"Speaker appointment not trade-off"

DS whip Nada Kolundzija says the election of Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic as speaker is not a trade-off, but part of the overall political agreement with the SPS. Speaking to B92, Kolundzija said that everything was functioning well within the party, and that there were no rifts over who should be the party’s nominee for prime minister, though she did not wish to comment on the possible candidates. "Speaker appointment not trade-off" The newly-appointed speaker was also unwilling to discuss personnel issues within the new government, only stating that talks with the Democratic Party (DS) were in their final phase. The DS whip said that the new government would soon be formed, though she did not want to speak about the future prime minister. “We have a very united coalition, very ambitious aims that the government needs to accomplish, and we simply need to establish what the best solution is under such tricky social conditions,“ she explained. Djukic Dejanovic said that there had been no talk of the best possible coalition in Belgrade either, rather that the local party leadership would decide what was best for citizens, and this was the SPS’s official position. “I wouldn’t like to comment on Belgrade, as that was not a separate theme. Belgrade is an important area, Serbia’s administrative and cultural center, but our position is that the local leadership will assume responsibility until the end for the positive and negative consequences for its decision,“ said the speaker. Gordana Pop Lazic from the Serb Radical Party (SRS) did not believe it was logical for such a responsible position as that of speaker to go to a coalition that, as she put it, had squirmed through at the elections. Pop Lazic said that she did not believe that the newly-formed coalition would be able to keep all its pre-election promises. “Not so long ago, [Boris] Tadic was saying all kinds of things about the SPS. They won’t be able to keep their promises; the SPS pledged to look into all the dodgy privatizations, which would mean destroying the DS,“ she said. Djukic Dejanovic said that the SPS had not discussed having charges against the family of Slobodan Milosevic dropped, and that they would try to make sure that they had the same status as any other family. She said that at a time when a government was being formed, constantly harking back to the past suited only those who wished new elections. Nada Kolundzija (FoNet, archive)

"Speaker appointment not trade-off"

The newly-appointed speaker was also unwilling to discuss personnel issues within the new government, only stating that talks with the Democratic Party (DS) were in their final phase.

The DS whip said that the new government would soon be formed, though she did not want to speak about the future prime minister.

“We have a very united coalition, very ambitious aims that the government needs to accomplish, and we simply need to establish what the best solution is under such tricky social conditions,“ she explained.

Đukić Dejanović said that there had been no talk of the best possible coalition in Belgrade either, rather that the local party leadership would decide what was best for citizens, and this was the SPS’s official position.

“I wouldn’t like to comment on Belgrade, as that was not a separate theme. Belgrade is an important area, Serbia’s administrative and cultural center, but our position is that the local leadership will assume responsibility until the end for the positive and negative consequences for its decision,“ said the speaker.

Gordana Pop Lazić from the Serb Radical Party (SRS) did not believe it was logical for such a responsible position as that of speaker to go to a coalition that, as she put it, had squirmed through at the elections.

Pop Lazić said that she did not believe that the newly-formed coalition would be able to keep all its pre-election promises.

“Not so long ago, [Boris] Tadić was saying all kinds of things about the SPS. They won’t be able to keep their promises; the SPS pledged to look into all the dodgy privatizations, which would mean destroying the DS,“ she said.

Đukić Dejanović said that the SPS had not discussed having charges against the family of Slobodan Milošević dropped, and that they would try to make sure that they had the same status as any other family. She said that at a time when a government was being formed, constantly harking back to the past suited only those who wished new elections.