Kosovo Serb Party Savages Kurti’s Election ‘Insults’

The Belgrade-backed Serbian party in Kosovo has condemned the leader of the Vetevendosje Movement and likely new Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, for saying that while Srpska Lista will not be part of his new coalition government, his cabinet will still contain a minister from the party.

On Thursday, Srpska Lista denounced Kurti's Wednesday statement in which he also said the elections in Serb-majority municipalities "were not free and fair".

In a press release, the party called his comments "an attempt to hide Albin Kurti's unbridled chauvinism and hatred of everything Serbian with lies".

"Although he announced that, under international pressure, he will have to respect the result of Srpska Lista, Kurti has tried, with lies and insults, to belittle the victory of the Serbian people and the unity shown by the Serbian people in the October 6 elections," the press release said.

After Vetevendosje won most votes in legislative elections held in Kosovo on October 6, Kurti initially said he did not want Srpska Lista in any government he headed.

But in an interview for N1  TV station on Wednesday evening, Kurti clarified that he was open to having a minister from the party in the cabinet.

In his coalition negotiations, "we are trying to create a coalition that will not require Serbian List votes", he said. "That way, Srpska Lista will be in opposition. The fact that one minister has to be a Serb, from the Serbian community, does not mean that he will be in the coalition; it means that it is a constitutional obligation," he said.

Under the Kosovo constitution, the Serbian minority has a right to at least one ministerial post in the government.

Asked whether this meant the Serbian minister will be from Srpska Lista,...