Poll: Tadić and Radicals lead

Poll: Tadić and Radicals lead

According to the same results, the majority does not support entering an armed conflict over the province.

However, a minority composed mostly of pensioners and housewives believes Serbia should engage in conflict with Albanians and the international community over Kosovo.

As many as 70 percent of people are not ready for any kind of armed conflict over Kosovo.

On the other hand, 12 percent, mostly pensioners and housewives, would approve of the war for the province.

The poll says that 59 percent of citizens think the Serbian authorities should assign priority to economic development, while 26 percent think Kosovo should be given precedence.

At the same time, 48 percent think that Serbia should give up its EU membership for the sake of Kosovo, while 39 percent would cut off diplomatic ties with states that unilaterally recognize the province’s independence.

33 percent think that some kind of socio-economic conflict might occur in Serbia, while 22 percent believe Kosovo to be the cause of a possible conflict.

The survey was carried out in the period from June 9 to June17, with the total of 1677 polled on the territory of Serbia, minus Kosovo. The same survey showed that President Boris Tadić is the most popular politician in Serbia with approval rate at 14 percent.

Serb Radical Party (SRS) deputy chief Tomislav Nikolić received 10 percent support of those surveyed, while Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica came third with 5 percent.

In the next parliamentary elections, 32 percent would vote for the Radicals, 26 percent for Tadić’s Democratic Party, 13 percent for Koštunica’s Democratic Party of Serbia.

The Socialist Party of Serbia could count on 8 percent of the vote, Liberal Democratic Party on 6 and G17 Plus on 5 percent.

As for institutions the citizens trust the most, 62 percent of those surveyed opted for the Serbian Orthodox Church, 43 for the Army and 31 for the police.

In CESID’s opinion, major abstinence from vote still posed a serious challenge to any elections in organized in Serbia, as 62 percent of citizens believe they have no influence on politics.

CESID analyst Zoran Stojiljković said Friday during the presentation of the survey that majority citizens in Serbia deemed democratic order as “lame and inefficient.”

“Inefficiency, distraction and quasi-argumentation are seen as democracy’s biggest flaws in the eyes of half of the citizens of Serbia,” he explained.

He added that Serbians believe democratic intuitions need to demonstrate their potential when it comes to functioning of the economy and maintaining order.