Kosovo coalition partner to launch no-confidence vote
THE key par t ner in Kosovo’s r uling coalit ion will f ile a noc on f idenc e mot ion i n t he gover nment, it s leader sa id on Wednesday, set t i ng t he stage for a polit ica l cr isis i n t he midst of t he coronav ir us pandemic.
The government led by two former opposition parties took office less than two months ago, ousting an old guard that had dominated the former Serbian province since its 2008 independence.
But f a ul t l i nes quickl y opened up between the leftwing Vetevendosje par t y, whose leader Albin Kurti is Prime Minister, and its centreright partner the LDK.
On Wednesday, the LDK’s leader Isa Mustafa told reporters his party would launch the “motion of no confidence to overthrow the Kurti government” because the premier had fired an LDK minister without consultation.
Earlier in the day, Kurti dismissed the interior minister Agim Veliu because he had expressed support for declaring a state of emergency over the coronavirus -- a move Kurti is against, but his top rival President Hashim Thaci supports.
“Today, an LDK minister has been sacked, contrary to the coalition agreement,” LDK leader Mustafa told reporters.
He said the decision was also driven by concern that Kurti was poisoning Kosovo’s relationship with the US, its key ally.
In recent weeks, Washington has intensified heavy pressure on Kosovo to fully lift a tariff it levied on Serbian goods 2018.
That measure froze EU-led talks between Kosovo and Serbia, who have yet to normalise ties 20 years after they clashed in war.
Since taking power, Kurti has resisted scrapping the tariff, instead pushing for a partial lift to the strong dismay of the US, the LDK and President Thaci.
S p e a k i n g a f t e r L D K ’s announcement, Kurti said he was not “surprised”, but would fight to hold the alliance together.
“I still say today that we have LDK as a partner. We want to have the LDK in the ruling coalition,” he said.
To take down the government, LDK would need approval from a majority of deputies in the 120-member parliament, where Kurti has only 29 seats.
That could leave impoverished Kosovo with a political vacuum as it tries to halt the spread of Covid-19, which has infected at least 20 people among its population of 1.8 million.
Pristina has already put strict measures in place, including shutting schools and all businesses except for pharmacies and food stores.