U.S. media react to Nikolić’s victory

Election results in Serbia and Tomislav Nikolic’s victory have caused Serbia to get a bigger media attention in the U.S. The New York Times has explained the reason for the increased attention in one sentence: “Tomislav Nikolic, a nationalist and former cemetery supervisor, was elected president of Serbia on Sunday, in a surprise victory that cast doubt on whether the country would remain on its path toward the European Union or look increasingly eastward toward Russia”. U.S. media react to Nikolic’s victory Analysts said Mr. Nikolic, a sometimes fiery populist, struck a chord with a growing underclass buffeted by the financial crisis at a time when the crisis-ridden European Union has lost its luster, The New York Times writes. The daily describes Nikolic as “a former ultranationalist, has in recent years professed a commitment to Serbia joining the European Union and has called for close relations with the U.S.“ “But analysts questioned whether a man who once said he would rather see Serbia become a province of Russia than a member of the European bloc would continue to push Serbia toward a pro-European path,“ The New York Times writes, adding that Nikolic was in government with Slobodan Milosevic when NATO bombed Serbia in 1999. The National Public Radio (NPR) has stated that the elections result is primarily “a schoking defeat of pro-European President Tadic“. The NPR said that the result “does not have to mean that Serbia will give up on the EU integration”, adding however that the process could become more complicated now. The radio stressed that Nikolic was Slobodan Milosevic’s ally and warned that he “was much more energetic in pointing out Serbia’s historical right to the lost territory of Kosovo”. According to the NPR, this would be the “main obstacle in Washington and Brussels’ attempts to get Serbia in the EU”. The Washington Times said, however, that “the Serbians blew Tadic out of the office” primarily due to increasing economic difficulties. “With unemployment of 24 percent, young voters are especially bitter over their perspective,” the daily writes, stressing that Tadic himself had said in a farewell message that he “was responsible for every human life and every lost job in Serbia” in the last eight years he spent in office. The Chicago Tribune pointed to presence of Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s presence at the guests of the NATO Summit in Chicago. The daily stressed that Tadic and his party had started Serbia’s NATO accession process several years ago, primarily in the Partnership for Peace program. The Tribune said it was questionable whether Nikolic would be ready to continue the process, bearing in mind that “the key issue for him is facing reality regarding the Kosovo status, which absolutely cannot be avoided in the process”. (Beta, file) B92 Slobodan Pavlovic

U.S. media react to Nikolić’s victory

Analysts said Mr. Nikolić, a sometimes fiery populist, struck a chord with a growing underclass buffeted by the financial crisis at a time when the crisis-ridden European Union has lost its luster, The New York Times writes.

The daily describes Nikolić as “a former ultranationalist, has in recent years professed a commitment to Serbia joining the European Union and has called for close relations with the U.S.“

“But analysts questioned whether a man who once said he would rather see Serbia become a province of Russia than a member of the European bloc would continue to push Serbia toward a pro-European path,“ The New York Times writes, adding that Nikolić was in government with Slobodan Milošević when NATO bombed Serbia in 1999.

The National Public Radio (NPR) has stated that the elections result is primarily “a schoking defeat of pro-European President Tadić“.

The NPR said that the result “does not have to mean that Serbia will give up on the EU integration”, adding however that the process could become more complicated now.

The radio stressed that Nikolić was Slobodan Milošević’s ally and warned that he “was much more energetic in pointing out Serbia’s historical right to the lost territory of Kosovo”. According to the NPR, this would be the “main obstacle in Washington and Brussels’ attempts to get Serbia in the EU”.

The Washington Times said, however, that “the Serbians blew Tadić out of the office” primarily due to increasing economic difficulties.

“With unemployment of 24 percent, young voters are especially bitter over their perspective,” the daily writes, stressing that Tadić himself had said in a farewell message that he “was responsible for every human life and every lost job in Serbia” in the last eight years he spent in office.

The Chicago Tribune pointed to presence of Montenegro, Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina’s presence at the guests of the NATO Summit in Chicago.

The daily stressed that Tadić and his party had started Serbia’s NATO accession process several years ago, primarily in the Partnership for Peace program.

The Tribune said it was questionable whether Nikolić would be ready to continue the process, bearing in mind that “the key issue for him is facing reality regarding the Kosovo status, which absolutely cannot be avoided in the process”.