Kurti after Abdixhiku and Osmani meeting: rationality prevails

The leader of Vetevendosje and outgoing prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that rationality is prevailing in the talks on forming a new government in Pristina, after he met with the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Lumir Abdixhiku, and President Vjosa Osmani. The meeting was held in Pristina at a moment when the constitutional deadline to constitute the new legislature is approaching and a clear majority is still out of reach.

Kurti said he was optimistic about the rationality that, as he put it, is emerging from these meetings, adding that the talks require trust and time to bear results and that they remain confidential. There were no concrete conclusions after the meeting. The talks followed an earlier conversation with the leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Bedri Hamza, which failed to produce a deal, prompting Kurti to turn his attention to the opposition LDK and the president, who comes from that party.

Why are 53 seats not enough for Kurti?

Vetevendosje won 53 seats in the June 7 election, the third vote in just 16 months. It is by far the strongest single list, yet that number does not by itself open the door to government. Electing a cabinet in the Assembly of Kosovo requires 61 votes, while the threshold for electing the president of Kosovo is set far higher, at a minimum of 80. The gap between what was won and what is needed is precisely the space in which the current political arithmetic is playing out.

To bridge that gap, Vetevendosje is counting on the votes of MPs from minority communities, but without the MPs of the Serbian List. Such math leaves little room for error and makes every single vote precious. Hence Kurti’s pivot toward the LDK, a party that formally remains in opposition but has signaled that it is ready for institutional cooperation and that avoiding new elections would be in the country’s interest.

Abdixhiku and his party have so far been among the sharpest critics of the outgoing government. A message that they are willing to talk without joining the cabinet opens the possibility of a majority supported from outside, or at least a constructive stance during key votes. For Kurti, who is eight seats short of a majority, even that concession could be the difference between forming a government and yet another electoral cycle.

What does the August 7 deadline mean?

Time, however, is a factor that does not favor Kurti. The constitutional deadline to constitute the assembly expires on August 7, narrowing the window for negotiation week by week. If the required majority is not secured by that date, Kosovo could face the scenario all actors say they want to avoid, a fourth election in a little over a year and a half.

It is precisely the fear of returning to the ballot box that binds otherwise opposed players together. The LDK has made clear that it does not want to be the one to push Kosovo into a new campaign, while insisting that it remains in opposition. Kurti, for his part, is trying to translate that willingness to cooperate into actual votes, while President Osmani, whose own mandate depends on the balance of power in parliament, has an interest in seeing the deadlock resolved.

For now, the only tangible result is the tone of the talks, not their outcome. Kurti speaks of rationality, the LDK of institutional cooperation, and the calendar of a deadline that does not move. Do you think Kurti can assemble a majority without the Serbian List before August 7, or is Kosovo heading toward a fourth election in less than two years?