Analysts view Serbian List's involvement in government as problematic

Kurti, leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, who has won the largest number of votes in early parliamentary elections held on 6 October, has declared that the Serbian List will not be included in the coalition government, which the Vetevendosje Movement aims at with the Democratic League of Kosovo. But, he has also stressed that he will respect the Kosovo Constitution. The latter guarantees representatives of the Serb minority community in the Kosovo Assembly to have a ministry in the Government of Kosovo, should the executive have 12 ministries.

Politologist Ramush Tahiri, speaking of Radio Free Europe, says a situation has already been created where the Serbian List, which has won 10 seats in the Kosovo Assembly, opposes a government that would lead Albin Kurti, while the latter disagrees with the Serbian List programme, which represents Serbia's interests.

According to him, compromise in this situation should be found between whether Kurt would like to introduce the name of the person who would represent the Kosovo Serb community, but who would be proposed by the Serbian List or wish to have a proposal for someone representing the Serb community, but not necessarily Serbian List policy.

The important thing is that only the votes of Serbian deputies define the concrete name of this minister. If, however, the Serbian List finds its candidate, who approves of Albin Kurti, it means she will have members in the government but will not be a coalition partner, because the programming side prevents, say, the coalition with the Serbian List. On this basis, the Serbian List remains in opposition or occasionally supports the government, but is not a coalition partner in Kurti's” government, Tahiri said.

Dusan Janiq from the Forum for Ethnic Relations in Belgrade tells Radio Free Europe that there are several options that describe resolving the situation. The first option, according to him, is for the Serbian List to be no part of the ruling coalition in Kosovo, but it remains a problem how a Serb representative for minister can be elected unless he is voted by more than half of the minority communities in the Parliament.

The second problem is what Kurti is willing to pay, so that the Serbian List does not withdraw from all institutions as an answer that would become legitimate. So if you don't want us here, then we're pulling out of everything. It is hard to say now what possible arrangement will look like, but it includes direct or indirect consultations with Belgrade and, as I know, this is the biggest problem for Kurt. Also, the problem for Kurt is that even if he doesn't need Serbs, he also needs a list (subject) of Albanian”, Janjic said.

He added that, in any case, there is danger that if an agreement on representation of Serbs in the government is not reached will be caused by the overall destruction of the arrangement stemming from the Brussels Agreement for the integration of Serbs to Kosovo institutions.

Politologist Tahiri points out that even if the Serbian List had a minister in the future government always if this government had only 12 ministries, while it would be the opposition in the Parliament, it would offer Kurt's comfort in the government it claims.

This doesn't put Albin Kurti in bad shape. Instead, he puts him in a clean situation as far as politics are concerned and in a clean situation. So, there is no co-operation with the Serbian List and there is no co-operation with its proposed minister and that Albin Kurti, under the Constitution, is forced to bring into government”, Tahiri said.

Meanwhile, Janzic, expresses the opinion that a government without the Serbian List would be possible if the prime contender for prime minister, Kurti, did not secure the support of the convincing majority within the Corps of Albanian political parties, which he currently claims does not share the Democratic League of Kosovo.

“Kurti needs another one or two partners on the part of Albanians and then he can neglect those 10 deputies (of the Serbian List) and, of course, manage the risks. On the other hand, I think that for the Serbian List it would be much better not to be in the ruling coalition. They could do much more than the opposition's status, because then they could act. So far they have been in the ruling coalition and then abandoned the Parliament and gave up the move, while the coalition remained. When you see all the demands of the Serbian List, because of which they boycotted the government, nothing has been done. In the end, it turned out that they were just to get the salaries”, Janjic said.

On the other hand, Serbian List officials have declined to respond to opportunities for eventual involvement in the country's future government.

However, connoisseurs of political developments have estimated that the Serbian List would abandon the appointment of a ministry in the country's government, only if it receives instructions from official Belgrade. The latter, on two sides, has supported only the Serbian List, as the sole subject of representation of the Serb community in Kosovo institutions.