SRS, DSS, SPS clinch Belgrade deal

Representatives from the DSS, the SRS, and the SPS-PUPS-JS coalition have signed an agreement to form a new local government in Belgrade. The deal was signed by the three parties' local board chiefs: the Serb Radical Party's (SRS) Nemanja Saric, Democratic Party of Serbia's (DSS) Nenad Komatina, and Milislav Petronejic of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS). SRS, DSS, SPS clinch Belgrade deal The parties also announced that the mayor would come from the ranks of the SRS, and is expected to be Aleksandar Vucic. The Associated Pensioners’ Party (PUPS), which is in a coalition with the Socialists, had today accepted the coalition agreement with the DSS and the Radicals, said party leader Milan Krkobabic. PUPS took the decision after the coalition partners accepted their three basic demands: free public transport for over-65s, a one-off payment to the most at-risk pensioners, as well as help for those being cared for in homes for the elderly. Earlier, Democratic Party (DS) official Bojan Pajtic told B92 that it was very important for the DS that cooperation with the coalition gathered around SPS existed on all levels—state, provincial, and in Belgrade. “For us, Belgrade is part of the package. It is important what kind of a coalition exists in Belgrade. The mayor of Belgrade is an international political issue, it is not just about city waterworks or sewage systems,” Pajtic said. He said that “essentially, the mayor is the third most senior official in the country.” “If there is an agreement for constituting a central government, and I believe one will be reached, then that agreement must include cooperation in Belgrade, Vojvodina and on the level of the most important local authorities,” the DS vice-president explained. SPS official Dusan Bajatovic said that a decision on a local coalition would not affect the party’s position on forming a government at state level. “One journalist asked me today if what happened in Vojvodina was bait for the SPS. I don’t know, Belgrade is also bait, so to speak, for the DSS-NS coalition,” Bajatovic said. He said that the “black-and-white decision being put before the SPS was not at all easy.” “On the one hand. it is easier for us to lean on traditionalism, but I know that we cannot only look to the past, that we must look to the future as well,” Bajatovic said. Aleksandar Vucic speaks after the signing ceremony today (Tanjug)

SRS, DSS, SPS clinch Belgrade deal

The parties also announced that the mayor would come from the ranks of the SRS, and is expected to be Aleksandar Vučić.

The Associated Pensioners’ Party (PUPS), which is in a coalition with the Socialists, had today accepted the coalition agreement with the DSS and the Radicals, said party leader Milan Krkobabić.

PUPS took the decision after the coalition partners accepted their three basic demands: free public transport for over-65s, a one-off payment to the most at-risk pensioners, as well as help for those being cared for in homes for the elderly.

Earlier, Democratic Party (DS) official Bojan Pajtić told B92 that it was very important for the DS that cooperation with the coalition gathered around SPS existed on all levels—state, provincial, and in Belgrade.

“For us, Belgrade is part of the package. It is important what kind of a coalition exists in Belgrade. The mayor of Belgrade is an international political issue, it is not just about city waterworks or sewage systems,” Pajtić said.

He said that “essentially, the mayor is the third most senior official in the country.”

“If there is an agreement for constituting a central government, and I believe one will be reached, then that agreement must include cooperation in Belgrade, Vojvodina and on the level of the most important local authorities,” the DS vice-president explained.

SPS official Dušan Bajatović said that a decision on a local coalition would not affect the party’s position on forming a government at state level.

“One journalist asked me today if what happened in Vojvodina was bait for the SPS. I don’t know, Belgrade is also bait, so to speak, for the DSS-NS coalition,” Bajatović said.

He said that the “black-and-white decision being put before the SPS was not at all easy.”

“On the one hand. it is easier for us to lean on traditionalism, but I know that we cannot only look to the past, that we must look to the future as well,” Bajatović said.