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In Kosovo, the recently elected government was ousted during the pandemic thanks to political scheming by entrenched political elites.

In a surreal development, pot-banging protests took place to express support for the outgoing government and urge leaders to refrain from creating an artificial political crisis in the middle of a health crisis.

The government will serve in a caretaker role until the Constitutional Court rules on whether the country needs a fresh election or the formation of a new government is possible without elections.

Albania suffers from the fact that it does not have a real and representative opposition.

Following last years unprecedented decision by opposition lawmakers to resign en masse and renounce their parliamentary mandates, experts say there is no effective check on the excesses and abuses of the government.

North Macedonia, meanwhile, is battling the pandemic with a caretaker government and had to postpone snap parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12.

Across the region, the collusion between powerful businessmen and governing elites feeds unfair practices, harms economic competition and discourages investment, analysts say.

The COVID-19 crisis risks serving as an opportunity for companies to engage in anti-competitive practices while there is less scrutiny of government mismanagement and corruption in public procurement.

Not that the pandemic is to blame for stagnant reforms and backsliding on democratic standards. But experts say it has thrown those deficiencies into sharp relief.

Amid draconian measures, secretive decision-making on procurement and selective distribution of resources for groups hit by the virus, local efforts to promote transparency and accountability have morphed into a Sisyphean struggle.

Amid draconian measures, secretive decision-making on procurement and selective distribution of resources for groups hit by the virus, local efforts to promote transparency and accountability have morphed into a Sisyphean struggle.

In the meanwhile, even positive news like the EUs decision to start accession negotiations with Albania and North Macedonia went largely unnoticed.

More than the pandemic itself, the main factors overshadowing the talks are skepticism about the pace of much-needed domestic reforms and doubts about the viability of EU membership in the short-to-medium term.

As countries move towards reopening, analysts predict that the strange mix of economic shock, institutional fragility and frustration with dysfunctional politics will lead to renewed and strengthened calls for change.

The leaders of the region have benefitted in the recent past from migration as a valve to release pent-up frustration. Rather than asking for change at home, those dissatisfied with the economic and political realities mostly went quietly and tried their luck in Western countries.

As the West is itself hit by economic uncertainty, this option will be less available and attractive. Dissatisfaction will have to express itself differently.

Optimists say this period represents a new opportunity to channel the overwhelming desire for change. They say the region needs to forge ahead at last with real reforms that lead to fairer economies, stronger institutions and more prosperity.

But the window of opportunity after the pandemic will not be open for long. If time is squandered, disillusionment risks turning into the regions defining emotion for years to come.

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Democracy Digest: Frustration Looms Over Western Balkans | Reporting Democracy - Balkan Insight