Murtezaj addresses three groups in LDK: Think about where you are taking the party

Valon Murtezaj of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) has responded to developments and divisions within the party. He has urged the groups currently active in LDK to put the common interest ahead of personal ambitions.

In a statement titled “The return of reason,” Murtezaj warns that internal clashes and factional interests are putting the party’s future at risk. He calls for dialogue, restraint and responsibility, as well as the preservation of the democratic values on which LDK was founded by its historic leader, President Ibrahim Rugova.

According to Murtezaj, the party needs unity and a free, democratic structure. He also pledges to work for a modern LDK grounded in integrity, justice, meritocracy and the fight against corruption.

Murtezaj’s full statement, “The return of reason”:

Addressing the women and men of the Democratic League of Kosovo, my fellow citizens and compatriots, ladies and gentlemen, I want to recall the purpose for which President Ibrahim Rugova and the founders established LDK: to be a democratic political force serving freedom, democracy, the state of Kosovo and its citizens.

At this moment, it is important to bear in mind a human lesson: decisions must be guided by reason. Reason must take precedence over selfish passions; wisdom over stubborn, destructive ambitions; and the common good over personal gain.

No society, institution or collective organization can advance when those entrusted with its development become authoritarian or remain captive to narrow interests, ambitions and views of their own power, harming others and the whole.

I call on the three groups that exist in LDK today to reflect and take care: think carefully about the direction in which you are taking the party. A narrow interest must not take precedence over universal values and the common good of the party to which we all belong, however convincingly that interest is presented or defended.

When personal gain puts reason at its service, judgment loses its impartiality. Past and recent experience shows that disregarding collective values for the sake of selfish ambitions causes harm. If this course continues, the common good will be eroded until it is lost, something that cannot be forgiven.

For LDK, above every personal preference, temporary success or individual ambition stands the need to function as a free and democratic whole. This interest forms the shared moral, intellectual and institutional foundation on which the party’s dignity, stability and future depend. On another level, the future of the Republic of Kosovo, our homeland and motherland, is tied to it as well.

Political responsibility is not measured by what a person manages to gain, control or keep for themselves. True service is seen in a politician’s willingness to contribute to the good of citizens, society and the people, and, more broadly, humanity.

Now and in the time ahead, we must be clear that no one within LDK should be defeated. No individual or group can claim moral superiority over others. Grievances must be addressed through reason, conversation and responsibility, in the spirit of freedom and democracy. Influence or temporary triumphs, even false ones, are no substitute for the wisdom and restraint the party needs today and tomorrow.

What may look like a victory for personal or factional interests will harm the success of LDK as a whole. History shows that parties face challenges from outside, but can be weakened even more severely by their own internal conflicts, especially when selfish politicians forget the shared goal and try to take everything for themselves.

The logic of factions must end. Each of us needs to reflect on our next actions. Correcting mistakes with dignity and reaching an understanding based on principles require more strength than continuing a division that could prove fatal.

Today we must devote ourselves fully to the goals we share, rather than expend our energy on battles for individual gain in which we all lose. Unrelenting conflicts are threatening LDK’s shared vision. It is precisely at this moment that our moral, intellectual and civic maturity is being tested.

LDK does not need power to impose its will on others. It needs people who listen, understand and choose the general interest over personal gain. Unity and collective responsibility are its greatest strengths today. The party’s future requires a serious commitment to unity, protection of freedom of thought, tolerance and respect for differing views, always with freedom and democracy.

Authority and power derive from trust, so they must be used for the general good. This requires responsibility beyond factions, dialogue across disagreements and a vision that reaches beyond short-term calculations. If internal battles over personal interests continue, history will not forgive us. We need wisdom and restraint to preserve the party as a whole.

We must all be guided by reason and by the conviction that the common good is more important than any individual interest. Neither factions nor ambitions stand above it; a fleeting victory does not justify the long-term weakening of the Democratic League of Kosovo. We share responsibility for preserving and nurturing it.

Ladies and gentlemen, I will work for a modern LDK built on integrity, justice, equality, meritocracy and equal opportunity for all. For a party that serves the citizens of Kosovo and sees public service as a responsibility, not a business; where leadership is dedicated to citizens, not narrow group or factional interests; where corruption is fought without compromise and profiteering is not tolerated.

I believe that only an LDK grounded in these principles can give Kosovo’s citizens genuine opportunities for progress and a better, more dignified life, and make Kosovo a respected European country.

Let us follow this path while keeping in mind the work and example of our leader Ibrahim Rugova and honoring the glorious history of the Democratic League of Kosovo. With the deepest respect for the contribution of generations to Kosovo’s freedom, independence and democracy, and for their selflessness even to the point of sacrifice, let us look with vision and confidence toward the bright future of the Republic of Kosovo as a European state.