Kosovo PM's party drops threat of quit coalition
Posted: 21 November 2009 0400 hrs

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PRISTINA : Kosovo's main ruling party withdrew on Friday its threat to split from its junior coalition partner in the first such rift since Pristina proclaimed independence in 2008.

The clash between Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci's party and its junior partner led by President Fatmir Sejdiu over their coalition accord comes just days before the UN's highest court begins hearings on the legality of the territory's independence.

Thaci's Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) said earlier it was rethinking its state-wide coalition with Sejdiu's Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) after reports the LDK was set to forge an alternative alliance at a municipal level after recent local polls.

But the PDK later said in a statement that the "partnership of the coalition (government) at central level remains consolidated, untouchable and functional."

And the LDK confirmed it "will continue to be responsible for the functioning and implementation of state duties."

The brief and confusing crisis between the coalition partners began when Thaci's party threatened to "re-examine or to reform the coalition government."

The leading Kosovo daily Koha Ditore reported that Thaci had decided to end the partnership with Sejdiu after the LDK agreed on a local-level coalition with the smaller opposition Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK).

The move came just after Kosovo's successfully organized first elections in the newly-declared state.

So far 63 countries have recognised Kosovo's independence, but Serbia, backed by Russia, still considers Kosovo as its southern province. Belgrade is challenging Pristina's move before the International Court of Justice, with the first hearings scheduled for December 1.

The PDK won a majority of votes in last Sunday's municipal elections although the LDK triumphed in the capital Pristina.

Both parties are to go to a December 13 run-off, the PDK in 16 and the LDK in 11 municipalities respectively.

Analyst Belul Beqaj said the government crisis was an "imprudent adventure by the leadership (of Kosovo) which has acted emotionally and not rationally."

"It will have consequences ... and deepen the differences between the coalition partners ahead of the run-off," Beqaj said.

- AFP /ls