No cabinet deal, new elections loom

No cabinet deal, new elections loom

The Democratic Party (DS), the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and G17 plus have scheduled a new round of talks for next week. However, sources from the parties say new elections look more likely than agreement on the makeup of a new government.

Today's Belgrade newpapers report that the DS and the DSS have allegedly reached an agreement to offer Vojislav Koštunica a mandate to form government.

Belgrade daily Blic reports the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader will remain prime minister if the Democrats, beside the so-called ministries of force, also get a clear majority of other portfolios, “at least two more that the total to be given to the DSS-NS coalition and G17 Plus”.

However, the daily continued, Koštunica disapproved of the part of the deal that proposed an arrangement referring to “a clear majority” of ministries to be controlled by the DS.

The talks are set to continue over the weekend.

“Koštunica is not happy with the offer to keep the post of premier and gain some marginal ministries. On the other hand, the Democrats wish to have guarantees they will control the government. It’s a half-way deal,” the daily reports.

Another Belgrade newspaper, Danas, writes that the Democrats have definitively given up on the idea to have Božidar Đelić as the next prime minister, and will announce this officially in ten days, justifying such a decision as “salvation from new elections.”

Politika reports, quoting unofficial sources from both camps, that a cabinet deal looks more likely than fresh elections, adding that the agreement will be announced in the next ten days, while the swearing-in of the next government will not happen until early May.