The findings of the UNDP’s April 2020 Public Pulse poll have recorded the highest levels of satisfaction since 2010 with the work of Kosovo’s key institutions.
Satisfaction with the work of Speaker of Parliament Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti has seen “dramatic increase”, while satisfaction with President Hashim Thaçi has decreased.
Background
The Kurti Government was toppled in March after a successful no-confidence vote triggered by junior coalition partner LDK, justified with Kurti’s resistance to US envoy’s Richard Grenell’s request to drop tariffs on Serbian goods immediately and unconditionally instead of in two steps. Kurti has been leading a caretaker government since March.
President Hashim Thaçi’s decision to sidestep Kurti’s LVV, the largest party, and have the LDK form the new government was approved by the Constitutional Court.
The old guard of the LDK leadership consider Speaker of Parliament Vjosa Osmani at odds with the party. Osmani, who is the second most voted politician in Kosovo, with only a few votes difference with Prime Minister Albin Kurti, has refuted allegations that she may resign from the party.
Following are some of the main findings of the UNDP’s April 2020 Public Pulse.
Institutions
Satisfaction with the work of the Speaker of Parliament has increased by 51.9 percent points from November 2019 when it was recorded at 20.5 percent, to 72.4 percent in April 2020.
Satisfaction with the work of the Prime Minister has jumped from 20.7 percent to 65.4 percent and that with the work of the government from 14.4 percent in November 2019 to 60.7 percent in April 2020.
The Democratization Index (DI) and Economic Confidence Index (ECI) are two indexes measured on a scale from 0 points to 3 points.
DI has increased by 0.30 percentage points from 1.23 in November 2019 reaching a positive value of 1.53.
Kosovars think that media freedom in Kosovo has increased notably from November 2019 (46.6 percent) to April 2020 (69.10 percent.
The ECI has decreased from November 2019 (1.05) by 0.07 points down to 0.98 points as measured in April 2020.
An average of 42.5 percent of respondents are satisfied with the work of key institutions of Kosovo, compared to 17,6 percent in November 2019. This is the highest level ever recorded by the Public Pulse since 2010.
A lower increase in satisfaction level with the work of Parliament has been recorded, from 18,6 percent in November 2018 to 33.4 percent in April 2020.
Kosovars are also more satisfied with the work courts from November to April.
Contrary to the general increase of satisfaction with the work of most institutions, Kosovars’ satisfaction with President Hashim Thaçi, has dropped 21.2 percent in November 2019 to 18.7 in April 2020.
Political direction
There is also dissatisfaction with the political direction of Kosovo in general – 62.8 percent of respondents are either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with it, compared to 50.1 percent in November.
The level of satisfaction with the political direction of Kosovo is measured at only 10.6 percent, similar to that in November 2019, 10.2 percent.
A total of 33.6 percent of respondents would be ready to protest for political reasons, including: 34.7 percent Kosovo Albanians, 17.6 percent Kosovo Serbs, and 24 percent members of other communities.
Whereas 56 percent of Kosovo Serbs are indifferent regarding the political direction of Kosovo, 72 percent of Kosovo Albanians and 43.1 percent members of other communities are dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with the political direction of Kosovo.
Safety
The Public Pulse has recorded the highest levels of safety ever, with 86.3 percent of respondents feeling safe in the streets of Kosovo.
Women (87.2 percent) feel safer than men (85.4 percent).
Despite lower levels of safety reported by Kosovo Serbs (46.2 percent), the data still show a consistent increase in the number of respondents who feel safe outside from November 2018 (10.4 percent) to November 2019 (27.1 percent).
Pressing Problems
The Public Pulse poll shows similar problems to previous polls faced by Kosovars: 37.2 of respondents reported unemployment, 23.5 percent corruption, and 15.3 percent poverty as the three paramount issues that impact their social well-being.
Kosovo Serbs consider unemployment (38.5 percent), organized crime (13.5 percent), and inter-ethnic relations (11.5 percent) as the most pressing issues.
A total of 80.7 percent of respondents consider that employment in the public institutions of Kosovo is not based on merit as opposed to November 2019 when 77.5 percent believed that to be the case.
On average, 20.7 percent of respondents claim they perceive large-scale corruption to be present in public and international institutions in Kosovo. This is the lowest value on the perception about large-scale corruption ever recorded by the Public Pulse.
