Whatever the results of Sunday elections, the next government will have to tackle growing poverty to counter threats of ethnic violence in the north of the country.
The Kosovars are preparing to go to the polls in a context of economy in difficulty and ethnic tensions revived between Albanian and Serbs, during the legislative elections which will take place this Sunday.
According to forecasts, the Albanian Prime Minister Albin Kurti could obtain a small majority. He will probably have to form a coalition with his main Albanian rivals.
Whatever the result, the next government will have to tackle growing poverty to counter the threat of a rise in ethnic violence in the North.
According to a recent World Bank report, Kosovo is the European country where the poverty rate decreases the most slowly. According to Stefan Kalabaactivist of a Serbian NGO, ordinary people fight against inflation and a faulty economy.
We met Stefan Kalaba in Mitrovica
“” At the highest level, the politicians of Pristina and Belgrade are practically wedged. But at the lower level, people live their lives, simply. Political instability causes a lot of stress on the market. People don’t even try to find a job in Kosovo. As soon as they finish their secondary studies, young people do not even try to find a job here. They emigrate to Germany, Switzerland and the rest of the EU ».
Blocking at the highest level
Outgoing Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić were criticized for having rekindled the polarization between Pristina and the Serbs. The EU has repeatedly tried to make them meet in 2023 and 2024, but without success.
The result of decades of unresolved conflicts after the 1999 war which led to the independence of Kosovo vis -à -vis Serbia, is that structural economic problems are now pushing the most qualified young people to emigrate to Western Europe .
“”Kosovo currently depends on international donations, without which it will not be viable “Says Petar Djordjević, head of an NGO,”This is one of the poorest economies in Europe”.