We want to hold talks with DS first, Dačić says

Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) leader Ivica Dacic says the support to Democratic Party (DS) leader Boris Tadic in the presidential run-off poll is logical. He explained that it was a “logical continuation” of the previous cooperation between the two parties. We want to hold talks with DS first, Dacic says However, he said that the presidential elections could not be separated from the forming of a new government. “I want to know who is going to be in the next government. I cannot support a presidential candidate (Tadic) and then to have parties that are saying that the Republic of Srpska (RS) is a genocidal creation in crucial positions in the government, or on the other hand (Serbian Progressive Party leader) Tomislav Nikolic and those who want to end cooperation with the European Union,” Dacic said, in apparent reference to Cedomir Jovanovic's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). The SPS leader also noted that he would discuss the issue of the future government with his coalition partners Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) and United Serbia (JS). He pointed out that he was ready to support any agreement and support the DS presidential candidate, but added that if “someone thinks that those parties can have both the president and the prime minister with a little over 20 percent of the vote, then they have lost touch with reality”. Dacic said that he had good cooperation with Tadic and that he did not understand who he was referring to when he said that he would not accept blackmails. “What blackmails? Is it a blackmail to talk about the forming of the government? I thought it was normal for someone to explain it to me what kind of concept of the state they want. If that is blackmail, they can look for another partner,” he underscored. The SPS leader added that the SPS had so far never supported any presidential candidate in the run-off and that it did not have to do it now either. “That is not blackmail but logical thinking. If you want an agreement on support, then you also want an agreement on the forming of the government. We cannot support some presidential candidate now and only later discuss the forming of the government. Besides, they are free to form the government on their own if they can,” Dacic pointed out. “Personally, the Interior Ministry is the most important to me. I have invested a lot and I owe it to the people I have been working with,” he said and noted that he was blowing off steam last night when he said he knew who the next prime minister would be, because “the SPS has been underestimated all these months”. The SPS leader said that he had spoken to Nikolic and Tadic last night and that they had congratulated each other on the election results, but added that forming of the new government would be discussed once the final results had been released. He added that it would be "politically correct" to discuss the forming of the government with the DS first, as the party had been the SPS’ coalition partner in the past four years. Ivica Dacic Beta Tanjug

We want to hold talks with DS first, Dačić says

However, he said that the presidential elections could not be separated from the forming of a new government.

“I want to know who is going to be in the next government. I cannot support a presidential candidate (Tadić) and then to have parties that are saying that the Republic of Srpska (RS) is a genocidal creation in crucial positions in the government, or on the other hand (Serbian Progressive Party leader) Tomislav Nikolić and those who want to end cooperation with the European Union,” Dačić said, in apparent reference to Čedomir Jovanović's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

The SPS leader also noted that he would discuss the issue of the future government with his coalition partners Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) and United Serbia (JS).

He pointed out that he was ready to support any agreement and support the DS presidential candidate, but added that if “someone thinks that those parties can have both the president and the prime minister with a little over 20 percent of the vote, then they have lost touch with reality”.

Dačić said that he had good cooperation with Tadić and that he did not understand who he was referring to when he said that he would not accept blackmails.

“What blackmails? Is it a blackmail to talk about the forming of the government? I thought it was normal for someone to explain it to me what kind of concept of the state they want. If that is blackmail, they can look for another partner,” he underscored.

The SPS leader added that the SPS had so far never supported any presidential candidate in the run-off and that it did not have to do it now either.

“That is not blackmail but logical thinking. If you want an agreement on support, then you also want an agreement on the forming of the government. We cannot support some presidential candidate now and only later discuss the forming of the government. Besides, they are free to form the government on their own if they can,” Dačić pointed out.

“Personally, the Interior Ministry is the most important to me. I have invested a lot and I owe it to the people I have been working with,” he said and noted that he was blowing off steam last night when he said he knew who the next prime minister would be, because “the SPS has been underestimated all these months”.

The SPS leader said that he had spoken to Nikolić and Tadić last night and that they had congratulated each other on the election results, but added that forming of the new government would be discussed once the final results had been released.

He added that it would be "politically correct" to discuss the forming of the government with the DS first, as the party had been the SPS’ coalition partner in the past four years.