"Serbia's economy in catastrophic shape"

The real and upcoming catastrophe is that there neither a concept nor the capability to counter those problems. One of the sources of that is the paralyzing status in which this and all other Serbian administrations are. "Kosovo, Kosovo, Kosovo...", there is no other topic. Even that news here, which should actually aim for Serbia's economic crisis, also makes cross references to Kosovo. That ultimate topic blinds politicians and they blind their own people with that topic, diverting and covering all mis-doings. It is no surprise that practicly no reforms have been done yet. I doubt that this will change. The reason? Just one answer: Kosovo. So much waste of time, energy, resources and finally generations.

"...the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but that the money must be spent appropriately, wondering "how much the airplane tickets cost, who took the trips, using which agency, and who were the persons 'driving around the world',"

Ask Vuk Jeremic...)))) I have warned you guys in the past that Jeremic loves travelling with the public money...)))) Check out Africa's exotic trips...)))

Good comment, Commentator.

This situation (and it's only going to get worse) is what you get when you spend half your energy crying about Kosovo for 12 years.

Michael Thomas, 21 September 2012 15:49)
I have asked it before, were you by chance the finance minister of Zimbabwe a few years back when their currency became so inflated that a loaf of bread was like 5 million Zimbabwe dollars?
If it were that simple there would be no poor countries today.

He Vucic, before and during the elections you and your pal Nikolic were winching and wining about the DS on how incompetent and corrupt they have been over the last 8 years. NOW that you finally got where you wanted to be you are again winching and wining about the same issues. Yes we all know which useless, self serving idiots were running our country and how they deprived us all of a decent future. That's why YOU got elected!
So what are you going to do about it?
Either fix it or make room for someone who can! Whatever you decide stop wasting everybody's time looking for someone to blame.

(Lenard, 21 September 2012 14:29)

The definition of irony: a Croat xenophobe deciding who's a fascist. LOL buddy, the region did not know of fascism until it was introduced to the Balkans by Croatia. Everything from the demographics of your country to its very checkered flag reeks of fascism.

There is not one country in Europe that was more loyal to both Hitler and his Nazi ideology than Croatia. You can try to spread lies all you want but it is not 1990's anymore. Meanwhile it is you and the mayor of Split that seemingly hate Serbs so much and yet cannot avoid keeping Serbs out your damn mouth.

You meanwhile take your obsession a step further and come on Serbian forums to discuss....Serbs.

No doubt the DS made mistakes but conditions in Serbia are the result of many factors, some stretching back decades. And I just find it perverse that a former Radical can stand in front of the Serbian people and point the finger of blame. Anyway, say what you will about Vucic and others with 90s baggage (Nikolic, Dacic, etc), they won't be able to get away with the blame game for long. People just want jobs that pay an adequate wage, and they'll vote out the government that fails to make that happen. Serbia has an official unemployment rate of around 28-29 per cent, and has just seen her credit rating downgraded to a "high-risk" category. So unless Russia, out of the kindness of her heart, would be willing to loan Serbia billions of dollars at a low rate, the Serbian economic situation appears extremely dire. Some in Serbia are counting on foreign investment, but an awful lot is needed, and fast. I live in the US, and the only off-shoring I ever really hear about is to places across the Pacific, not the Atlantic.

Arigold Did you know Serbia has an ambassador to Myanmar? For what?! Maybe too teach the fascist generals how to murder and ethnic cleanse other national groups in Burma. Keep the rest of the country under their despot authoritarian criminal rule. Is not Serbia maintaining some of the equipment built in former Yugo airplanes ,torpedo boats etc. Serbia probably sold more oppressive military equipment to the despot generals of Burma. Serbia has a reputation of doing that selling to despot criminals and regimes around the world Serbia is not squeamish in doing that.

I am afraid Ari's comment is a bit misleading.Serbia is ANYTHING but socialist.Many people think socialism ismeans government control.I hate to break it to all the right wingers out there who have this fantasy that the USSR or Tito's Yugoslavia was a socialist state but its not.Real socialism,if the word today has any direct meaning, constitutes democratic control of the economy.

Serbia is now a neoliberal state
We need to rethink our failure of an economic system.We have been though two extremes:communist Statism and "free market" capitalism.Both dont work.

The truth is that we can only have a real political freedom if we have economic democracy.This includes:

.Participatory budgeting.
.Cooperatives.
.ESOP(isation of) Firms.
.Credit unions.
.Local development agencies.
.Strong Local government.
.Democratization of credit and asset ownership.
.Public (not state) firms and utillities.

Instead of throwing out these cretins in government and the rotten system with it ,we busy ourselves as a nation by buying into the endless BS of ethnic hate,religious dogma and downright ignorace,like the rest of the Yugoslav region.Isnt it time for a change?

Serbia should free itself from the grip of the international banking mafia; it should print as many dinars as it needs to meet its internal expenses.

Sovereign nations have their own currencies which they can inflate as and when needed. The US, Britain, Russia, China and Japan are sovereign nations that use their currencies to support nation development, Serbia should do the same.

There is no inflation in Briton and there will be no inflation in Serbia, but these new dinars will employ millions of Serbs and revive the Serbian economy.

Most of the readers of B92 do not understand money and credit, this is a difficult subject. But the banking mafia understand it and that is why they are destroy national currencies in Europe and have plans for a new dollar which will be introduced firstly for the US, Canada and Mexico, and then for the who of South America.

Serbia still has its dinar, but they are not using it for national salvation.

Did you know Serbia has an ambassador to Myanmar? For what?!
(Ari Gold, 21 September 2012 14:03)

To stop recognition of Kosovo?

So also in Serbia someone has understood that all of Jeremic's trips around the globe were made only for private reasons and not in Serbia's interest..finally ..

Just one answer: Kosovo. So much waste of time, energy, resources and finally generations.
(Commentator, 21 September 2012 10:50)

Every country has an obligation to defend its sovereignty. No matter the economic state you are in, you must do that. What is a waste of time and energy however is the bloated socialist government Serbia has where you would think they are governing over 500 million people the amount of positions they have.

I don't want to sound redundant but I will repeat it again. An ambassador to all EU countries, an ambassador to the EU as a whole, an office for EU integration, a minister for the EU, ambassadors to the OSCE, Council of Europe, European Parliament & NATO.

130+ government agencies when Germany has 8
250 MP's when the U.S. senate has 100
Allocating money out of the budget for NGO's to open up abortion clinics thereby paying foreigners to literally come in and murder us.

^^
THAT is why Serbia is hurting. Not because of its defense for Kosovo i Metohija. Is that expensive too? Yes of course it is, when you have certain Western policy makers who get insanely aroused at the thought of submitting Serbia then of course it will cost money to counter that.

But no wonder why citizens pay 25% in taxes and private investors pay 20%. Because someone needs to finance all the government jobs the elite reserves for their close friends. Did you know Serbia has an ambassador to Myanmar? For what?!

Cleaning this up is the beginning for Serbia's rebirth.

(LAZAR D, 21 September 2012 14:37)

I don't think Serbia is a socialist state, but the bloated government model from the Tito-ist era has carried over to this very day. In Serbia you are only somebody if you have a friend in the government that can set you up in one of these ridiculous government agencies that people need to remember are financed by the state budget and tax payer's money. Even hearing older Yugo-nostalgic people, they would rave about how the state made sure everyone was protected and how everything "was free".

However I completely agree with what Serbia (and any country really) needs in terms of economic democracy. All of what you listed should be implemented but that doesn't mean we can't do both. Because Serbia is in need of wholesale changes, institutional reform and obviously audits to see who is responsible for where we are today.

I'm realy happy that Serbs are commenting for Economy, for their real life. Even Serbs can change.

aaayyy i live in tirana. As i remember you live in your hated west. I'm realy interested for the economic development of serbia and any other place in balkan. I know that positive development of our neigbor affect positively us. By diaspora of serbs that live farway of balkan i see that is more important retoric for kosova than the improvment of the real life of citiziens.

Most of the readers of B92 do not understand money and credit, this is a difficult subject. But the banking mafia understand it and that is why they are destroy national currencies in Europe and have plans for a new dollar which will be introduced firstly for the US, Canada and Mexico, and then for the who of South America.

Serbia still has its dinar, but they are not using it for national salvation.
(Michael Thomas, 21 September 2012 15:49)

Right you are Michael.A lot of people do not understand that the system you propose is even better than the "fractional Reserve" banking we have today which allows the banking mafia to issue credit backed by reserves.In the old times those reserves consisted of gold whereas in nowadays are merely government securities(promises to pay).The banking system lends those securities many times essentially depreciating them.

The Serbian government could indeed issue credit backed by assets as collateral.These assets could be in any form ranging from land,buildings,forests,companies etc.The issue of new credit will be successful provided it is used on productive activities and not paying the salaries of new government appointees.

On the question of issuing a new dollar in Americas I think it cannot work for the same reasons the Euro couldn't work either.Disparate economies in "one size fits all" will always result in some countries having budget surpluses and others deficits and recession.

@Commentator

We all see 1999 how it looks when war comes under our window.in that time we all cry for help ,we all talk only about that…?? We have only one country,only one home and we have to fight for her.If you think with that small brain of yours sitting by the computer with coffee in one and cigarette in other hand not afraid that someone will hurt your child on the way to school or that someone will drop the bomb in your backjard,or that someone will take a PART OF YOUR BODY and sell it ,than we should give up and let that poor people get banish out of their homes and land,then my dear friend I suggest you to give your own house,flat or whatever you have to one of them and live on street ,give them your MEMORIES of your childhood and life and live without anything …if that is a way that you think we all together with our government should do(doesn’t matter what government is on the power)

Jasmina, 21 September 2012 13:18)
A good summation of what the Albanians went through during the Milosevic years, without the organ thing, that folklore did not come about until recently. Now lets hope they find much deserved peace of mind.

This situation (and it's only going to get worse) is what you get when you spend half your energy crying about Kosovo for 12 years.
(Danilo, 21 September 2012 11:53)
And naturally the Albanians in Kosovo live a fabulous lifestyle. Wake up and smell the roses and maybe you might see that the rest of the world is not much better.

@ T

It's only been 45 days, do not you think that the results should go a little more, especially taking into consideration that remained in the country after the reign DS …

I'm realy happy that Serbs are commenting for Economy, for their real life. Even Serbs can change.
(dori tirana, 21 September 2012 15:57)

You sound like a person from extremely prosperous country.

AriGold

"There is not one country in Europe that was more loyal to both Hitler and his Nazi ideology than Croatia." Why wouldn`t they be if that brings them profit even if it was wrong to rape and kill people? The same can be told about Serbia serving and being loyal to Russia since it ever existed , it`s called common-interest every country has it , don`t blame croats for the mistakes their leaders made 50 years ago , if they still follow that ideology then you can blame them. That`s why albanians still generally hate serbs , not because what milosevic did but because they still follow his path, at least they told me that.

About the serbian economy , there is major crisis everywhere only germans seem not affected a bit by it , there are many factors , this govt is not to be blamed they`ve got chairmen for about 2-3 months one can not expect results for such a short time but still serbia is spending a lot on the Kosovo issue , investing in the north then lobbying in the world to prevent Kosovo in advancing internationally , that takes a lot of money as well. Seems not a waste for nationalists but u can see the effects on the ground.

dori tirana, your memory doesn't serve you, I don't live in "my hated West". If you care about well-being of the whole Balkans, good, but it doesn't depend on Serbia only, it depends on how soon your fellow Albanians from Kosovo will be ready for real negotiations and compromise agreement/solutions.
(aaayyy, 21 September 2012 22:22)
It’s better if you live in Serbia, so we can find a common interest. I think that my fellow Kalbanians are not the problem but the solution. They are one of the most martyred people of Europe since WWI. aaayyy I’m a white man but in South Africa I was with Mandela, not with Apartheid. If you are a fair person even you are Serb you have to be with Rugova, not with Milosevic. Just accept that since 1912 Kosova was a shameful colonial story and that the unique civil resistance of Kalbanians was rewarded with the irreversible freedom in 1999.

NOOO!Really? that terrible! I mean really!Imagine if the west would do something like that! such as send billions of dollars and military aid to a despotic theocratic regime situated somehwere on the Arabian peninsula where beheadings still happen!That would be awfull!

@Michael Thomas - it is you who doesn't know who credit, inflation and the economy work.
If you did you would feel stupid for making such a comment.

I don't think Serbia is a socialist state, but the bloated government model from the Tito-ist era has carried over to this very day. In Serbia you are only somebody if you have a friend in the government that can set you up in one of these ridiculous government agencies that people need to remember are financed by the state budget and tax payer's money. Even hearing older Yugo-nostalgic people, they would rave about how the state made sure everyone was protected and how everything "was free".

However I completely agree with what Serbia (and any country really) needs in terms of economic democracy. All of what you listed should be implemented but that doesn't mean we can't do both. Because Serbia is in need of wholesale changes, institutional reform and obviously audits to see who is responsible for where we are today.
(Ari Gold, 21 September 2012 15:55)

Dear Ari, you are painting a very dark picture of Serbia here which is unacceptable and runs contrary to the excellent analysis and facts presented by the CE of B92 forums sj based on his/her unparalleled insights from his/her distinguished work at the famous Malaysian bank and the inside sources of his/her legendary Malaysian friend.

P.S. CE = Chief Economist

Kosovo isn't colony, it is disputed territory, Serbs are not foreigners there, Kosovo is a land where they have been living for more than 1000 years and which they have been gradually leaving for dozens of years (it had started long before Milosevic came to power) because of pressure of Albanian nationalists.
(aaayyy, 22 September 2012 13:00)

Just 1000 years !!!!! That's nothing - that's just 0,00002% of Kosovo's existence. Don't repeat that again as you are undermining all of the historical arguments about why Kosovo should Serbia's. The correct statement is that Serbs have been living in Kosovo forever :)

"loan Serbia billions of dollars at a low rate"
(Nenad, 21 September 2012 14:10)

That would have been sweet for all in the region once inside the Eurozone. sell Dinar- or Lek-quality titles with Deutschmark(ahem, Euro)-quality credit ratings. Unfortunately, the Drachma-printing people (a.k.a. Greece) may have ruined it for all of us in the region. Zee Germans won't be fooled again.

If you care about well-being of the whole Balkans, good, but it doesn't depend on Serbia only, it depends on how soon your fellow Albanians from Kosovo will be ready for real negotiations and compromise agreement/solutions.
(aaayyy, 21 September 2012 22:22)
Alot would depend on Serbia's interpretation of compromise also. What is it that Serbia is willing to give to Kosovo they do not have today? That is the question. Read the Rambouillet Accords that would be a good starting point. It sets up Serbia and Kosovo as equal in a Federation with separate ruling govts and then a Federal govt, which each would have veto power over to govern most foreign affairs.
Is that something you could agree to, Kosovo would be giving up their independence and Serbia would be gaining having Kosovo and Serbia united.
That would be a compromise.
I do not see Kosovo agreeing but anything less would never be agreed to by the international community and thats where you would need help in convincing Kosovo to agree.
anything less is not a compromise on Serbia's part.

to dori tirana,

Kosovo isn't colony, it is disputed territory, Serbs are not foreigners there, Kosovo is a land where they have been living for more than 1000 years and which they have been gradually leaving for dozens of years (it had started long before Milosevic came to power) because of pressure of Albanian nationalists.

dori tirana, your memory doesn't serve you, I don't live in "my hated West". If you care about well-being of the whole Balkans, good, but it doesn't depend on Serbia only, it depends on how soon your fellow Albanians from Kosovo will be ready for real negotiations and compromise agreement/solutions.

Wake up and smell the roses and maybe you might see that the rest of the world is not much better.
(sj, 21 September 2012 15:42)

It appears Vucic heard you and woke up :)

dori tirana, I don't live in Serbia either

@dori tirana

South Africa is a perfect example why retaliation after an oppressive regimes is wrong. South Africa is becoming increasingly racist to White people, they have policies (Affirmative Action) which dictates that only black people should be employed. If you are a white person there are racial quotes to get into university, that means you need higher marks than black people if you want to study a certain field. If a white person criticizes a black person in anyway especially government officials he is immediately racist, even if race was not mentioned. It has now been 18 years since the end of Apartheid and they are still talking about it using it as a justification for everything they are doing, its time they get over it.

Now as you can see Albanians are doing similar things in Kosova except they are not as smart as South Africans, they forced Serbs out of their homes, retaliated and used the justification Serbs started it. South Africa uses the justification correcting the mistakes of the past and giving people a fair chance, you can see why they are smarter. Violence against Serbs is still going on to this day, its been 13 years since Milosevic, and the retaliation justification is still used, maybe you should live in South Africa and see what it is like for whites who live there, if there are any left most have immigrated to Australia/New Zealand and those that haven't are planning to do so sometime in the future. Its time both people leave the past behind

@Commentator

We all see 1999 how it looks when war comes under our window.in that time we all cry for help ,we all talk only about that…?? We have only one country,only one home and we have to fight for her.If you think with that small brain of yours sitting by the computer with coffee in one and cigarette in other hand not afraid that someone will hurt your child on the way to school or that someone will drop the bomb in your backjard,or that someone will take a PART OF YOUR BODY and sell it ,than we should give up and let that poor people get banish out of their homes and land,then my dear friend I suggest you to give your own house,flat or whatever you have to one of them and live on street ,give them your MEMORIES of your childhood and life and live without anything …if that is a way that you think we all together with our government should do(doesn’t matter what government is on the power)

(Lenard, 21 September 2012 14:29)

The definition of irony: a Croat xenophobe deciding who's a fascist. LOL buddy, the region did not know of fascism until it was introduced to the Balkans by Croatia. Everything from the demographics of your country to its very checkered flag reeks of fascism.

There is not one country in Europe that was more loyal to both Hitler and his Nazi ideology than Croatia. You can try to spread lies all you want but it is not 1990's anymore. Meanwhile it is you and the mayor of Split that seemingly hate Serbs so much and yet cannot avoid keeping Serbs out your damn mouth.

You meanwhile take your obsession a step further and come on Serbian forums to discuss....Serbs.

Most of the readers of B92 do not understand money and credit, this is a difficult subject. But the banking mafia understand it and that is why they are destroy national currencies in Europe and have plans for a new dollar which will be introduced firstly for the US, Canada and Mexico, and then for the who of South America.

Serbia still has its dinar, but they are not using it for national salvation.
(Michael Thomas, 21 September 2012 15:49)

Right you are Michael.A lot of people do not understand that the system you propose is even better than the "fractional Reserve" banking we have today which allows the banking mafia to issue credit backed by reserves.In the old times those reserves consisted of gold whereas in nowadays are merely government securities(promises to pay).The banking system lends those securities many times essentially depreciating them.

The Serbian government could indeed issue credit backed by assets as collateral.These assets could be in any form ranging from land,buildings,forests,companies etc.The issue of new credit will be successful provided it is used on productive activities and not paying the salaries of new government appointees.

On the question of issuing a new dollar in Americas I think it cannot work for the same reasons the Euro couldn't work either.Disparate economies in "one size fits all" will always result in some countries having budget surpluses and others deficits and recession.

AriGold

"There is not one country in Europe that was more loyal to both Hitler and his Nazi ideology than Croatia." Why wouldn`t they be if that brings them profit even if it was wrong to rape and kill people? The same can be told about Serbia serving and being loyal to Russia since it ever existed , it`s called common-interest every country has it , don`t blame croats for the mistakes their leaders made 50 years ago , if they still follow that ideology then you can blame them. That`s why albanians still generally hate serbs , not because what milosevic did but because they still follow his path, at least they told me that.

About the serbian economy , there is major crisis everywhere only germans seem not affected a bit by it , there are many factors , this govt is not to be blamed they`ve got chairmen for about 2-3 months one can not expect results for such a short time but still serbia is spending a lot on the Kosovo issue , investing in the north then lobbying in the world to prevent Kosovo in advancing internationally , that takes a lot of money as well. Seems not a waste for nationalists but u can see the effects on the ground.

Good comment, Commentator.

This situation (and it's only going to get worse) is what you get when you spend half your energy crying about Kosovo for 12 years.

This situation (and it's only going to get worse) is what you get when you spend half your energy crying about Kosovo for 12 years.
(Danilo, 21 September 2012 11:53)
And naturally the Albanians in Kosovo live a fabulous lifestyle. Wake up and smell the roses and maybe you might see that the rest of the world is not much better.

"...the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but that the money must be spent appropriately, wondering "how much the airplane tickets cost, who took the trips, using which agency, and who were the persons 'driving around the world',"

Ask Vuk Jeremic...)))) I have warned you guys in the past that Jeremic loves travelling with the public money...)))) Check out Africa's exotic trips...)))

Just one answer: Kosovo. So much waste of time, energy, resources and finally generations.
(Commentator, 21 September 2012 10:50)

Every country has an obligation to defend its sovereignty. No matter the economic state you are in, you must do that. What is a waste of time and energy however is the bloated socialist government Serbia has where you would think they are governing over 500 million people the amount of positions they have.

I don't want to sound redundant but I will repeat it again. An ambassador to all EU countries, an ambassador to the EU as a whole, an office for EU integration, a minister for the EU, ambassadors to the OSCE, Council of Europe, European Parliament & NATO.

130+ government agencies when Germany has 8
250 MP's when the U.S. senate has 100
Allocating money out of the budget for NGO's to open up abortion clinics thereby paying foreigners to literally come in and murder us.

^^
THAT is why Serbia is hurting. Not because of its defense for Kosovo i Metohija. Is that expensive too? Yes of course it is, when you have certain Western policy makers who get insanely aroused at the thought of submitting Serbia then of course it will cost money to counter that.

But no wonder why citizens pay 25% in taxes and private investors pay 20%. Because someone needs to finance all the government jobs the elite reserves for their close friends. Did you know Serbia has an ambassador to Myanmar? For what?!

Cleaning this up is the beginning for Serbia's rebirth.

Arigold Did you know Serbia has an ambassador to Myanmar? For what?! Maybe too teach the fascist generals how to murder and ethnic cleanse other national groups in Burma. Keep the rest of the country under their despot authoritarian criminal rule. Is not Serbia maintaining some of the equipment built in former Yugo airplanes ,torpedo boats etc. Serbia probably sold more oppressive military equipment to the despot generals of Burma. Serbia has a reputation of doing that selling to despot criminals and regimes around the world Serbia is not squeamish in doing that.

Serbia should free itself from the grip of the international banking mafia; it should print as many dinars as it needs to meet its internal expenses.

Sovereign nations have their own currencies which they can inflate as and when needed. The US, Britain, Russia, China and Japan are sovereign nations that use their currencies to support nation development, Serbia should do the same.

There is no inflation in Briton and there will be no inflation in Serbia, but these new dinars will employ millions of Serbs and revive the Serbian economy.

Most of the readers of B92 do not understand money and credit, this is a difficult subject. But the banking mafia understand it and that is why they are destroy national currencies in Europe and have plans for a new dollar which will be introduced firstly for the US, Canada and Mexico, and then for the who of South America.

Serbia still has its dinar, but they are not using it for national salvation.

I'm realy happy that Serbs are commenting for Economy, for their real life. Even Serbs can change.
(dori tirana, 21 September 2012 15:57)

You sound like a person from extremely prosperous country.

aaayyy i live in tirana. As i remember you live in your hated west. I'm realy interested for the economic development of serbia and any other place in balkan. I know that positive development of our neigbor affect positively us. By diaspora of serbs that live farway of balkan i see that is more important retoric for kosova than the improvment of the real life of citiziens.

dori tirana, your memory doesn't serve you, I don't live in "my hated West". If you care about well-being of the whole Balkans, good, but it doesn't depend on Serbia only, it depends on how soon your fellow Albanians from Kosovo will be ready for real negotiations and compromise agreement/solutions.

The real and upcoming catastrophe is that there neither a concept nor the capability to counter those problems. One of the sources of that is the paralyzing status in which this and all other Serbian administrations are. "Kosovo, Kosovo, Kosovo...", there is no other topic. Even that news here, which should actually aim for Serbia's economic crisis, also makes cross references to Kosovo. That ultimate topic blinds politicians and they blind their own people with that topic, diverting and covering all mis-doings. It is no surprise that practicly no reforms have been done yet. I doubt that this will change. The reason? Just one answer: Kosovo. So much waste of time, energy, resources and finally generations.

(LAZAR D, 21 September 2012 14:37)

I don't think Serbia is a socialist state, but the bloated government model from the Tito-ist era has carried over to this very day. In Serbia you are only somebody if you have a friend in the government that can set you up in one of these ridiculous government agencies that people need to remember are financed by the state budget and tax payer's money. Even hearing older Yugo-nostalgic people, they would rave about how the state made sure everyone was protected and how everything "was free".

However I completely agree with what Serbia (and any country really) needs in terms of economic democracy. All of what you listed should be implemented but that doesn't mean we can't do both. Because Serbia is in need of wholesale changes, institutional reform and obviously audits to see who is responsible for where we are today.

I'm realy happy that Serbs are commenting for Economy, for their real life. Even Serbs can change.

@Michael Thomas - it is you who doesn't know who credit, inflation and the economy work.
If you did you would feel stupid for making such a comment.

dori tirana, your memory doesn't serve you, I don't live in "my hated West". If you care about well-being of the whole Balkans, good, but it doesn't depend on Serbia only, it depends on how soon your fellow Albanians from Kosovo will be ready for real negotiations and compromise agreement/solutions.
(aaayyy, 21 September 2012 22:22)
It’s better if you live in Serbia, so we can find a common interest. I think that my fellow Kalbanians are not the problem but the solution. They are one of the most martyred people of Europe since WWI. aaayyy I’m a white man but in South Africa I was with Mandela, not with Apartheid. If you are a fair person even you are Serb you have to be with Rugova, not with Milosevic. Just accept that since 1912 Kosova was a shameful colonial story and that the unique civil resistance of Kalbanians was rewarded with the irreversible freedom in 1999.

NOOO!Really? that terrible! I mean really!Imagine if the west would do something like that! such as send billions of dollars and military aid to a despotic theocratic regime situated somehwere on the Arabian peninsula where beheadings still happen!That would be awfull!

Michael Thomas, 21 September 2012 15:49)
I have asked it before, were you by chance the finance minister of Zimbabwe a few years back when their currency became so inflated that a loaf of bread was like 5 million Zimbabwe dollars?
If it were that simple there would be no poor countries today.

So also in Serbia someone has understood that all of Jeremic's trips around the globe were made only for private reasons and not in Serbia's interest..finally ..

dori tirana, I don't live in Serbia either

to dori tirana,

Kosovo isn't colony, it is disputed territory, Serbs are not foreigners there, Kosovo is a land where they have been living for more than 1000 years and which they have been gradually leaving for dozens of years (it had started long before Milosevic came to power) because of pressure of Albanian nationalists.

Jasmina, 21 September 2012 13:18)
A good summation of what the Albanians went through during the Milosevic years, without the organ thing, that folklore did not come about until recently. Now lets hope they find much deserved peace of mind.

He Vucic, before and during the elections you and your pal Nikolic were winching and wining about the DS on how incompetent and corrupt they have been over the last 8 years. NOW that you finally got where you wanted to be you are again winching and wining about the same issues. Yes we all know which useless, self serving idiots were running our country and how they deprived us all of a decent future. That's why YOU got elected!
So what are you going to do about it?
Either fix it or make room for someone who can! Whatever you decide stop wasting everybody's time looking for someone to blame.

@ T

It's only been 45 days, do not you think that the results should go a little more, especially taking into consideration that remained in the country after the reign DS …

No doubt the DS made mistakes but conditions in Serbia are the result of many factors, some stretching back decades. And I just find it perverse that a former Radical can stand in front of the Serbian people and point the finger of blame. Anyway, say what you will about Vucic and others with 90s baggage (Nikolic, Dacic, etc), they won't be able to get away with the blame game for long. People just want jobs that pay an adequate wage, and they'll vote out the government that fails to make that happen. Serbia has an official unemployment rate of around 28-29 per cent, and has just seen her credit rating downgraded to a "high-risk" category. So unless Russia, out of the kindness of her heart, would be willing to loan Serbia billions of dollars at a low rate, the Serbian economic situation appears extremely dire. Some in Serbia are counting on foreign investment, but an awful lot is needed, and fast. I live in the US, and the only off-shoring I ever really hear about is to places across the Pacific, not the Atlantic.

Did you know Serbia has an ambassador to Myanmar? For what?!
(Ari Gold, 21 September 2012 14:03)

To stop recognition of Kosovo?

"loan Serbia billions of dollars at a low rate"
(Nenad, 21 September 2012 14:10)

That would have been sweet for all in the region once inside the Eurozone. sell Dinar- or Lek-quality titles with Deutschmark(ahem, Euro)-quality credit ratings. Unfortunately, the Drachma-printing people (a.k.a. Greece) may have ruined it for all of us in the region. Zee Germans won't be fooled again.

If you care about well-being of the whole Balkans, good, but it doesn't depend on Serbia only, it depends on how soon your fellow Albanians from Kosovo will be ready for real negotiations and compromise agreement/solutions.
(aaayyy, 21 September 2012 22:22)
Alot would depend on Serbia's interpretation of compromise also. What is it that Serbia is willing to give to Kosovo they do not have today? That is the question. Read the Rambouillet Accords that would be a good starting point. It sets up Serbia and Kosovo as equal in a Federation with separate ruling govts and then a Federal govt, which each would have veto power over to govern most foreign affairs.
Is that something you could agree to, Kosovo would be giving up their independence and Serbia would be gaining having Kosovo and Serbia united.
That would be a compromise.
I do not see Kosovo agreeing but anything less would never be agreed to by the international community and thats where you would need help in convincing Kosovo to agree.
anything less is not a compromise on Serbia's part.

I am afraid Ari's comment is a bit misleading.Serbia is ANYTHING but socialist.Many people think socialism ismeans government control.I hate to break it to all the right wingers out there who have this fantasy that the USSR or Tito's Yugoslavia was a socialist state but its not.Real socialism,if the word today has any direct meaning, constitutes democratic control of the economy.

Serbia is now a neoliberal state
We need to rethink our failure of an economic system.We have been though two extremes:communist Statism and "free market" capitalism.Both dont work.

The truth is that we can only have a real political freedom if we have economic democracy.This includes:

.Participatory budgeting.
.Cooperatives.
.ESOP(isation of) Firms.
.Credit unions.
.Local development agencies.
.Strong Local government.
.Democratization of credit and asset ownership.
.Public (not state) firms and utillities.

Instead of throwing out these cretins in government and the rotten system with it ,we busy ourselves as a nation by buying into the endless BS of ethnic hate,religious dogma and downright ignorace,like the rest of the Yugoslav region.Isnt it time for a change?

Wake up and smell the roses and maybe you might see that the rest of the world is not much better.
(sj, 21 September 2012 15:42)

It appears Vucic heard you and woke up :)

I don't think Serbia is a socialist state, but the bloated government model from the Tito-ist era has carried over to this very day. In Serbia you are only somebody if you have a friend in the government that can set you up in one of these ridiculous government agencies that people need to remember are financed by the state budget and tax payer's money. Even hearing older Yugo-nostalgic people, they would rave about how the state made sure everyone was protected and how everything "was free".

However I completely agree with what Serbia (and any country really) needs in terms of economic democracy. All of what you listed should be implemented but that doesn't mean we can't do both. Because Serbia is in need of wholesale changes, institutional reform and obviously audits to see who is responsible for where we are today.
(Ari Gold, 21 September 2012 15:55)

Dear Ari, you are painting a very dark picture of Serbia here which is unacceptable and runs contrary to the excellent analysis and facts presented by the CE of B92 forums sj based on his/her unparalleled insights from his/her distinguished work at the famous Malaysian bank and the inside sources of his/her legendary Malaysian friend.

P.S. CE = Chief Economist

Kosovo isn't colony, it is disputed territory, Serbs are not foreigners there, Kosovo is a land where they have been living for more than 1000 years and which they have been gradually leaving for dozens of years (it had started long before Milosevic came to power) because of pressure of Albanian nationalists.
(aaayyy, 22 September 2012 13:00)

Just 1000 years !!!!! That's nothing - that's just 0,00002% of Kosovo's existence. Don't repeat that again as you are undermining all of the historical arguments about why Kosovo should Serbia's. The correct statement is that Serbs have been living in Kosovo forever :)

@dori tirana

South Africa is a perfect example why retaliation after an oppressive regimes is wrong. South Africa is becoming increasingly racist to White people, they have policies (Affirmative Action) which dictates that only black people should be employed. If you are a white person there are racial quotes to get into university, that means you need higher marks than black people if you want to study a certain field. If a white person criticizes a black person in anyway especially government officials he is immediately racist, even if race was not mentioned. It has now been 18 years since the end of Apartheid and they are still talking about it using it as a justification for everything they are doing, its time they get over it.

Now as you can see Albanians are doing similar things in Kosova except they are not as smart as South Africans, they forced Serbs out of their homes, retaliated and used the justification Serbs started it. South Africa uses the justification correcting the mistakes of the past and giving people a fair chance, you can see why they are smarter. Violence against Serbs is still going on to this day, its been 13 years since Milosevic, and the retaliation justification is still used, maybe you should live in South Africa and see what it is like for whites who live there, if there are any left most have immigrated to Australia/New Zealand and those that haven't are planning to do so sometime in the future. Its time both people leave the past behind