guardian.co.uk
As country's richest citizen takes office, political upheaval adds to woes of the poorest country in Europe
Piotr Smolar
Guardian Weekly, Tuesday 1 March 2011 14.36 GMT
The past few months have been a disaster for Kosovo. Allegations of widespread fraud marred the general election in December, much to the dismay of European observers. Negotiations with Serbia have been delayed. Concluding an investigation, the Council of Europe rapporteur Dick Marty heaped criticism on the country's leaders and gave new credence to lingering claims that Kosovan Albanian combatants were involved in organ trafficking during the 1999 conflict.
The recent political upheaval does not help. Kosovo, the poorest country in Europe, has a new president, who happens to be its richest citizen. Behgjet Pacolli, a building industry magnate, has been waiting for a long time to achieve this goal. But parliament only succeeded in approving his appointment at the third attempt, last week, after opposition parties decided to boycott the vote.
He finally scraped through thanks to an agreement between his own small party, the Alliance for a New Kosovo (AKR), and the Democratic party of Kosovo (PDK), led by prime minister Hashim Thaci, who will serve another four-year term. The government was approved by a narrow majority, with 65 votes in favour out of a total of 120.
"Without this agreement there would have been a real problem, with elections being held within six weeks," says a European official. "There was no enthusiasm for this solution."
Under considerable pressure from Brussels to end the political crisis in Kosovo, Thaci was forced to make concessions. Apart from the post of president he also granted the AKR three seats in the cabinet and the job of deputy prime minister. In a departure, a Serb will be appointed to this position.
The cliffhanger agreement caused considerable tension even among the premier's supporters. Pacolli is "the worst possible solution", said Fatmir Limaj, the deputy-leader of the PDK and the outgoing minister of transport and communications. He is currently embroiled in an inquiry by the Eulex mission, which is purportedly consolidating the rule of law in Kosovo.
Pacolli, who heads the Mabetex construction conglomerate, based in Lugano, Switzerland, was much in the news in Russia in the late-1990s. The group won a contract to refurbish the Kremlin and other government buildings awarded by the department of presidential affairs, but was subsequently accused of bribing senior Russian officials. It was the biggest scandal of the closing years of the Yeltsin regime.
Mabetex went on looking for work abroad, particularly in Kazakhstan, where it worked on several large public works projects. In recent years one of its leading sponsors has been Colonel Gaddafi.
In 2006 Pacolli decided to go home and play a part in Kosovar politics. He believes very strongly in the power of the economy, highlighting his own success in business. But his insistence on promoting direct dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on the issue of the former's status, without foreign intervention, has raised suspicions.
"Pacolli is seen as a walking success story, a self-made man, but people are not happy about his links with Russia," a European source in Pristina explains.
Some observers are dubious about how long the Pacolli-Thaci duo will last, particularly as the prime minister's international standing has been undermined by the Council of Europe report. Belgrade is demanding an international inquiry, under the aegis of the UN.
"For the time being there are only allegations, but for European capitals the situation is perfectly clear," says Verena Knaus, a Kosovo specialist. "They are wary of backing Thaci. It comes at a very bad time, just before the start of talks with Serbia – in which credibility will be a key factor."
The first direct negotiations between Pristina and Belgrade, long awaited by Brussels, could start in mid-March. The talks will address essential aspects of daily life for the Albanian and Serbian communities of northern Kosovo, such as electricity and water.
Serbia, which hopes this year to obtain official acceptance for its bid to join the EU, knows that Brussels insists on dialogue. But the country has other serious problems, with rising discontent which could play into the hands of nationalist forces.
This article originally appeared in Le Monde
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