"Tension growing" inside DS-G17 camp

A high ranking official of the ruling Democrats (DS) says that statements coming from G17 Plus are not jeopardizing the ruling coalition. Still, DS Executive Council President Marko Djurisic was quoted by daily Politika as saying that the said statements are causing "unnecessary tensions". "Tension growing" inside DS-G17 camp G17 Plus is one of four DS pre-election coalition partners gathered in the For A European Serbia (ZES) list. The party, led by Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic, also joined the government last year. Now Politika writes that tension is "gaining new momentum" after Dinkic was quoted as saying that G17 Plus would leave the Cvetkovic cabinet if the Democrats decided to reach out to the opposition Serb Progressives (SNS) in order to forge local administrations in some municipalities. This was amplified, according to the article, when the cabinet of DS leader and the country's president Boris Tadic issued a statement on Friday denying that he and Dinkic met to discuss local coalitions. Djurisic said that "if there is tension we will solve it to mutual satisfaction", but went on to add that he "cannot think about what could have been G17 Plus' motives, but that the DS has never accepted blackmail, and would not do so in the future". "We have never been dishonest with our coalition partners and we are certain that they know it. I think that G17 Plus have a problem understanding the citizens' expectations. The policy led by the DS is that of compromise that has yielded results. The DS does not wish to contribute to creating tensions within the coalition in any way, and that will be our behavior in the future," said he. Political analyst Jovo Bakic sees the latest commotion in the ruling coalition as the parties' "positioning" ahead of the next elections – but also as a fight for survival for some. "It's obvious that G17 are afraid of a DS-SNS coalition, because, as a small party, G17 is worried about being left outside the power arrangements in the future, and later out of parliament as well, should the DS-SNS coalition go through." "For this reason, Dinkic's party is teaming up with regional parties and leaders," Bakic said, and added that relations between G17 Plus and the Democrats are "clearly" becoming cooler. This analyst also said he would "not be surprised" if G17 were to leave the government, should the DS decide to enter a coalition with the SNS. Such a move might not be "destructive" for Dinkic's party after all, Bakic continued, "bearing in mind its previous experiences, when their rating was low before elections, while campaigns lacked quality, and yet they crossed the [five percent of votes] threshold". Institute for Political Studies analyst Miodrag Radojevic told Politika that the tension between the two parties reflects the state of the ruling coalition, and that it is "absurd" that the Democrats have less problems in their relations with the Socialists (SPS) than with G17, describing the later as "some sort of their natural ally". "The problem is that with possibly closer ties between the DS and SNS, G17's political influence would weaken and it would lose its political weight. G17 plus is searching for a kind of a new political identity in order to improve its current position on the political scene." "It is for this reason that their officials are speaking about cleaning up their own ranks, calling an early party congress, changing the name and about other big changes in the party. Hence, therefore, the criticism aimed at the DS," said Radojevic. Tadic, Dinkic campaign in March 2008 (FoNet)

"Tension growing" inside DS-G17 camp

G17 Plus is one of four DS pre-election coalition partners gathered in the For A European Serbia (ZES) list. The party, led by Economy Minister Mlađan Dinkić, also joined the government last year.

Now Politika writes that tension is "gaining new momentum" after Dinkić was quoted as saying that G17 Plus would leave the Cvetković cabinet if the Democrats decided to reach out to the opposition Serb Progressives (SNS) in order to forge local administrations in some municipalities.

This was amplified, according to the article, when the cabinet of DS leader and the country's president Boris Tadić issued a statement on Friday denying that he and Dinkić met to discuss local coalitions.

Đurišić said that "if there is tension we will solve it to mutual satisfaction", but went on to add that he "cannot think about what could have been G17 Plus' motives, but that the DS has never accepted blackmail, and would not do so in the future".

"We have never been dishonest with our coalition partners and we are certain that they know it. I think that G17 Plus have a problem understanding the citizens' expectations. The policy led by the DS is that of compromise that has yielded results. The DS does not wish to contribute to creating tensions within the coalition in any way, and that will be our behavior in the future," said he.

Political analyst Jovo Bakić sees the latest commotion in the ruling coalition as the parties' "positioning" ahead of the next elections – but also as a fight for survival for some.

"It's obvious that G17 are afraid of a DS-SNS coalition, because, as a small party, G17 is worried about being left outside the power arrangements in the future, and later out of parliament as well, should the DS-SNS coalition go through."

"For this reason, Dinkić's party is teaming up with regional parties and leaders," Bakić said, and added that relations between G17 Plus and the Democrats are "clearly" becoming cooler.

This analyst also said he would "not be surprised" if G17 were to leave the government, should the DS decide to enter a coalition with the SNS.

Such a move might not be "destructive" for Dinkić's party after all, Bakić continued, "bearing in mind its previous experiences, when their rating was low before elections, while campaigns lacked quality, and yet they crossed the [five percent of votes] threshold".

Institute for Political Studies analyst Miodrag Radojević told Politika that the tension between the two parties reflects the state of the ruling coalition, and that it is "absurd" that the Democrats have less problems in their relations with the Socialists (SPS) than with G17, describing the later as "some sort of their natural ally".

"The problem is that with possibly closer ties between the DS and SNS, G17's political influence would weaken and it would lose its political weight. G17 plus is searching for a kind of a new political identity in order to improve its current position on the political scene."

"It is for this reason that their officials are speaking about cleaning up their own ranks, calling an early party congress, changing the name and about other big changes in the party. Hence, therefore, the criticism aimed at the DS," said Radojević.