Elections in Kosovo: Kurti needs partners now
In Kosovo, the current ruling party has emerged as the winner of the parliamentary elections with just under 42 percent of the vote but has lost its absolute majority, meaning that the left-wing nationalist prime minister Albin Kurti will likely need coalition partners. Two conservative parties each secured around 20 percent of the vote. Kosovo, which declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, is seeking EU membership.
Victory despite poor performance
Albin Kurti's victory was not based on his achievements but on his rivals' weaknesses, Dnevnik concludes:
“Clearly a large section of the population is either even more sceptical about the available alternatives or simply doesn't care, as the traditionally low voter turnout of just over 40 percent shows. Otherwise Kurti, whose government is the first to have completed a full term in independent Kosovo, would have been paid a far higher price than 'just' an eight-percent drop in the approval ratings for the fact that Kosovo remains one of the poorest countries in Europe (the third poorest after Ukraine and Georgia, according to last year's figures).”
No more absolute rule
Kurti's plan didn't pay off, Corriere della Sera comments with approval:
“Albin Kurti had called for a 'historic referendum' on his performance as PM: 'you're either with me or against me'. Voters once again decided in his favour, but his hyper-Albanian party Vetëvendosje! (Self-Determination) no longer has an absolute majority, and this time he won't be able to govern alone against everyone. ... Kurti will be prime minister again, because his nationalist and far-left rhetoric still works. As does the dream of a Greater Albania in alliance with Tirana and his intransigence towards the Serbs. But these four years of high unemployment have left their mark.”
Be open to rapprochement
The Guardian sees the result as an opportunity for Kosovo and the EU:
“The prospect of a new coalition government in Pristina opens up the possibility of a less intransigent and more pragmatic approach. Both main opposition parties campaigned on the need to improve relations with western partners, and anxiety over Kosovo's isolation at a perilous geopolitical moment was one of the election's major themes. If the new Kurti administration can move beyond sometimes strident nationalist rhetoric and get Brussels and Washington back onside, that will be overwhelmingly in Kosovo's interest. ... Brussels should respond to any conciliatory steps from Pristina with alacrity and generosity.”