"I made promises so Tadić could win"

Mladjan Dinkic says Boris Tadic won his second term in office as Serbia's president "partly thanks to the promises Dinkic made". The government minister, deputy PM and leader of G17 Plus and United Regions of Serbia parties told Belgrade daily Danas that his promise that each citizen would get EUR 1,000 in free shares propelled Tadic to victory in the presidential elections almost three years ago. "I made promises so Tadic could win" The shares in question were supposed to come from privatizations of large state-owned companies; so far, each eligible citizen was given five NIS shares, worth a total of some EUR 25. "I admit that in late 2007 when I wrote that letter to the citizens, I was aware of the risk that I was taking," said Dinkic of the free shares promise, adding that he was "completely convinced" at the time that the figure of EUR 1,000 could be reached. However, he said that he could not predict the economic crisis, and also that the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), now owned by Gazprom, "would to all intents and purposes be given away as a gift". "The reason I entered into this political promise was fear that Boris Tadic could be defeated by Toma (Tomislav) Nikolic in the presidential elections called for January 2008," explained Dinkic. Analyses at the time showed that the 100,000 votes, which was the margin Tadic had in the runoff, "mostly came from the joint free shares promise, that I took on myself personally". Dinkic added that "the citizens will see how much money the Telekom sale will bring, so they'll be able to judge what would have happened had NIS been sold in a transparent tender". Dinkic also noted in his interview that the current ruling coalition never held a meeting on a possible government reshuffle in the two and a half years since it took over. Mladjan Dinkic (Tanjug, file)

"I made promises so Tadić could win"

The shares in question were supposed to come from privatizations of large state-owned companies; so far, each eligible citizen was given five NIS shares, worth a total of some EUR 25.

"I admit that in late 2007 when I wrote that letter to the citizens, I was aware of the risk that I was taking," said Dinkić of the free shares promise, adding that he was "completely convinced" at the time that the figure of EUR 1,000 could be reached.

However, he said that he could not predict the economic crisis, and also that the Oil Industry of Serbia (NIS), now owned by Gazprom, "would to all intents and purposes be given away as a gift".

"The reason I entered into this political promise was fear that Boris Tadić could be defeated by Toma (Tomislav) Nikolić in the presidential elections called for January 2008," explained Dinkić.

Analyses at the time showed that the 100,000 votes, which was the margin Tadić had in the runoff, "mostly came from the joint free shares promise, that I took on myself personally".

Dinkić added that "the citizens will see how much money the Telekom sale will bring, so they'll be able to judge what would have happened had NIS been sold in a transparent tender".

Dinkić also noted in his interview that the current ruling coalition never held a meeting on a possible government reshuffle in the two and a half years since it took over.