Reports: Parties prepare cabinet reshuffle

A Belgrade daily is reporting today that the cabinet of Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic will see changes next year. According to this, the government will have "fewer ministers than ever in history", while the ruling coalition leaders will start negotiations in early January. Reports: Parties prepare cabinet reshuffle This time, writes Vecernje Novosti newspaper, the reshuffle announcements will not turn out to be merely "feelers" put out in the media. According to the article, it is the ruling DS party leader and the country's president, Boris Tadic, who will gather his allies to sum up their achievements so far "and reshuffle the deck" - one year ahead of regular parliamentary elections. The goal of the state leadership would be "to increase to the maximum the efficiency of the executive branch of power" in the last year of its mandate. What this will mean for the current members of the government, and which ministers will keep their job, remains unclear. Judging by statements heard thus far from Tadic, and also from ruling G17 Plus leader and Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic, ministers of infrastructure, agriculture and trade Milutin Mrkonjic, Sasa Dragin and Slobodan Milosavljevic might all lose their jobs. Dinkic also publicly advocated a more radical cut in the number of portfolios, that would see the government consist of 15 ministries - rendering it the "smallest cabinet" since the end of the Communist one-party rule. Currently, the government has 26 ministers and deputy prime ministers. The ruling socialists (SPS) wound not be drawn into a debate on the hints that one of their own, Mrkonjic, might find himself out of the cabinet. High ranking SPS official Branko Ruzic, however, said that it was "utterly counter-productive to trivialize talk about a reshuffle by mentioning specific names", and added that a "serious analysis was needed first to arrive at a political consensus". Meanwhile, Labor Minister Rasim Ljajic said he would be willing to give up his job if the reshuffle announcements came to pass. A year ago he suggested that the number of ministries should be trimmed down, and now says, "better late than never". "During the (economic) crisis, many governments in Europe have been reconstructed. It's enough for us to have 15 or 16 ministries," Ljajic was quoted as saying. The 26 ministers meet in Belgrade (Beta, file)

Reports: Parties prepare cabinet reshuffle

This time, writes Večernje Novosti newspaper, the reshuffle announcements will not turn out to be merely "feelers" put out in the media.

According to the article, it is the ruling DS party leader and the country's president, Boris Tadić, who will gather his allies to sum up their achievements so far "and reshuffle the deck" - one year ahead of regular parliamentary elections.

The goal of the state leadership would be "to increase to the maximum the efficiency of the executive branch of power" in the last year of its mandate.

What this will mean for the current members of the government, and which ministers will keep their job, remains unclear.

Judging by statements heard thus far from Tadić, and also from ruling G17 Plus leader and Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić, ministers of infrastructure, agriculture and trade Milutin Mrkonjić, Saša Dragin and Slobodan Milosavljević might all lose their jobs.

Dinkić also publicly advocated a more radical cut in the number of portfolios, that would see the government consist of 15 ministries - rendering it the "smallest cabinet" since the end of the Communist one-party rule.

Currently, the government has 26 ministers and deputy prime ministers.

The ruling socialists (SPS) wound not be drawn into a debate on the hints that one of their own, Mrkonjić, might find himself out of the cabinet.

High ranking SPS official Branko Ružić, however, said that it was "utterly counter-productive to trivialize talk about a reshuffle by mentioning specific names", and added that a "serious analysis was needed first to arrive at a political consensus".

Meanwhile, Labor Minister Rasim Ljajić said he would be willing to give up his job if the reshuffle announcements came to pass. A year ago he suggested that the number of ministries should be trimmed down, and now says, "better late than never".

"During the (economic) crisis, many governments in Europe have been reconstructed. It's enough for us to have 15 or 16 ministries," Ljajić was quoted as saying.