KOSOVO: REVIEWS OF PM CEKU'S FIRST 100 DAYS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000609

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR DRL, INL, EUR/SCE, AND EUR/SSA, NSC FOR BRAUN,
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: REVIEWS OF PM CEKU'S FIRST 100 DAYS
GENERALLY POSITIVE

REF: PRISTINA 600 PRISTINA 242

PRISTINA 00000609 001.2 OF 002


SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The first 100 days of the government of
Kosovo Prime Minister Ceku have been on balance very
successful. Ceku has focused his personal attention on
Standards-related portfolios -- outreach to minorities,
minority-focused legislation, property rights, security --
given priority by the international community in the final
status process. Ceku's 100-day report to the Kosovo Assembly
prompted fair criticism from the opposition that Ceku has not
removed a single minister from office, notwithstanding his
strong indication upon taking office that heads would be
rolling. However much the political realities of maintaining
a delicately balanced governing coalition may have forced
Ceku to keep his broom in the closet, we believe he continues
to be the right PM at the right time for Kosovo. END
SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) In a July 14 address to the Kosovo Assembly, Kosovo
Prime Minister Agim Ceku applauded his own government for its
performance during the first 100 days of his administration.
He praised in particular the government's focus on
fulfillment of UNMIK "Standards of Good Governance" generally
and more recent determination to fulfill the Contact Group's
13 "Priorities for Standards Implementation" (reftel A).
Ceku placed these government efforts firmly in a context of
the final status negotiations and an expectation of imminent
independence for Kosovo as well as integration into European
structures.


3. (SBU) Commenting on his cabinet, Ceku told the media June
28 that he had reviewed the performance of each minister and
that "I do not see that any minister has abused his office or
not contributed to the Government's success. For the time
being, I do not see any reason to change." In the debate
that followed the PM's address, opposition leaders pointedly
compared the record of current ministers with Ceku's rhetoric
upon taking office. On March 10 Agim Ceku had announced a
no-nonsense policy calling for every minister to be subjected
to his personal review every 90 days (reftel B). At the
time, Ceku acknowledged wide-spread accusations of corruption
and vowed that underperforming, let alone corrupt, ministers
would be removed. Majority coalition partner Democratic
League of Kosovo (LDK) publicly authorized Ceku, a member of
the junior partner Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK),
to fire underperforming LDK ministers. (NOTE. Although the
PM would have such legal authority in any event, the LDK
gesture was widely seen as conferring political authority on
Ceku over LDK ministers as well. END NOTE.)


4. (SBU) During the July 14 floor debate, Jakup Krasniqi,
Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) caucus leader, complained
that Ceku's report took credit for government accomplishments
that were actually realized by previous governments (i.e.,
the 2003-4 PDK government). Veton Surroi, from the
Assembly's smaller opposition Reform Party Ora, said the
government has been acting without a concrete plan, given
that the "same government has been in place through three
prime ministers." Within a few days of Ceku's address, the
Organization for Democracy, Anticorruption and Dignity "Cohu"
("Wake up" in Albanian),run by former reporter on Surroi's
newspaper, issued a report alleging "corruption scandals" in
Ceku's government. Cohu cited reports of UNMIK's auditor
general reports on the Pristina Airport and alleged that Ceku
was ignoring widespread reports of corruption involving
Minister of Trade and Industry Bujar Dugolli (AAK).


5. (SBU) COMMENT. As Ceku's report rightly boasts, the first
100 days (we are actually past the 130-day mark) of his
administration have been marked by a focus on
Standards-related action items in a context of a political
stability that had eluded Kosovo in the aftermath of the
January 21 death of President Ibrahim Rugova. That stability
in government has translated to stability and cooperation
within the Kosovo final status negotiating team, a necessary

PRISTINA 00000609 002.2 OF 002


precondition to a successful final status process. Ceku
would like to do more to fulfill his early pledges to hold
his ministers to his personal account and is likely to do so
as soon as he judges that the coalition he heads could
survive the upheaval of firing influential ministers. In the
meantime, Ceku has grown accustomed to the taunts of the
opposition. And the opposition seems to understand the value
of keeping the PM in place. As Surroi said to CDA after the
July 14 session, "we said our piece, the debate's over, we're
moving on."


6. (U) U.S. Office Pristina clears this cable for release in
its entirety to U.N. Special Envoy for Kosovo Martti
Ahtisaari.
MCBRIDE