Coalition talks gathering pace

Talks over a new government are continuing through formal and informal channels. Democratic Party (DS) leader Boris Tadic says that he knows the name of the future prime minister, and will be informing him soon. Coalition talks gathering pace Tadic told daily Danas that negotiations were under way with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) coalition, the result of which would be the creation of a socially responsible and pro-European government. According to Serb Radical Party (SRS) Secretary General Aleksandar Vucic, the Radicals will resume talks with the SPS coalition today or tomorrow. Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader Vojislav Kostunica said yesterday that the DSS-New Serbia coalition would respect the will of the electorate. He said that the 102 seats won by the five parties grouped around the DS did not represent a legitimate majority that expressed the will of the Serbian citizens. Meanwhile, the SRS will resume talks with the SPS as soon as deputy leader Tomislav Nikolic returns from The Hague and SPS leader Ivica Dacic from Moscow, said Vucic. Dacic, who was on a visit to the Just Russia party in Moscow, said that his party was not in talks with the DS over forming a new government. “We’re talking with the DSS, as we said we would. We cannot talk with different parties at the same time. We’ve reached a founding agreement on the principles and tenets on the basis of which we can proceed towards forming a coalition. And a coalition will be formed once a coalition agreement has been signed. So, the first step has been taken,” said the SPS leader. B92 understands from the DS that “informal talks” have been held between the Democrats and SPS, though at local, not republic, level. The same source confirmed that the DS had sent a proposal for forming coalitions at local level to the Socialists, but added that talks were still only in their initial stages and no agreement had been reached. The seat of government (B92) SPS: Nothing without EU accession funds SPS Vice-President Milutin Mrkonjic has told Blic that talks over formation of a government with the DSS and the SRS have only just begun, and that the adoption of the five principles at tripartite talks two days ago “means nothing.” “The agreement with the SRS and the DSS is by no means set in stone,” said Mrkonjic, adding that the launch of all developmental projects in the fields of agriculture, energy and road building were “the condition of all conditions.” “The principles that we adopted are not in question, we’ve also started to write a coalition agreement, and that will take a few days, but that does not mean that we’ve agreed over a government yet,” said the SPS vice-president. “The agreement will come to nothing unless we can secure jobs for people, and we can only do that by carrying out big jobs like the Horgos-Pozega highway, Corridor 10, and Djerdap 3. We can’t do any of these without the European pre-accession funds and loans from European banks,” he underlined. Asked whether he would be negotiating with the “For a European Serbia” coalition, regardless of the ongoing talks with the DSS and SRS, Mrkonjic replied that no official invitation had as yet arrived from that coalition, but that he would go to talks if invited. Meanwhile, Sandzak Democratic Party (SDP) leader Rasim Ljajic says that in spite of everything, there are realistic prospects of Serbia receiving a pro-European government. In an interview with Novi Sad daily Dnevnik, Ljajic said that all the political reasons indicated that the Socialists had incomparably more to gain from a coalition with the DS than with the DSS and SRS. “In alliance with Seselj and Kostunica, they’ll only be the third partner, and given that the parties target a similar audience, it’s clear that the only ones with anything to gain from such a marriage are the Radicals, which will lead to them swallowing up the Socialists themselves first, and the nationalists later,” said the SDP leader. In his opinion, if the SPS decides in favor of the pro-European option, they have a chance to rejuvenate their electoral base and increase it significantly “at the SRS and DSS’s expense.” “Laws whose amendment the Associated Pensioners’ Party and the SPS are seeking, on work, pensions and disability benefit, were enacted during Kostunica’s previous government. And that’s proof that he’s only bothered about social justice just before elections, or when he needs the odd added vote when doing his post-election sums,” Ljajic observed.

Coalition talks gathering pace

Tadić told daily Danas that negotiations were under way with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) coalition, the result of which would be the creation of a socially responsible and pro-European government. According to Serb Radical Party (SRS) Secretary General Aleksandar Vučić, the Radicals will resume talks with the SPS coalition today or tomorrow.

Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) leader Vojislav Koštunica said yesterday that the DSS-New Serbia coalition would respect the will of the electorate. He said that the 102 seats won by the five parties grouped around the DS did not represent a legitimate majority that expressed the will of the Serbian citizens.

Meanwhile, the SRS will resume talks with the SPS as soon as deputy leader Tomislav Nikolić returns from The Hague and SPS leader Ivica Dačić from Moscow, said Vučić.

Dačić, who was on a visit to the Just Russia party in Moscow, said that his party was not in talks with the DS over forming a new government.

“We’re talking with the DSS, as we said we would. We cannot talk with different parties at the same time. We’ve reached a founding agreement on the principles and tenets on the basis of which we can proceed towards forming a coalition. And a coalition will be formed once a coalition agreement has been signed. So, the first step has been taken,” said the SPS leader.

B92 understands from the DS that “informal talks” have been held between the Democrats and SPS, though at local, not republic, level. The same source confirmed that the DS had sent a proposal for forming coalitions at local level to the Socialists, but added that talks were still only in their initial stages and no agreement had been reached.

SPS: Nothing without EU accession funds

SPS Vice-President Milutin Mrkonjić has told Blic that talks over formation of a government with the DSS and the SRS have only just begun, and that the adoption of the five principles at tripartite talks two days ago “means nothing.”

“The agreement with the SRS and the DSS is by no means set in stone,” said Mrkonjić, adding that the launch of all developmental projects in the fields of agriculture, energy and road building were “the condition of all conditions.”

“The principles that we adopted are not in question, we’ve also started to write a coalition agreement, and that will take a few days, but that does not mean that we’ve agreed over a government yet,” said the SPS vice-president.

“The agreement will come to nothing unless we can secure jobs for people, and we can only do that by carrying out big jobs like the Horgoš-Požega highway, Corridor 10, and Đerdap 3. We can’t do any of these without the European pre-accession funds and loans from European banks,” he underlined.

Asked whether he would be negotiating with the “For a European Serbia” coalition, regardless of the ongoing talks with the DSS and SRS, Mrkonjić replied that no official invitation had as yet arrived from that coalition, but that he would go to talks if invited.

Meanwhile, Sandžak Democratic Party (SDP) leader Rasim Ljajić says that in spite of everything, there are realistic prospects of Serbia receiving a pro-European government.

In an interview with Novi Sad daily Dnevnik, Ljajić said that all the political reasons indicated that the Socialists had incomparably more to gain from a coalition with the DS than with the DSS and SRS.

“In alliance with Šešelj and Koštunica, they’ll only be the third partner, and given that the parties target a similar audience, it’s clear that the only ones with anything to gain from such a marriage are the Radicals, which will lead to them swallowing up the Socialists themselves first, and the nationalists later,” said the SDP leader.

In his opinion, if the SPS decides in favor of the pro-European option, they have a chance to rejuvenate their electoral base and increase it significantly “at the SRS and DSS’s expense.”

“Laws whose amendment the Associated Pensioners’ Party and the SPS are seeking, on work, pensions and disability benefit, were enacted during Koštunica’s previous government. And that’s proof that he’s only bothered about social justice just before elections, or when he needs the odd added vote when doing his post-election sums,” Ljajić observed.