French election campaigning in Vršac? |
| 18 August 2006 | 11:47
| Source:
B92 |
BELGRADE, VRŠAC --
Jean-Marie Le Penn will arrive in Serbia and open the Balkan motocross championship in Vršac, on August 20.
 | Le Penn: on an official...
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Le Penn was invited by the competition’s organizer Dragoslav Perišić from Aranđelovac. He invited Le Penn on a private visit, since according to Perišić they have been good friends dating back at the time he lived in France.
Perišić also said he had no connection with the Radicals, but that the party officials will still meet with Le Penn on August 21. However, the party vice-chairman Tomislav Nikolić will not attend. “It’s a shame not only for Nikolić but also for Koštunica and Ilić and all those who will not see him. I am welcoming him as my great friend, who has helped me out, but he is at the same time a great politician and a friend of the Serbian people. I told him he could use five minutes to say what he wanted, and he said this would represent the start of his campaign in the French presidential elections next year”.
Vojvodina assembly speaker Bojan Kostreš said the visit surprised him, but that Serbia is after all the wonderland in which anything’s possible. “I regret that Mr. Le Penn arrives as a representative of the far right, without significant allies in Europe. I would much prefer to see visits by European democrats who could help improve Serbia’s image abroad”.
 | ...or a private visit?
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Kostreš said he hoped that Le Penn would not use his visit for political promotion. “I don’t believe we should have a policy allowing anyone to say anything they wish at the time of their choosing in this country. I sincerely hope he will not give political speeches or send out political messages, and if he does, we’ll see what those might be”.
The French politician is scheduled to arrive in Belgrade this afternoon and will probably stay in the country until August 22.
Le Penn ran in the 2002 French presidential elections on the National Front ticket. He managed to reach the second round, but lost to Jacques Chirac in the runoff. Le Penn visited Serbia in 1997, on the Radicals leader Vojislav Šešelj’s invitation.
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