Haradinaj Has Been Useful Enemy for Serbia’s Leader (Balkan Insight)
By Milenko Vasovic, editor at Danas daily
Only Aleksandar Vucic could pull off the trick of making political capital out of denouncing Ramush Haradinaj’s ‘crimes’ – before then instructing his clients in Kosovo to make him Prime Minister.
Serbia’s former Prime Minister and current President, Aleksandar Vucic, reminded us of his political skills when he used the recent public focus in Serbia on the former Kosovo Liberation Army commander [and now Kosovo premier] Ramush Haradinaj, to score points, undermine the opposition and finally become President of Serbia.
In less than nine months, Vucic went from presenting Haradinaj to the public as Serbia’s enemy No 1 to tacitly supporting Serbian MPs in the Kosovo parliament in forming a coalition government with that same “criminal”.
While Vucic's critics say such inconsistent and self-serving politics are hypocritical, his supporters only commended his now legendary pragmatism.
Haradinaj himself apparently also benefitted from becoming Vucic's “favorite enemy”. Months later, he became Kosovo’s new Prime Minister.