SNS holds another meeting on cabinet

SNS holds another meeting on cabinet

Yesterday, the party's presidency met and decided to form the government coalition with the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM). It was announced that Aleksandar Vučić would continue the talks with other parties on potential expansion of the ruling coalition, and the government should be appointed by April 27.

The SVM will not have a ministerial seat in the government but leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) Ivica Dačić will probably be a member of the government, Vučić said.

Replying to reporters' question as to whether Dačić would be the only SPS member in the government, Vučić said that the technical talks would continue and that he understood Dačić's ideas well and hopes the SPS leader would accept what he has to offer him.

The final decision on the outline of the new government will be adopted at the session of the SNS Main Board on April 25, Vučić said.

“The government will be appointed by April 27 at the latest and it will comprise 17 ministers at most. Serbia will have a small, modern and efficient government,” Vučić said.

The MP mandates in the National Assembly will be verified on April 16, parliament will appoint its speaker on April 23 and in the continuation of the session on April 24, the talks will cover the laws on the government and ministries, Vučić said.

The SNS Main Board should meet on April 25 while parliament will vote on amendments on April 26 and the new Serbian government will be appointed on April 27, Vučić noted.

Dačić will probably get a seat in the government, Vučić said and noted that he will not force anyone to join the government coalition and that leader of the New Democratic Party (NDS) Boris Tadić has decided that he cannot join the government in which Dačić holds a seat.

”I will adopt a decision and put it forth before the (SNS) Main Board,” Vučić stated and added that he is not interested in divergences and that he wants the government to work as a team.

Responding to reporters' question as to the potential outline of the government coalition with former Serbian President Tadić whom Vučić previously said ruined the country, the SNS leader noted that Serbia now needs a government of national salvation.

Asked about the identity of ministers from SNS lines, Vučić confirmed that he is informed about this matter with one exception.

The news conference was attended by all SNS vice presidents, including Nebojša Stefanović, Zorana Mihajlović, Nikola Selaković, Igor Mirović, Goran Knežević, and Bratislav Gašić. When asked if they are the SNS members who will become ministers, Vučić said that not all of them will be appointed ministers but he did not wish to specify who would.

The government will include five or six non-party individuals who will be appointed on grounds of their expertise, Vučić said and expressed the expectation that the government will also comprise economic expert Kori Udovicki although he did not specify her potential ministry.

Individual solutions from other parties are also a possibility, Vučić said. Asked if the government will include some of the outgoing ministers, he mentioned Finance Minister Lazar Krstić.

The government structure would be different and it will not function as feuds of parties in the ruling coalition, Vučić said.

Public companies will not be controlled by ministries and instead, a special body will be formed to control their work, he said.

Vučić noted that he will not head any ministry since he will hold office as the prime minister.

There is a chance that some opposition MPs would be appointed for the position of the Serbian parliament speaker and the condition for this is to achieve an agreement on parliament speaker rotation on a one-year basis, he said.

This will not call for changes in the Law on the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia and the issue of rotation could be resolved by a gentlemanly political agreement because 'if there is a will to achieve this, there is no need for changing the law,' he said.

Vučić did not specify the identity of the potential candidate for the parliament speaker seat in case the agreement on rotation is not achieved, and expressed the hope that the agreement will be reached.

The government expose which will be presented in parliament will be drawn up in detail and it will for the first time present a comprehensive program and a vision of Serbia's further development, the SNS leader said.