LDK, as a key coalition partner, presented their no-confidence motion at an unusual time. First, it came in less than two months after the government had been formed. Second, it came at a time when the new government was mobilizing state-wide forces to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 inside the country.<\/p>\n
While many politicians went viral on traditional and social media to advice citizens to respect social distancing and to stay home, LDK was going to have none of that. They urgently called the Parliament to commence with the session, which was going to put their government down. With masks on their faces, gloves on their hands, Parliament civil servants spraying and sweeping MP\u2019s microphones after every speech, and with special seating arrangement put in place for social distancing within the Parliament chamber, more than two-thirds of MPs voted the Government out.<\/p>\n
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Image: Kosovo Parliament during no-confidence motion presented against the Government (source: Kosovo Public Broadcaster \u2013 RTK)<\/p>\n
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Trade Tariffs and the Principle of Reciprocity<\/strong><\/p>\n At the crux of the fall of the government in Kosovo lies with the U.S.\u2019s demand<\/a> for Kosovo to lift the 100 percent trade tariff that the previous government had put against Serbia\u2019s imports. Kosovo slapped Serbian imports with a 100 percent tariff in November 2018, in response to what the previous Government argued<\/a>, Serbia\u2019s diplomatic efforts to block Kosovo\u2019s membership in international organizations and its successful efforts in convincing a few states to withdraw their recognition of Kosovo. Indeed, the trade tariff was put immediately after Kosovo\u2019s third failed attempt to join Interpol in 2018.<\/p>\n Image: Former Kosovo PM, Ramush Haradinaj, featuring with his electoral campaign motto a \u201c100% state\u201d (source: Eiki Berg)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Both VV and LDK created the new Government with a coalition agreement, which suggested that they will lift the 100 percent tariff by replacing it with reciprocal measures against Serbia. Reciprocity was going to be followed as an international principle<\/a>, whereby whatever Serbia does against Kosovo\u2019s goods, services, citizens, Kosovo would reciprocate by doing the same. This includes such non-tariff barriers that Serbia put on Kosovo, including the inability of the latter\u2019s citizens to enter Serbia with their vehicle license and passports, or the inadmissibility of Kosovo issued documents when interacting with Serbia\u2019s institutions, and so on.<\/p>\n Soon after the coalition was formed and the Government became operational, LDK was increasingly uneasy with the planned policy of replacing tariffs with reciprocity \u2013 something which they had agreed as part of the coalition agreement. Not that LDK did not want to remove the tariff. In fact, they wanted to remove it without implementing the reciprocity measures. This is mostly because of the U.S. officials\u2019 public statements that Kosovo must lift the 100 percent trade tariff immediately and unconditionally.<\/p>\n Making the U.S. slightly unhappy is uncommon in Kosovo. For those that follow domestic politics in Kosovo, occasional press releases that the U.S. Embassy in Prishtina issues every now and then, almost immediately become Government policy in the country. VV, as the winning party in the recent elections and the main coalition partner, was set to lift the 100 percent tariff against Serbia, but not unconditionally as the U.S. had been demanding. They were set to replace the tariff with reciprocity measures \u2013 the implementation of which would make the lifting of the tariff slightly more delayed than what the U.S. had been demanding.<\/p>\n A Coup and an Agreement that Trump Seems to Want Before U.S. 2020 Elections<\/strong><\/p>\n It appears that VV\u2019s stance was politically too unorthodox for LDK to handle. Not implementing the U.S.\u2019s demands immediately<\/a> and unconditionally was too much to swallow for LDK<\/a>. As a result, and in stating through a public letter the possible \u201cdanger\u201d of \u201charming\u201d Kosovo\u2019s relations with the U.S., LDK went to vote its own government out of power.<\/p>\n What remained clear but not explicitly stated in LDK\u2019s public letter where they justified their reason to vote the government out was that they were doing this in response to U.S.\u2019s demands. Now, one may suggest that this is nothing less than a democratic process whereby a Government falls due to a non-confidence vote. But unable to escape reading into the fine lines of LDK\u2019s decision, I cannot go without stating that this was nothing less than a coup instigated by the U.S. using LDK as an instrument to make the coup transparent, but also, and importantly, peaceful.<\/p>\n Image: Donald Trump\u2019s Envoy for Kosovo and Serbia, Richard Grenell (left), Kosovo\u2019s President, Hashim Thaci (center), Serbia\u2019s President, Aleksandar Vucic (right). (Source: FAZ)<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n But why the urgency among select U.S. political circles?<\/p>\n Kosovo\u2019s 100 percent trade tariffs on Serbia\u2019s imports have been a major hurdle for the negotiations between the two parties to continue. Kosovo and Serbia have been part of the Brussels facilitated negotiations on the \u201cnormalization of relations\u201d since March 2011. As soon as Kosovo began applying the tariffs, Serbia withdrew from the negotiation process until Kosovo removes the tariff<\/a>.<\/p>\n As such, the tariff was also a major blow to Kosovo\u2019s President, Hashim Thaci, and Serbia\u2019s President, Aleksandar Vucic, idea of a possible \u201cland for peace\u201d deal between the two parties<\/a>. The idea has been circulated in the media by both Presidents since summer 2018 \u2013 none of them making it clear what they were suggesting with such phrases put to the public test as \u201cland swap,\u201d \u201cborder correction,\u201d \u201cborder demarcation,\u201d and so on. But many in Kosovo, and elsewhere, worried that such ideas entitled a \u201cfinal\u201d agreement whereby Kosovo cedes parts of its Serb-majority northern territory to Serbia in exchange for gaining recognition from the latter.<\/p>\n![\"Image:](\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/398\/2-300x218.png\")
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