Behluli: Why does Përparim Rama mock citizens? Two reasons

PRISHTINA — In a column published by Nacionale, Mirlind Behluli asks bluntly: why does Prishtina mayor Përparim Rama mock citizens? His answer comes in two parts — political insecurity after a contested mandate, and reliance on a media bloc that, in his telling, does not tolerate criticism.

Behluli argues that Rama’s public irony — sarcastic comments about protesters, wordplay around accusations of failed projects — is not merely a communication style but a political strategy designed to shift attention from concrete urban problems: traffic, water shortages, neglected parks, illegal construction.

The column is written in a polemical register and does not hide the author’s position. Within it, however, lies a broader argument: a culture of public mockery from elected officials damages trust in institutions and pushes citizens away from local politics.

Context

The relationship between mayors and residents in Kosovo has always been complex. Municipalities manage everyday services — refuse collection, infrastructure, permits — but often answer to party logic rather than professional standards. When communication itself becomes a political weapon, the citizen has nowhere to turn.

A fair assessment would note that Përparim Rama has also recorded administrative achievements and that media polarisation in the capital complicates any tally. Yet against Behluli’s procedural complaint — that public officials should not speak with disdain about those who pay their salaries — there is little defence.

Paraphrasing Behluli, when a mayor answers grievances with sarcasm rather than data, he turns local government into a media performance and the resident into a passive audience.

Local accountability is the best indicator of democratic health. Whatever the individual disputes, Behluli’s call for a respectful institutional tone has resonance well beyond Prishtina.

Source: Nacionale — Opinion column by Mirlind Behluli