(Original text: February 18, 2021)
For the past 15 years,
Kosovo's most frequently mentioned political movement is Vetevendosje, literally
"Lëvizja Vetëvendosje!" which means "Self-determination
movement". Vetevendosje came to power in Kosovo in a landslide election
victory. Does the victory of Vetevendosje mark the beginning of a new era in
Balkan politics busted in poverty and corruption in the grip of chauvinism and banal
nationalist discourse?
Vetevendosje, the winning party in the 14 February elections, received
48 percent of the vote, had a serious victory against its closest rival; PDK
(Democratic Party of Kosovo), the party of Hashim Thaci, which won 17 percent,
and the party of the founding president of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, which won 13
percent.
The most important factor behind this success of Vetenvendosje is
46-year-old young leader Albin Kurti. It is predicted that the Vetevendosje
government led by Albin Kurti, who started politics on the streets, will bring
a serious change to Kosovo. The main reason for this prediction is that Vetevendosje
has a serious political and economic program, unlike the political actors that
dominate the Balkans in particular, Kosovo in general. What's in this program?
When we look at the discours of Albin Kurti and the political program of
Vetevendosje, the emphasis on the rule of law and the strengthening of the
state are two important points that draw attention at first sight. The political
program of Vetevendosje, which aims to provide income justice has a
developmental perspective, aiming to increase national production and
prioritizes the support of small enterprises. In addition, it foresees the
prevention of unregistered labor and further strengthening of unions. Another
priority of the economic program is the struggle against corruption. Vetevendosje
clearly emphasizes that the privatizations will be re-evaluated due to the
corruption, unemployment and economic collapse caused by the privatized state
owned enterprises in Kosovo, which are bankrupted with corruption and poverty.
In this context, Vetevendosje frightens the big capital owners who are in
collaboration with the mafia. Another feature that distinguishes the Vetevendosje
movement in Kosovo politics is that it respects the rights of women and
minorities.
But neither the mafia, nor the owners of big capital, nor those who have
ruled Kosovo for years in the swamp of corruption and poverty with rhetorical
nationalist rhetoric, have almost nothing to do against Vetevendosje! When it
comes together with the ideal of the self-named Vetevendosje, that is, the
"United Albania" ideal of the "self-determination
movement", another fundamental political element of the developmentalist,
statist and anti-corruption program, the voice of its rivals is deeply muted.
The origins of the Vetenvendosye Movement, founded in 2005, are the
Albanian Rrjetit të Aksionit për Kosovën movement that took to the squares in
Kosovo in 1997, but is originally known by the acronym KAN (Kosovo Action Network).
Albin Kurti, formed a party around the slogan "No reconciliation, the
right to self-determination" (Jo Negocijata Vetevendosjë), a slogan that was
written on the walls in June 2005, when street clashes with UN forces were
exacerbated by KAN militants who took to the streets demanding the independence
of Kosovo. Kurti was one of the militants that was taken under custody.
KAN's request was very clear: "We want Kosovo to have the right to
self-determination! The independence of Kosovo will be determined by the
referendum of the people of Kosovo, not by the negotiations and international
powers that compromise our freedom! "
Vetevendosje, which received 13 percent of the votes in the first elections in 2010 after the establishment of the party in 2005, was still seen as a youth movement in its early years and was seen as a street power that would put pressure on the parliament rather than a party to take power in the future. They showed that they are permanent in politics by getting 14 percent of the votes in 2014. After consolidating its place in Kosovo's politics, it gained 27 percent in the 2017 elections and 26 percent in the 2019 elections, paving the way for the path to power, with the confidence that they have an unusual political consistency in Kosovo politics.
The feature that distinguishes KAN from other nationalist parties is its
emphasis on human rights, social justice, education, culture and arts. The
political range of the "right to self-determination" discourse
constitutes the dynamic of Vetevendosje's exit to the political arena, the
struggle for "United Albania". The point where this dynamic differs
from banal nationalism is that it has a developmentalist, social justice,
statist and political program that defends the rule of law, puts forward a
serious program against corruption and poverty, and also cares about the
minority rights in Kosovo. It is no coincidence that the name of the party is
formed by the "right to self-determination" and Kurti describes
himself and his party as "leftist".
In every occasion Kurti announces that he is not a “chauvinist”, but
also putting emphasize that Albanians should have the right to live in an
independent and a democratic country of their own, where there will be rule of
law. Kurti has already announced his first goal in the "national
question": Firstly, reconciliation with the Serb minority in Kosovo,
rapprochement with the EU, then negotiate with Serbia. In this context, Kurti,
who is likely to clash with the mafia-backed big capital groups in the future,
seems to have acknowledged the importance of EU support in this fight. It
should not come as a surprise that Kurti, who has an unusual profile in the
Balkans, will be welcomed by the EU.
At this point, the main question is; What kind of foreign policy will Kosovo
follow, which has been the puppet and chief stooge of the USA in the region for
years. What kind of foreign policy will Kosovo follow in relation with EU, USA
and even Russia, and how this policy will affect Balkan politics, especially in
the post-Trump period? This will be the subject of our next article.
