DS: Government by end of June

Dragoljub Micunovic says he is convinced that the DS will begin formal talks with the SPS on forming a new government next week. The senior Democratic Party (DS) official said that talks would be complete by the end of the month. DS: Government by end of June "We’ll wait for the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) to definitely end talks with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Serb Radical Party (SRS), but it’s obvious that there will be no so-called national government,” Micunovic told B92. He said that the Socialists’ decision was more or less final, but that the problem lay in the formulation. "After that, we will invite them to formal talks,” he said, adding that the Socialists faced the risky choice of new elections or rationally deciding to form a governing coalition with “For a European Serbia”. Micunovic refuted media speculation that the SPS’s demands went as far as party leader Ivica Dacic becoming the new prime minister, stressing that that position would be filled by someone from the Democratic Party (DS) that was acceptable to everybody. He added that it was unlikely that Dacic would become interior minister, stating that the DS, apart from the post of prime minister, would seek the European Integration, Defense, Security, Finance and Interior Ministries. The DS official said that Belgrade would also have a pro-European coalition because he believed that the Socialists would make a rational choice. He said that the DS had already started working on preparations to form a new government, in terms of manifesto and personnel, so that the government could start implementing the necessary reforms that applied to European integration and achieving EU candidate status as soon as possible. Micunovic said that the demands to rehabilitate the Milosevic family were unacceptable because that would mean forsaking democracy and division of power, and would be a direct intrusion into the judicial system, which was something that the DS would never do. He stressed that the acquittal of Marko Milosevic had nothing to do with the formation of a new government, and that it was a first instance verdict. Micunovic said that a government featuring the SPS and the minority parties would be stable, since the DS, as the largest party, would have a majority and a clear manifesto, and that he did not think that it would be in the interests of the minority parties to jeopardize EU integration, something that could lead to new elections where the DS would enjoy even greater success.

DS: Government by end of June

"We’ll wait for the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) to definitely end talks with the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the Serb Radical Party (SRS), but it’s obvious that there will be no so-called national government,” Mićunović told B92. He said that the Socialists’ decision was more or less final, but that the problem lay in the formulation.

"After that, we will invite them to formal talks,” he said, adding that the Socialists faced the risky choice of new elections or rationally deciding to form a governing coalition with “For a European Serbia”.

Mićunović refuted media speculation that the SPS’s demands went as far as party leader Ivica Dačić becoming the new prime minister, stressing that that position would be filled by someone from the Democratic Party (DS) that was acceptable to everybody.

He added that it was unlikely that Dačić would become interior minister, stating that the DS, apart from the post of prime minister, would seek the European Integration, Defense, Security, Finance and Interior Ministries.

The DS official said that Belgrade would also have a pro-European coalition because he believed that the Socialists would make a rational choice.

He said that the DS had already started working on preparations to form a new government, in terms of manifesto and personnel, so that the government could start implementing the necessary reforms that applied to European integration and achieving EU candidate status as soon as possible.

Mićunović said that the demands to rehabilitate the Milošević family were unacceptable because that would mean forsaking democracy and division of power, and would be a direct intrusion into the judicial system, which was something that the DS would never do.

He stressed that the acquittal of Marko Milošević had nothing to do with the formation of a new government, and that it was a first instance verdict.

Mićunović said that a government featuring the SPS and the minority parties would be stable, since the DS, as the largest party, would have a majority and a clear manifesto, and that he did not think that it would be in the interests of the minority parties to jeopardize EU integration, something that could lead to new elections where the DS would enjoy even greater success.