"DSS will back Radical as Parliament Speaker"

"DSS will back Radical as Parliament Speaker"

Aligrudić added that “the DSS would support the candidate whose party had more lawmakers in the Parliament.”

He refused to answer whether this would imply that the DSS has reached a cabinet deal with the Radicals, but he remarked that the DSS would deny support for the DS candidate for the Speaker office since the two parties failed to agree on forming the new government and the Parliament majority.

The inaugural session of Parliament continued Monday at noon without a deal reached for a new government.

The Democrats’ caucus chief Dušan Petrović said Sunday that the DS recommended Milena Milošević for the Speaker post and expected her to garner necessary support.

"Nonetheless, if the Serb Radical Party (SRS) won the Speaker’s office, it would mark the first step towards a government which will include the Radicals,” Petrović said.

New Serbia (NS) leader Velimir Ilić spoke yesterday of the possibility of supporting Nikolić, which, according to Ilić, would not mean the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS)-NS coalition would form a government with the Radicals.

Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) head Ivica Dačić stressed that his party would deny support for any proposal coming from Boris Tadić, calling on Koštunica to side with the Radicals and the Socialists.

On the other hand, G17 Plus said it would walk out of cabinet talks if the new Parliament Speaker came from the SRS or SPS.

The first part of the inaugural session held February 14 verified the mandates of 250 appointed deputies and adopted a resolution on Kosovo.