and seems to have some sort of commodity when attacking the current ruling party while PDK is clearly panicking and is not shown to hold rallies. Instead, PDK leader Hashim Thaci is trying to lead a modern campaign by making every effort to show urban elements in the background but is refraining from holding rallies. Similar to PDK, Ramush Haradinaj’s Alliance for Future of Kosovo (AAK) promises salaries of 1,000 euros and a budget of over 3 billion euros. In an effort to secure the third place, Haradinaj is showing signs of concern that his party could be very easily overrun by Vetevendosje.

Initiative for Kosovo, on the other hand, is gathering the KLA wing by being entrenched in traditionalism. “By using its faithful electorate from Malisheva, it is filling up buses to give the impression that it is growing in other centres too”, writes Xharra.

Vetevendosje is leading a fiery campaign with populist speeches but with minimal political context, says Xharra. At the same time, New Kosovo Alliance (AKR) has a featureless campaign and is attacking the government which it was part of.