NS, DS leaders leaving options open

Infrastructure Minister and New Serbia (NS) leader Velimir Ilic says despite all the criticism, he will not rule out a post-electoral coalition with the Democrats. Ilic told daily Blic in an interview yesterday that he would agree to the coalition if League of Vojvodina Social Democrat and G17 Plus leaders Nenad Canak and Mladjan Dinkic and those around them did not participate in the running of the country, voicing his confidence that "Tadic will certainly agree to this." NS, DS leaders leaving options open Speaking about relations between Serbia and the European Union, Ilic said that neither he nor Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica opposed the EU, but that "we all have the Constitutional obligation that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia" and "we cannot violate the Constitution and the laws of our own state by signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA)." Meanwhile, President and Democratic Party (DS) leader Boris Tadic has said that the Democratic Party (DS) will cooperate with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and NS if they return to the European path, and do not obstruct the signing of the SAA. Tadic said that if the DS had a majority in government, Kostunica would not be able to retain his position as prime minister, and stressed that the DS would not agree to the DSS and NS’s conditions, including the condition that the next government not include Dinkic or Canak. Speaking about the candidate for the position of prime minister from the “For European Serbia” list, the president told daily Blic that he would prefer the new prime minister to come from a more economic, as opposed to political, background. Velimir Ilic (FoNet, archive)

NS, DS leaders leaving options open

Speaking about relations between Serbia and the European Union, Ilić said that neither he nor Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica opposed the EU, but that "we all have the Constitutional obligation that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia" and "we cannot violate the Constitution and the laws of our own state by signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA)."

Meanwhile, President and Democratic Party (DS) leader Boris Tadić has said that the Democratic Party (DS) will cooperate with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and NS if they return to the European path, and do not obstruct the signing of the SAA.

Tadić said that if the DS had a majority in government, Koštunica would not be able to retain his position as prime minister, and stressed that the DS would not agree to the DSS and NS’s conditions, including the condition that the next government not include Dinkić or Čanak.

Speaking about the candidate for the position of prime minister from the “For European Serbia” list, the president told daily Blic that he would prefer the new prime minister to come from a more economic, as opposed to political, background.