Political parties in Kosovo, without ideological profiles

This non-profession of them, they say, continues even further, despite the majority of them having experience both in power and in opposition, making several-time coalition partners for governance, pre-election coalitions, but coalitions after the elections.

Politologist Ramush Tahiri, speaking of Radio Free Europe, estimates that political parties in Kosovo are guided according to what he calls the Balkan mentality, with clucky and leadership. Consequently, according to him, it is not in the interest of the elite of political parties to profile it ideologically, because such a thing is not seen as a pragmatic step.

“Long-term orientation, ideologically, to include certain levels of the population and to make the program, which stimulates a certain political development, does not use or want to be used. They act as clan groups, as leaders' groups, as regional groups, clients or as certain groups of interest and the fight for power or the struggle to be in government, is carried out by violating ideological principles and programming orientation of parties”, Tahiri says.

Petit Zogaj, analyst and executive director of the organisation “, speaks to Radio Free Europe that, in principle, the profile of political parties is reflected if they enter government. According to him, so far most political parties have been part of central governments in various mandates.

The “have an attempt to profile, but mainly adapt to social circumstances and convert as such in election campaigns. However, they remain the same in government. Perhaps the only subject, which we can consider as the subject of profile in Kosovo, is the Vetevendosje Movement, which promotes a left, Social Democrat approach. However, she has not yet been in power, and we do not know how she would rule. The parties mostly have profiles, uh, hoc, right now, but not profiles that can produce a political story, a governing story for years or decades”, Zogaj says.

However, political parties in Kosovo are declaratively set for political profile.

But, according to politicologist Tahiri, the moment political parties enter the government, primarily as coalition partner, the governing programmes do not respect those parties' declared ideological programmes and profiles.

“As such, they look at only interest, rather than taking agencies, how much ministers or deputy ministers have taken, how much the employment director has achieved, how much interest has been achieved to accommodate his militants. We have had no case that any coalition or government has been destroyed for ideological reasons or for the reason that they were conceptually distinguished during rule”, Tahiri estimates.

Similar thoughts are expressed by analyst Zogaj:

“They don't have much of a problem, so that lack of profile can hinder policy implementation. They don't have this problem, they don't usually have this problem”.

Recognisors of political developments stress that as a result of the lack of political parties' profile, in Kosovo it is considered moral that some individuals move from one party to another to win a mandate for political action. That, according to them, has happened in the Democratic Party of Kosovo, the Democratic League of Kosovo, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, the Initiative for Kosovo, the New Kosovo Alliance, the Vetevendosje Movement and all other political subjects.