SNS chooses "continued reforms" over early elections

BELGRADE Parliament Speaker and high ranking SNS party official Nebojsa Stefanovic has rejected accusations that his party was organizing campaigns against "anyone". Stefanovic spoke for B92 Radio in Belgrade on Tuesday. Commenting on the speculation that Ivica Dacic's cabinet would be destabilized by the Saric gang member affair, and that this may lead to early elections, he said that SNS leader and Dacic's first deputy Aleksandar Vucic "clearly said that there would be no elections for now". SNS chooses "continued reforms" over early elections This is the case "because the government's goal is to continue reforms it started so that the citizens are better off", according to Stefanovic. As long as the government has as its goal to continue the fight against crime and corruption, economic reforms, attracting foreign investments and creating jobs, the SNS will not leave the cabinet, he explained: "We do not want elections, we want the government to work and carry out reforms. If the reforms cannot be carried out, then we have no reason to sit in that government." Elections "would not be good at this time", Stefanovic continued, because the new authorities took over with Serbia "in a catastrophic state", with "a big job and big and important problems ahead of Serbia that need to be solved". At the same time, the SNS will ask and support all state organs to do their job and investigate all affairs so that nobody hides from the law, while "nobody will be protected, even if they are a member of the SNS". Asked whether the affair concerning Dacic and his contacts with a Saric drug clan member "after all had a bearing on the government's credibility", Stefanovic responded by saying that the government "will not deal with that" - but will instead deal with "what it has achieved so far and what it is yet to achieve". "The easiest thing to do would be to go to elections because then we would be able to form a government on our own, however, the SNS is not led only by its partisan interests but also by those of the citizens and the country," the speaker said, and added that Serbians "will see" that investments this year will top those recorded in 2012. Speaking about the city authorities in Belgrade - currently led by the Democrats (DS) - Stefanovic said that "the concrete future policy" of his party would be known after the next meeting of the SNS main board. Commenting on the next session of the Serbian parliament, which will have the issue of the president of the High Court of Cassation on its agenda, the speaker said that MPs will discuss the end of Nata Mesarevic's mandate, based on the opinion of the Constitutional Court of Serbia, which said her election to the office was unconstitutional. He noted that for that reason, the debate "will not be about her dismissal". "In that sense, the dismissal of Nata Mesarovic is not about a political hunt against her, as she said yesterday, but about respecting the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Serbia (USS). The SNS did not choose any of the court's judges. This has nothing to do with politics, this is a USS decision," said Stefanovic. Nebojsa Stefanovic (Tanjug, file) B92

SNS chooses "continued reforms" over early elections

This is the case "because the government's goal is to continue reforms it started so that the citizens are better off", according to Stefanović.

As long as the government has as its goal to continue the fight against crime and corruption, economic reforms, attracting foreign investments and creating jobs, the SNS will not leave the cabinet, he explained:

"We do not want elections, we want the government to work and carry out reforms. If the reforms cannot be carried out, then we have no reason to sit in that government."

Elections "would not be good at this time", Stefanović continued, because the new authorities took over with Serbia "in a catastrophic state", with "a big job and big and important problems ahead of Serbia that need to be solved".

At the same time, the SNS will ask and support all state organs to do their job and investigate all affairs so that nobody hides from the law, while "nobody will be protected, even if they are a member of the SNS".

Asked whether the affair concerning Dačić and his contacts with a Šarić drug clan member "after all had a bearing on the government's credibility", Stefanović responded by saying that the government "will not deal with that" - but will instead deal with "what it has achieved so far and what it is yet to achieve".

"The easiest thing to do would be to go to elections because then we would be able to form a government on our own, however, the SNS is not led only by its partisan interests but also by those of the citizens and the country," the speaker said, and added that Serbians "will see" that investments this year will top those recorded in 2012.

Speaking about the city authorities in Belgrade - currently led by the Democrats (DS) - Stefanović said that "the concrete future policy" of his party would be known after the next meeting of the SNS main board.

Commenting on the next session of the Serbian parliament, which will have the issue of the president of the High Court of Cassation on its agenda, the speaker said that MPs will discuss the end of Nata Mesarević's mandate, based on the opinion of the Constitutional Court of Serbia, which said her election to the office was unconstitutional. He noted that for that reason, the debate "will not be about her dismissal".

"In that sense, the dismissal of Nata Mesarović is not about a political hunt against her, as she said yesterday, but about respecting the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Serbia (USS). The SNS did not choose any of the court's judges. This has nothing to do with politics, this is a USS decision," said Stefanović.