This week there are local elections in Kosovo and next year there will be national elections. All Albanian parties are united by the demand for independence. If this continues to be thwarted, frustration is likely to grow. Without clarity about status, it is difficult to see how their situation can be ameliorated. The Serbs will continue to see themselves as part of Serbia with no necessity to accommodate towards the Kosovan Albanians, while many Albanians will continue to regard the Kosovan Serbs as a Belgrade fifth column.
Risks arise from the nationalistic stance of the present government.
Because this is a time of democratic transition, the Serbian position will be heard with much greater sympathy than before and the ambiguity of Kosovo's position could grow. Both Kostunica and Zoran Djindjic, the leader of the opposition alliance, have talked about bringing Serbia and Kosovo closer together and implementing Res olution 1244, including the paragraph about sending Yugoslav and Serbian troops to Kosovo. Albanian leaders fear that the argument for independence will seem less pressing since Milosevic is no longer in power. Opportunities arise from the democratic character of the new regime. Dialogue is all the more important to open up Serbia and to change the ingrained attitudes of the last decade.