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27 04 2007
In a first for a Kosovar TV station, Life in Kosovo discussed the orientation and ideologies of local political parties.
The programme examined how the various political parties differ from each other; Kosovan voting habits; and whether political discourse in Kosovo will change after final status is defined.
Panelists in the studio were:
Melihate Termkolli, minister of public affairs from the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK;
Hajredin Kuqi - MP of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK;
Kaqusha Jashari - president of the Social Democratic Party of Kosovo, PSDK;
Kushtrim Shaipi - political analyst; and
Nita Luci - anthropologist
"Overall," said Termkolli, "I think that there are a lot of things that political parties in Kosovo have in common."
According to Termkolli, one of the things which bound Kosovar political parties together was the independence war.
At this point, Kuqi agreed with Termkolli's statement about the issue of independence.
Kuqi said that in Kosovo there are more national movements than political parties, but suggested that after final status is defined many things would chnage, "The time when people voted for LDK because of its former leader Rugova or the PDK because of Thaci will soon be over."
He stressed that "people will vote because of the things that each party offers them through their programmes".
Jashari said that in the 90s, many political parties were created with the aim of developing democracy in Kosovo.
Jashari stated that her party has already a clear orientation. "We have been oriented as a social democratic party ever since the party was founded," she said.
"At this moment we are not a very powerful party,"continued Jashari, "but after the definition of the status it is going to be much easier for us to promote our programme."
Shaipi quoted his recent research paper showing that Kosovar voters are not informed about the political orientation of the parties, "Most of them vote because of the party leader."
Shaipi said that political parties and media bear responsibility for this, "They have not worked on educating and informing the population."
Life in Kosovo broadcast some short interviews with voters and asked them what they thought about the political programmes, orientation and ideologies of Kosovo's political parties.
At the beginning of 2010 BIRN network published Digging Deeper - A Guide for Investigative Journalists in the Balkans, written in cooperation with Sheila Coronel, Director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism and professor of professional practice at Columbia University, New York.
