Can satire repurpose politics?

It's election season, and the fur is flying. Yet no matter how animated it gets domestically, the boldest (or at least funniest) of political animals are half a world away, in Kosovo. Yes, Kosovo - that baby republic which broke away from Serbia in 2008. Why am I writing about Kosovo politics?

Comedy. The tongue-in-cheek Strong Party actually won two council seats in local elections. It's as if "Saturday Night Live" actors actually became the politicians they satirize.

Warning: Do not try this at home. It wouldn't fly... Yet somehow, it did.

Discontented Kosovo voters, half of whom are 25 or younger in this embattled country with high unemployment, are so fed up with what they perceive as corrupt, business-as-usual politics that what began as a joke became reality. Two years ago a cafe conversation among friends led to an idea - a bit of comic relief in the form of a political party, intended to ridicule, to highlight flaws in tense politicians and mainstream politics with a sense of the absurd.

So the spoof "Strong Party" was born and officially registered as one of Kosovo's 103 listed parties. It boasted 1,500 deputy chairmen (any member can be one) and a leader who looks like Borat, acts like a professional comedian, and calls himself "the legendary president." The party's platform is called the Lorem Ipsum, a publishing term that means, "filler text used to present a font or design without the distraction of meaningful content," and includes:

* A Formula One racetrack around the capital city.

* Decrease the divorce rate by eliminating marriage.

* Decrease the disease rate by declaring disease illegal.

* Corruption legalized, because it's happening anyway.

* A university in every neighborhood.

* Urinals installed in the foyer of every public building.

* Promises to always make promises which reassure the citizenry that someone is thinking about things while not really changing them.

And my personal favorite:

* Stray dogs will be trained and used as public transportation in winter.

"We don't think it's a problem that 40 percent are unemployed," party chairman and mayoral candidate Visar Arifaj said in a campaign speech he delivered wearing shorts. "We think the 60 percent who do work are the main problem.... We will try to make it so everyone does not have to work."

Who could take that seriously? Cynical voters, apparently. What Strong's membership didn't count on was actually winning two council seats in the capital of Prishtina. What was meant to be comic relief for disgruntled citizens became real, with enough voters opting out of votes for candidates they distrusted and opting in to Strong Party joke candidates. Now what?

The joke delivered pre-election: Renovate the office, get a new car, and become a millionaire from bribes. The reality: Contest the election, of course. Voters are not honestly or fully represented, they say. No surprise that their contest didn't go far, nor that they didn't win national assembly seats in this summer's election, but that doesn't mean their party didn't have the last laugh.

Perhaps the satire, and more importantly, its international attention and local votes, did have its influence. Behind the laughter was a "strong" statement. Incumbents in many cities were voted out. At least one veteran politician and mayor (from a different minority party) of Prishtina has a new approach, earning some renewed faith from residents by actually implementing his reactionary campaign pledges to reduce corruption. Mayor Shpend Ahmeti dumped his posh car and now rides the bus. He organizes arrests of corrupt officials. In short, he seems to be doing his job.

Ahmeti took a leaf from the book of Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams, printing his pledges on small "scorecards" for residents to keep in their wallets to weigh his progress. Accountability in public trust - gotta love it.

So maybe the Strong Party wasn't all just a big joke. Certainly a sense of humor has a place in politics, laughter as salve for discontent and regenerator of purpose.

Sholeh Patrick, J. D. is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at [email protected].