In an annual survey named “International politics and political parties” conducted by the Prishtina Institute for Political Studies, PIPS, the Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, was rated as the most suitable political party to govern the country based on their policy and political program, narrowly beating Vetevendosje by only one percentage point.

The different perceptions of citizens across Kosovo were measured throughout the survey, focusing on Kosovo’s political parties and ideologies, its foreign policy and international geopolitical position.

The survey, published on Tuesday, was conducted across 38 municipalities nationwide. 1,200 citizens from Kosovo were interviewed from all communities; 800 Kosovo Albanians, 200 Kosovo Serbs and 200 from the other minority communities.

According to the PIPS, the survey was conducted as part of their Foreign Policy Analysis Program, which aims to analyze and support Kosovo’s European and international integration “by initiating public debate and producing research on regional, European and global developments, as well as their effects on Kosovo’s international position.”

Political Party Perceptions

According to the survey, the trust of Kosovars towards political parties remains mixed. 29 per cent said that they trust political parties and 28 per cent have no trust in political parties, while 22 per cent remained neutral.

43 per cent of Kosovars admit that they do not possess information on what concepts of “right wing” and “left wing” and “center” policies entail.

Questioned on which party possesses the highest quality political program to govern the country, 21.2 per cent ticked, LDK. 19.7 per cent chose Vetevendosje, while 16.1 per cent chose Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK.

Asked who they trust the most to lead Kosovo’s “Euro-Atlantic integration,” citizens ranked LDK as the most trusted with 22 per cent, while Vetevendosje and PDK came second with each of them having 17 per cent.

International Affairs

Key findings of PIPS concerning international politics and regional and global actors were measured. According to the survey, 52 per cent of Kosovars believe that Kosovo’s position has been weakened by Serbia’s financed campaign for recognition withdrawals.

65 per cent of respondents agreed that Kosovo “should do more” to create an independent foreign policy that does not always reflect the foreign policy of the US or the European Union. 

In a question measuring Kosovo’s perception of the EU’s approach to Kosovo, 53.6 per cent of the respondents either “agree” or “fully agree” with the belief that the EU is friendly towards Kosovo, with only 15.2 per cent in disagreement.

In regard to most favourable world leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was clearly perceived to be the most favourable leader for Kosovars, with 53 per cent hailing her as such, leaving the US President Donald Trump with only 17 per cent in favor of his leadership.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was just shy of beating President Trump, with the approval of 15.7 per cent of Kosovars who consider him to be the most favorable leader.

87 per cent of Kosovo Serbs prefer Russian President Vladimir Putin as their favourable international leader, but 4.3 per cent favored Putin overall out of the respondents included in the survey.

Russia was ranked as the worst state in terms of ability to exercise positive foreign relations and contributing to world peace, with Germany being given the highest overall rating for their behavior in relation to other countries.

Out of these countries, along with France, the US, the UK and China, Russia was considered the “least powerful,” and the US as the “most powerful.”

In regional terms, 82.9 per cent of Kosovars favored Albania as their main economic partner in the Western Balkans, with 9.5 per cent selecting North Macedonia and Serbia coming third with 3.9 percent.

You may read the full survey in this link.