Kosovo ditches its prime minister

Kosovo ditches its prime minister

While Bajram Kosumi quit voluntarily on March 1, Nexhat Daci was summarily removed from his post after refusing to go.

The changes occurred after the Express newspaper predicted that Agim Ceku, a popular former leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, and the current head of the Kosovo Protection Corps, KPC, was about to get the top job.

Analysts link the latest developments to the death of president Ibrahim Rugova in January, which created space for a new strong personality to take his place. Nevertheless, they broadly approve, suggesting that Ceku's immense popularity will help to create to a more united and composed government.

"The lack of authority after Rugova's death, the possibility of political crisis [and] a weakened coalition have contributed to this situation", said Express columnist Shkelzen Maliqi.

"The internationals understood that the government needed to be re-configured for status talks," he added, in reference to the negotiations currently getting underway on possible independence from Serbia.

"A strong figure is needed in Kosovo, only partly because of the ongoing status talks," said journalist and Balkans expert Tim Judah. "Standards have to be fulfilled and it is believed that Ceku, as a military [man] and a strong figure, will be obeyed when he orders something."

Kosumi, a member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, AAK, said that he was quitting for the general good of Kosovo and that by doing so he hoped to preserve the government's parliamentary majority.

"Taking into consideration the general political interest of Kosovo and its cooperation with our friends who helped us, and still do, I consider my resignation. a righteous and moral act," he said.

The ruling coalition in Kosovo is made up of the main political party, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, and the AAK. When it was formed in the wake of parliamentary elections in 2004, it chose another former KLA leader, Ramush Haradinaj as prime minister and Rugova as president.

Kosumi's appointment as premier followed Haradinaj's resignation in March last year, after he was indicted for war crimes. Lacking authority and self-confidence, the new prime minister struggled to fill the shoes of his predecessor. As a result, a cabinet which was praised for its work under Haradinaj proved inefficient under Kosumi.

Ceku was nominated to become prime minister by Fatmir Sejdiu, who replaced Rugova as president. Ceku has accepted the request, saying that he is ready to serve the people of Kosovo in any capacity, though his nomination still has to be approved by parliament.

Unlike Kosumi, Daci did not offer to resign. But his party, the LDK, has voted to replace him with its secretary, Kole Berisha. Ramush Tahiri, Daci's advisor, told Kosovo's national broadcaster, RTK, that the LDK decision to replace his boss was "Stalinist".

Political experts say the changes reflect the political instability that has gripped Kosovo since the demise of Rugova, an established political figure who lead passive resistance to Yugoslav rule in the Nineties.

Ceku, who looks set to fill the void left by his death, has been voted Kosovo's most trusted public figure in the last three polls conducted by RIINVEST, a non-profit research institute. A former fighter against the Serbs in the Croatian Army, he led the KLA fight against the Serbs in 1999. After the United Nations took over Kosovo that year, he became head of the KPC, a force that emerged from former KLA structures.

Since Rugova's death, the Kosumi government had been buffeted by scandals and a reputation for incompetence, and attacked relentlessly by the media for corruption and inefficiency.

Kosumi's reputation was further dented by reports that a friend had paid for a luxury private jet to fly him back from a vacation in Turkey to participate in a meeting with the UN envoy, Kai Eide.

The financial probity of Daci had also been questioned.

Meanwhile, the government's reputation for inefficiency reached new heights in January, when a mudslide blocked the main road from Kosovo to Macedonia. More than 45 days after the disaster, the government has still not opened the crucial route.

Members of the public and the political opposition alike have welcomed the latest personnel changes, while key international figures appear unconcerned.

Martti Ahtisaari, the Finnish diplomat leading the final status talks, who was visiting Pristina on the day of the upheavals for the second round of negotiations, said they would have no affect on the outcome of the discussions. He insisted that the changes were an internal affair for the Kosovo government and said he respected that "each house has its rules".

The special representative of the UN Secretary General in Kosovo, Soren Jesen Petersen, said the developments were normal democratic procedures and thanked both Kosumi and Daci for their contributions.

In Belgrade, the reaction was sharper, with the government continuing to assert past allegations that Ceku is a war criminal. "The Serbian government finds it absolutely unacceptable that a man who should be tried for war crimes could be elected to any political office," a spokesman said.

The main opposition party in Pristina, the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, said they expected the new leaders to distance themselves from their predecessors' legacy of mismanagement and abuse.

"The PDK hopes these changes were not just a result of shifts of forces within the subjects in the coalition, but rather a change in approach toward political action and thinking," said a statement released by the party.

The changes were also welcomed by Kosovo's other opposition party, ORA, led by Veton Surroi, which opposed Daci's appointment as parliamentary speaker right from the start.

"We hope the new speaker will firstly unblock the assembly's work and advance the democratic processes in Kosovo society," said an ORA press release.

Maliqi said he also hoped for positive changes to the political situation in Kosovo, leading to a more united government.

"Although some are predicting a political crisis, there is no real reason to worry, especially knowing how popular Ceku is and how unpopular Kosumi was," Maliqi said.

The next few days are likely to see more changes in the cabinet, as the incoming prime minister submits his list of new ministers to the assembly.

Zana Limani is a Balkan Insight contributor. Balkan Insight is BIRN's internet publication.