Footage from Kosovo: Parliament member throws egg at PM
An opposition parliamentarian in Kosovo threw eggs at acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti during a session, leading to its suspension. Time Kadrijaj shouted "Shame!", the broadcast was cut, and security guards protected Kurti. The incident occurred as he sought to postpone the vote on the parliament speaker. The constitutional deadline has passed, and the political crisis could lead to a fourth election in two years.
An opposition parliamentarian in Kosovo threw eggs at acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti during a session on Saturday, leading to its suspension. Time Kadrijaj, from the "Alliance" party, shouted "Shame!" at him. The live broadcast was cut, and security guards rushed to protect Kurti. The incident occurred during the session that opened the parliament's term after the June elections, as Kurti tried to postpone for the second time the vote on the parliament speaker. He was supposed to present a candidate for the post by Thursday but asked for more time to advance an agreement with the opposition on a candidate for the presidency. The constitutional deadline for electing the speaker passed on Friday. The two roles are intertwined: with the election of the speaker, a 60-day period begins for electing a president, requiring a two-thirds majority, 80 of the 120 seats. Without the opposition, Kurti lacks such a majority, and if no president is elected in time, Kosovo will go to elections again. Kurti responded that he is "happy to pay this price." The session was interrupted before his postponement request was decided, and a new date has not been set. Rival lawmakers threatened to turn to the courts. This is the third election in Kosovo in less than two years, after previous parliaments were dissolved amid deep political division. The difficulty lies in electing the president, which also requires the opposition, which refuses to meet with Kurti, demands an agreed candidate without presenting its own, and already boycotted a vote on his candidate in March, leading to the parliament's dissolution. This is not the first incident in the Kosovar parliament: in 2015, opposition members threw eggs at then-Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, and that year, members of Kurti's party, then in opposition, used tear gas in the chamber. In 2023, when Kurti was already prime minister, an opposition lawmaker poured water on him during a speech, and a brawl broke out. For now, Kosovo operates without an elected president and without a permanent government, and if no agreement is reached, the young democracy in Europe will be forced into a fourth election in two years.