Minister unsure if government still has majority

Serbia's Labor Minister Rasim Ljajic says he is not sure the government has a majority due to conflicts between the Democrats and Serbian Renewal Movement. He told daily Vecernje novosti that the ruling coalition was sending a bas message to citizens. Minister unsure if government still has majority “This is about a conflict between the Democratic Party (DS) and the SPO and we are waiting for the outcome of their agreements. As a coalition we are sending a bad message to the citizens ahead of the election, no less. A better coordination was not established from the first day and this is a logical consequence now. A new government should learn a lesson from this,“ he was quoted as saying. He added that this would be the most difficult year since the beginning of the financial crisis. “The crisis is not subsiding in the economic sense in eurozone or in the U.S. and everything is multiplied here because privatization has not been finished yet and we have an unsustainable economic system,“ Ljajic explained. “I am afraid that this year will be ‘eaten’ by the elections. Thanks to the law, we have been hit by the worst possible scenario – to have parliamentary and local and presidential elections in the time of the biggest crisis. We are facing campaigns and election calculations by the end of the year. We will waste a lot of time until the government is established,” he noted. The minister told the daily that the ruling coalition would end its mandate the same way it had started it – with blackmails, conflicts and wasting of energy on trying to secure the majority in parliament. “This is why the next government needs to be small, made of 15 ministers who will do their best to organize the state and who will not deal with party ratings. We would only take part in such a government,” Ljajic pointed out. When asked to comment on a possible coalition between the DS and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he said that it was not very likely that the coalition would be formed after the two parties had exchanged accusations and strong words. The labor minister therefore urged political responsibility before and after the elections so institutions and the economy would not suffer. He also believes that it would not be good if political parties were unable to form the government and if the elections were repeated as a result. He said that Serbia had better chances to get the EU candidate status in March than in December. “It seems like the climate is changing. Of course, we must not cross the red lines when it comes to Kosovo. It is now up to the EU to exert pressure on Pristina, at least as much as on Serbia. If there was some balance in the pressure, there would be a solution,“ Ljajic stated. He concluded that a failure to get the candidate status would negatively affect the ruling coalition but that granting of the candidate status would not be a big plus. “In any case, it would be bad for the country not to get the candidacy we deserve. Europe would prove it leads a policy of ultimatums and that it does not want Serbia. Parties that are against the EU accession would benefit. I am not questioning the EU accession but we need to do it realistically, pragmatically and without idealizing,” Ljajic stressed. Rasim Ljajic (Tanjug) Tanjug Vecernje novosti

Minister unsure if government still has majority

“This is about a conflict between the Democratic Party (DS) and the SPO and we are waiting for the outcome of their agreements. As a coalition we are sending a bad message to the citizens ahead of the election, no less. A better coordination was not established from the first day and this is a logical consequence now. A new government should learn a lesson from this,“ he was quoted as saying.

He added that this would be the most difficult year since the beginning of the financial crisis.

“The crisis is not subsiding in the economic sense in eurozone or in the U.S. and everything is multiplied here because privatization has not been finished yet and we have an unsustainable economic system,“ Ljajić explained.

“I am afraid that this year will be ‘eaten’ by the elections. Thanks to the law, we have been hit by the worst possible scenario – to have parliamentary and local and presidential elections in the time of the biggest crisis. We are facing campaigns and election calculations by the end of the year. We will waste a lot of time until the government is established,” he noted.

The minister told the daily that the ruling coalition would end its mandate the same way it had started it – with blackmails, conflicts and wasting of energy on trying to secure the majority in parliament.

“This is why the next government needs to be small, made of 15 ministers who will do their best to organize the state and who will not deal with party ratings. We would only take part in such a government,” Ljajić pointed out.

When asked to comment on a possible coalition between the DS and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), he said that it was not very likely that the coalition would be formed after the two parties had exchanged accusations and strong words.

The labor minister therefore urged political responsibility before and after the elections so institutions and the economy would not suffer.

He also believes that it would not be good if political parties were unable to form the government and if the elections were repeated as a result.

He said that Serbia had better chances to get the EU candidate status in March than in December.

“It seems like the climate is changing. Of course, we must not cross the red lines when it comes to Kosovo. It is now up to the EU to exert pressure on Priština, at least as much as on Serbia. If there was some balance in the pressure, there would be a solution,“ Ljajić stated.

He concluded that a failure to get the candidate status would negatively affect the ruling coalition but that granting of the candidate status would not be a big plus.

“In any case, it would be bad for the country not to get the candidacy we deserve. Europe would prove it leads a policy of ultimatums and that it does not want Serbia. Parties that are against the EU accession would benefit. I am not questioning the EU accession but we need to do it realistically, pragmatically and without idealizing,” Ljajić stressed.