Former President Hashim Thaçi has appointed Flakron Shala Kosovo’s Consul General to the Czech Republic upon the recommendation of the Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj Stublla, Koha daily reported on Tuesday.
Flakron is the son of MP Haxhi Shala, whose vote determined the voting of the current government on June 3, after the toppling of the previous Kurti government.
MP Shala had declared his vote against the new government, but President Thaçi and leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj paid a visit to his home after midnight on the day the vote was scheduled, and Shala changed his mind.
“Last night, however, after President and former Prime Minister Haradinaj visited my family, I changed my mind. My vote will be for the Hoti government for the sake of these two persons [Hashim Thaçi and Ramush Haradinaj],” he stated in parliament before the vote.
Shala was elected MP for the NISMA party but after his meeting with the two leaders and his vote in parliament, he quit his old party and entered Haradinaj’s AAK.
The foreign minister from AAK proposed Flakron Shala’s name to the president on September 28, according to documents published by Koha, and the president decreed him as Consul General on October 20. The information was not made public until Koha revealed it on Tuesday.
The Minister, the MP and the Consul did not reply to media requests for comments on Tuesday. The office of Acting President Vjosa Osmani said they will review the consul’s appointment to check whether it meets the criteria.
Flakron Shala is not known to have previously served in diplomacy. He is reportedly following postgraduate studies in the Czech Republic.
The current government may have not been approved without the vote of MP Haxhi Shala, as it received the minimum required of 61 votes in the 120-seat parliament.
Thaçi admitted he had visited Shala after midnight, the night before, but said this had happened by coincidence, although it had resulted in the MP promising them to vote for the government.
Kosovo’s largest party Vetevendosje (LVV) has asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality of Thaçi’s “inciting, convincing and obligating” Shala to change his vote in favor of the government. LVV argues that the president overstepped his authority and violated the division of powers principle.
