Kragujevac on the Eve of the Elections

Campaign with no Harsh Words

The pre-election political scene of Kragujevac is almost monotonous. People worn out by decade-long political torture that produced wars, speeches that kill, misery and poverty, rallies and protests, completely turned towards real life.

AIM Belgrade, December 21, 2000

The quiet and short election campaign is interrupted only by declarations of a public figure here and there who during their visits to Kragujevac remind Milosevic of the Hague and warn that for as long as individual responsibility for all the crimes on the territory of former Yugoslavia is not determined, it is impossible to talk about further democratisation.

The election campaign is passing without harsh words, accusations and calling opponents names, and promotion of the former ruling parties reminds slightly of an excuse “we are here, too”, “you must understand, this is democracy that you have talked about all the time”. This is the message of those who until recently uncompromisingly ruled the political scene of the country which was thanks to them dominated by chaos, hatred and fear. With changed vocabulary, with completely new “players”, the defeated Socialists resemble the disguised wolf in grandmother's bed in the fairy-tale about Little Red-Riding Hood.

The only refreshing thing on the political scene of the city are the news about directors relieved of duty and new ones nominated for the posts in public enterprises, and some socially-owned companies which are slowly but surely taken over by members of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS), with quite a lot of dust raised. The manner in which they are doing it, the criteria of party affiliation and loyalty to them which are applied, greatly remind of the “dictatorship of the proletariat” in which the “early fighters” get the best.

The Radicals are not what they used to be either. No matter how hard they try to maintain the recognisable rhetoric that can be described as a “strike straight between the eyes” and how typically uncompromising and arrogant they are trying to be in polemics, they too are considerably quieter and more inconspicuous, with political marketing which lacks the well-known sharpness and aggressiveness. As if they too have run out of the negative energy which they have patiently accumulated for a long time and with which they have run things during all the past years.

There is no more members of the Yugoslav United Left (JUL) in Kragujevac any more. They just issue a statement here and there as a reply to the attacks of groups and individuals from their own ranks or when they appear as in the well known role of defence of national interests believing that they were sent by God himself to protect every Serb wherever he may be. Some of the leaders of Kragujevac branch of JUL are under investigation, so the party is falling to pieces. Some fear they will go to prison, and others do not wish to be linked in any way with the former ruling coalition seeking a new roof under which they could hide.

Leaders of the Socialist Party in Kragujevac are also publicly declaring that the coalition with JUL has done them more harm than good and they are announcing they will run in the Republican elections on their own in the struggle to restore the confidence of the citizens whose interest, they stress, they wish to protect more than anything else.

The candidate for deputy of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) from Kragujevac, Miroslav Petrovic admitted at a press conference where some of the candidates were presented that “the marriage with JUL did harm (to the Socialists) in the elections” and that the result would have been much better if they had run in the elections alone.

In the assembly of Kragujevac which has 91 deputies there are 26 deputies of the SPS. Such a large number of seats was won by the Socialists thanks to the majority of the heads of the former local authorities held by Zajedno (Together) coalition who estimated that it was necessary to defeat Milosevic from the bottom up, first in local elections and then go up to the tip of the iceberg. By offering a hand of salvation to Vuk Draskovic a parallel list was formed for local elections under the name “Together for Kragujevac – Verko Stevanovic and Bora Radic” and this directly contributed to weakening of the list of candidates of DOS and enabled the Socialists to win such a large number seats in the city assembly. According to realistic calculations, in the past elections for the city assembly, the Socialists should have been represented by 4 or 5 deputies.

In any case, the Socialists in the city assembly are trying to make the impression that they are still in the saddle and apparently calmly and shrewdly use every appearance at the platform in order to address the voters with the message which reads: “do not listen to what they are telling you about us, you see how good, decent and tolerant we are, true democrats”. In assembly debates the only ones who raise their tone are some, although few, deputies of the ruling coalition DOS who do not seem to be able to give up on the type of speeches given at rallies and messages that “inflame masses”. Having arrived directly from protest gatherings into benches of the assembly they would like to continue at least for a while more to “win freedom” and address a few insults more to the defeated party. Just in order not to let the rhetoric by means of which they came to power be forgotten. Sometimes some of the deputies from the group of citizens of “Zajedno..” join them expressing at the same time criticism of the ruling coalition in which it is possible to recognise great sorrow for the lost positions they used to have in local administration.

As concerning the results of the winning DOS coalition in city administration, it is too early to see any results. There is good will. It remains to be seen whether this will is accompanied by knowledge and capabilities to effectuate it. In any case, a feeling of great relief is felt in the city and civic awareness that they (the authorities) are there for the benefit of the people and not their own and their privileges. Leaders of the city had the opportunity to become aware of that very quickly after moving into the comfortable assembly offices. Discontented with the decision of the city assembly to divide the city into two municipalities, inhabitants of a few surrounding villages arrived one morning in front of the assembly building with their tractors and tractor implements and blocked the city centre.

Confused and unprepared new officials had the opportunity to immediately sober up from the victorious euphoria and with apologies that “that is not what we meant” and “it is just a matter of form” they withdrew the controversial decision. Is not this the true result of the change of Milosevic's regime?

Olivera Tomic

(AIM)