In Europe, only two, current or former, heads of state or government wear scarves of other countries at major sports competitions and openly cheer for them, making it clear that it is their homeland and not the one they formally represent. One is Milorad Dodik (member of the BiH presidency in the previous mandate) and the other is Aljbin Kurti.
A few days ago, the Prime Minister of Kosovo took a picture with the scarf of Albania at the stadium in Hamburg, where he watched the match between the Albanian national team and the Vatreni with the Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković (without the Croatian scarf around his neck). Kurti's statements gave the impression that he is the prime minister of Albania and not of Kosovo.
Mile and Aljbin, like all self-respecting nationalists, also have the citizenship of another country in whose elections they regularly participate. Of course, Dodik in Serbia, Kurti in Albania. The first dreams of uniting Republika Srpska with Serbia, the second would like to unite Kosovo and Albania. They would like to erase the Drina and create a "Serbian world", Aljbin would like to cross out Prokletije and realize the idea of "natural Albania".
These are stale as well as counterproductive ideas, both for Serbs and Albanians, since their implementation leads them into direct conflict with their neighbors and into isolation. Serbs are surrounded by NATO members, Albanians by peoples with whom, to put it euphemistically, they do not have good relations, from Greeks to Macedonians to Serbs and part of Montenegrins. Greater Serbia and Greater Albania would only be an even bigger problem for themselves, but also for others.
The president of Republika Srpska is arrogant, arrogant, of modest general culture, does not speak foreign languages and tries to cover up his personal insatiable thirst for power and the preservation of privileges with nationalist noise. The face and attitude of the Kosovo Prime Minister resembles Mr. Bina, but unlike the simple-minded Bina, he is sneaky, insightful, enviably educated, speaks foreign languages and is ready to quietly take advantage of every opportunity that the Russophile, homophobic and anti-Western leadership in Serbia allows him to achieve. his main goal: reducing the Serbs in Kosovo to one percent.
Dodik and Kurti share another common dream: to become leaders of their nations even though they come, relatively speaking, from parts that never belonged to Serbia or Albania. It is not enough for Dodik to be the master of almost half of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he would like to be the first among the Serbs wherever they are. For now, he is content to be the most loved Serb in the Kremlin, despite the fact that Putin did not allow him to make love like Honecker and Brezhnev nearly half a century ago.
Kosovo is close to Kurti. For several years, he has been dedicatedly working to assert himself as a leader of Albanians in the diaspora - regardless of where they came from, from Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro or Serbia - especially where the Albanian community is numerous and the Albanian mafia organizations are powerful and influential. like Great Britain and Germany.
Unlike Dodik, who only makes noise and, apart from the desire to be caliph instead of a caliph, has not the slightest chance of becoming the new Serbian leader, Kurti seriously threatens the position of Edi Rama. Moreover, it is considered that Kurti has already displaced the Prime Minister of Albania from the top position in the diaspora.
Bearing in mind the influence and importance of the Albanian communities in the EU, Great Britain and the USA, this is a very indicative sign that something big is happening in the Albanian corps. In the eyes and hearts of Albanians in the diaspora, Kurti displaced Rama from the first place and in the future it could be a big problem because while the former mayor of Tirana has no idea that he should expand Albania's borders, Kurti's life mission is to unite all Albanians. The name of his party "Self-determination" is more than indicative.
In this context, Kurti recommends himself as a political support for Albanians in the republics of the former Yugoslavia. The political landing on North Macedonia did not go as the Kosovo prime minister had hoped, but he planted his flag among the Albanian-speaking citizens of North Macedonia. By the nature of things, ethnic Albanians in Serbia look more to Pristina than to Tirana, while the same cannot be said for Albanians in Montenegro.
Kurti's nationalism is much better packaged than Dodikov's or, if you prefer, Vučić's, and he makes excellent use of Russian propaganda and Russian people in power in Belgrade and throughout the region who are creating the Kurds of the 21st century out of Serbia and Serbs, the only European allies of Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Kurds paid a high price because after the Second World War, since Turkey opted for NATO, capitalism and democracy, in contrast to Ankara, they turned to the Soviet Union, communism and totalitarian ideologies. It is no coincidence that Ankara sees a much bigger enemy in Selahattin Demirtaş and his People's Democratic Party (HDP) than in Abdullah Ocalan and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Demirtaş is the only sincere pro-European political leader in Turkey, while the PKK is the best useful idiot of the Turks in violating the human and minority rights of the Kurds.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić reacted very harshly when Dodik showed ambitions to be the leader of all Serbs, including Dodik's privileged relationship with the Kremlin, while Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama apparently underestimated his younger colleague, considering that his status in the all-Albanian national corps unquestionable. In Tirana, elections are not won on allusions to Greater Albania, unlike in Pristina, and the sentiment is not as strong as in the diaspora.
Also, one should never underestimate political leaders with megalomaniacal egos who come from the periphery and have ambitions to enter the readership as founders or initiators of large national projects. The history, not only of the Balkan but also of the European peoples, is full of outsiders who were pushed to the surface by the mud of history.
Due to its Russophile, anti-Western and openly authoritarian form, as well as the size of Serbia and the number of Serbs in the region, Serbian nationalism is seen as potentially the greatest danger. In its shadow, all other nationalisms thrive that use as mimicry a pro-European, pro-Western, pro-LGBTQ narrative to identify themselves as diametrically Serbian, which is anti-European, anti-Western and homophobic. Simply put, Serbian nationalism is evil, vulgar, in the service of personal interests, while other Western Balkan nationalisms are hypocritical, insidious and burdened by the historical roles of their bearers.
Dodik and Kurti are perfect examples of the two types of described Balkan "patriots" and the creation of the so-called Greater Serbia or Greater Albania would represent an even bigger own goal for the EU and the USA, especially if the result of preventing the creation of Greater Serbia is the birth of Greater Albania. Russia, China, Iran and other revisionist regional powers would have a new precedent to portray the West as hypocritical and unjust.
Nationalism in its most naked form was not born in football stadiums during the eighties of the last century in Yugoslavia, but football and other sports arenas were abused for its spread. The outbursts at the European Football Championship in Germany, the sending of political messages, the chanting of fans as well as footballers, should not be taken lightly, passed over as minor matters or worse, ignored.
For the first time since the fall of the Berlin Wall, Europe has a serious enemy on its borders, intent on taking revenge for the collapse of the USSR by destroying the EU. Nationalism and xenophobia are the most effective tools for achieving that goal, bearing in mind that the majority of citizens are informed through social networks and create attitudes about things they know very little or nothing about. It was not without reason that Gustav Jung said a century ago that it is difficult to think and read and that is why people prefer to judge.
"Le nationalisme, c'est la guerre" (Nationalism is war) did not have the dilemma of François Mitterrand in his last presentation in the European Parliament when France took over the presidency of the European Union in January 1995 and when nationalists had support at the level of the EU members. statistical errors. The first socialist president of the Fifth Republic warned future generations where nationalism, of any kind, of any color, of any justification or strength, was leading. It's time to hang up on social media, even though it seems to be late.
Bonus video:
