President asks SNS leader to form government

President asks SNS leader to form government

"Joy and happiness ended on the day the votes were counted – today marks the beginning of huge responsibility and work under constant public scrutiny, and many will look and wait for the government’s mistakes,” Nikolić said.

“We agreed to share the responsibility and the government and the president will work very closely. We will work like a team, particularly concerning the moves that will not be popular,” the Serbian president said.

Vučić for his part remarked that he would "make a healthy and decent state out of Serbia" during the mandate of his government, which he said would be "the next three or four years."

"I promise to work hard and honestly and make good decisions for our Serbia," Vučić said.

According to him, "hardly anyone received such a mandate under more difficult circumstances, especially after the bad decisions made in 2007 and 2009, because of which the state has a high deficit and the economy is not functioning."

Vučić said that Serbia "enters difficult and serious reforms because the list that received the most votes in Serbia's modern history will work for the next generation, not for the next election."

"For me personally, this is a great day," Vučić said.

He then added that the composition of his cabinet would be known "by 19:00 (CET) on April 27, " and that it will have between 17 and 19 ministries.

The SPS and the SVM will join that government, and a coalition agreement will probably be signed on April 26, he announced, adding that his cabinet will also have "many non-partisan figures, experts in certain fields," and noting that some in the opposition referred to this intention as "expert cretinism."

"There will be big surprises in the composition of the government," said Vučić, adding that he believes "people will be satisfied with it."

Early parliamentary elections were held in Serbian on March 16, and a coalition of parties led by the SNS won 158 seats in the 250-seat parliament.

Last week, the president held consultations with representatives of other coalitions that have MPs in the new parliament, constituted on April 16. Those lists are led by the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), the Democratic Party (DS), the New Democratic Party (NDS), the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM), the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) of Sandžak, and the Party for Democratic Action.

Vučić said on April 15 at the meeting of SNS main board that he would present the composition of his future cabinet to this party body on April 25, and that Serbia should have a new government on April 27.

He said it would be "small, modern and efficient and have 17 members."

Vučić said he offered the Socialists to join "in accordance with their strength," bearing in mind that, as he stated, the SNS "is making a Serbia of unification, not divisions, and shows that it is different from other parties."

The presidency of the SPS then accepted the proposal of the SNS and president to participate in his cabinet, stating it was " in Serbia's best interests."

The SNS and the SVM should officially sign their coalition agreement on Wednesday, April 23, writes the daily Večernje Novosti.

The partners will commit to focus their policies particularly on agriculture, social issues and the economy, as well as specific minority issues.

"We insist that the text of the agreement includes an obligation to by June 6 adopt the new statute of the province (of Vojvodina), and by the end of the year the Law on Financing," SVM presidency member Balint Pastor told the newspaper.

He explained that the SVM will have state secretaries in the ministries of economy, agriculture, infrastructure, social affairs and health, as well as deputies chairs in two parliamentary committees - for EU integration, and agriculture.

Last week, DS leader Dragan Đilas said at a meeting with Nikolić that his party cannot take part in government, but also that it never received an invitation from the SNS to discuss the issue.

NDS leader Boris Tadić said after his meeting with the president of Serbia that the party would not join along with the Socialists, and his coalition partners Nenad Čanak and Dušan Petrović dismissed media speculation that they were in talks with the SNS independently of Tadić.

Sulejman Ugljanin said after the consultations last week that he expected to be invited to talks on the new government, but that his party would not try to join at any cost, adding that a condition was "greater involvement of Bosniaks."

President of the Party for Democratic Action Riza Halimi also met with Nikolić and said afterwards that this party representing ethnic Albanians was not seeking to directly participate in government, but was interested to work with it in order to address existential and economic problems in Preševo, Bujanovac and Medveđa.