Albanian nationalism in Kosovo

The overthrow of the Kosovo government under Albin Kurti on Wednesday night has created a fluid political situation, similar to that after the last election, creating the need for the formation of a new government, without excluding the possibility of new elections.

The Kosovo government led by Albin Kurti was overthrown on Wednesday by a no-confidence motion initiated by the junior party in the governing coalition, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK.

The presidency of the Kosovo parliament will meet on Tuesday to consider the no-confidence motion against the government of Albin Kurti initiated by the junior partner in his coalition government, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK - which looks increasingly likely to pass.

Prime Minister Albin Kurti on Wednesday dismissed Interior Minister Agim Veliu amid a dispute over whether to impose a state of emergency which has pitted the country's top political leaders against each other.

If Washington's threats of denying economic aid and withdrawing US troops from Kosovo and Metohija do not discipline the prime minister of interim Pristina institutions, Albin Kurti, and in case he does not suspend tariffs, it is not excluded that the United States will pull another trump card - a change of government in Pristina.

Donald Trump Jr wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that he agrees with a suggestion by Republican senator David Perdue that the US should "reconsider its presence" in Kosovo if Pristina does not agree to fully revoke its 100 per cent tariffs on imports from Serbia.

Within less than 24 hours, Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has received two high-level letters calling on him to abolish the tariffs imposed on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in order to help restart the stalled dialogue with Serbia.

The new government will have 15 ministries, instead of the 12 planned so far, with the Prime Minister, Kurti, coming from Vetevendosje, and the speaker from the LDK. The President of Kosovo's post - another thorny issue - is off the table for the moment.

Albin Kurti, Kosovo's candidate for Prime Minister, has only until next Tuesday to form a new government - while the two main parties, his own Vetevendosje Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, have not yet reached a coalition agreement.

After Albin Kurti, leader of the winning Vetevendosje party, in the October 2019 snap elections again refused to name a possible prime minister, President Hashim Thaci has written back that he might ask the Constitutional Court of Kosovo to clarify the constitutional and legal position.