Kosovo's acting president Albulena Hadžiu has called a snap election for June 7. It's the third electoral cycle in less than a year - with which Kosovo, Europe's youngest state, confirms that political instability here is not a mistake but a structural condition.

Parliament failed to elect a new president after Vjosa Osmani's term expired in April. Prime Minister Albin Kurti, despite Vetëvendosje's convincing victory in the December parliamentary elections, was unable to secure support for his presidential candidate. The result: the road blocked, and the only solution - new elections.

Hadžiu said what every citizen of Kosovo has known for a long time: "We are falling behind on reforms for no reason. We cannot afford to lose time". But reforms are only the pretext. The deeper political blockage isn't in parliament, it's between the parties themselves and inside the structure of Kosovo's political elite.

Kosovo has a specific problem. Vetëvendosje won parliament, but not presidential control. The opposition is split between LDK, PDK and AAK. Nobody has the majority needed for president. A third election doesn't have to solve this - it can simply prolong it.

For the region, this is uncomfortable news. Kosovo is the youngest state but already has the reputation of a "volatile political scene". The economy is stagnating. Dialogue with Belgrade is frozen. Relations with the EU are strained because of the continuation of the sanctions Brussels imposed back in 2023.

In the Balkans we recognise this as a familiar pattern. Election cycle, then political crisis, then another election cycle. Reforms get postponed. Citizens grow skeptical about institutions. Young people pack their bags. This isn't a story only for Prishtina. It's a story for all of us.