Internal struggle "spills over" to international arena

Internal struggle "spills over" to international arena

Vučić on Tuesday started his official visit to China, and on the eve of the trip, told the Belgrade-based daily Danas that he "respects everyone's work to attract foreign investments, but also condemns such gestures that are implemented and used for daily-political purposes."

This was his response when asked to comment on Pajtić's visit to China that just ended, where he said he discussed infrastructure projects - largely identical to those the Serbian prime minister said would be a topic in his meeting with Chinese officials.

Given the current political battle between the Democrats and the Progressives over the provincial government in Vojvodina - i.e., Pajtić's attempt to remain in office and resist an increasingly likely recomposition of the majority in the Vojvodina assembly, that would be taken over by the Progressives - political analysts said this clash was now spreading onto "the international arena."

When reached for comment by the newspaper, Pajtić did not wish to make any statements.

Asked to comment on Pajtić's trip to China, Vučić said: "Please, just consider who has what kind of capability. I respect everything anyone is doing for the good of the country. I respect every gesture to attract foreign investors. I just wish that were the rule - for someone to advocate for this all the time, and not only for daily political purposes when it suits them."

According to analyst Vladimir Goati "it is unusual that the highest-ranking political official in the government of Serbia, the Serbian prime minister, is visiting such an important country like China shortly after the highest-ranking political official of the province, that is, the prime minister of Vojvodina - and to discuss, for the most part, the same issues."

"It is certain that there are some other topics about which the public is not informed, which Vučić can discuss with Chinese officials, such as the issues of security and military cooperation. But it is certain, also, that infrastructure projects that Pajtić has already discussed with Chinese officials are the focus of this visit," said Goati.

He noted that the importance of Vučić's office was "incomparably higher" than that held by Pajtić, and that there was "the bitter taste of overlap" - because one of the two trips was "certainly unnecessary":

"This is especially true since the two parties at the moment are of extremely unequal strength, in some kind of clinch, conflict, ever since the current coalition government was formed. It turns out that now, contrary to good democratic practices, this is being transferred to the field of international politics. It is certain that this internal conflict is extending 8,000 kilometers away from Serbia."

The daily quoted sources familiar with the details of Vučić's visit as saying he intends to make use of a Chinese plan to invest EUR 10 billion in Europe. The plan is for some of this money to be spent to modernize the Belgrade-Budapest railroad as part of Corridor 10.

According to media reports, Vučić will propose to Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang a modern line for trains traveling up to 300 kilometers per hour, "which could be built by Chinese companies."

Pajtić commented on the same project by saying: "The Chinese side is interested in the revitalization of the Belgrade-Budapest railroad, which is important because now trains in Serbia run slower than 100 years ago. The speed is about 40 kilometers per hour, and in China it is almost 400 kilometers per hour."

In a press release, Pajtić's party used the opportunity to remark that in 2009 a DS-led government signed "an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation with China, that is, a strategic partnership."