Serbia Gets Its New Government

Coalition of the Leftists and the Radicals

AIM Belgrade, 25 March, 1998

Six months after parliamentary elections, Serbia got its new government yesterday. The pompously announced government of national unity, apart from the left coalition (Socialist Party of Serbia-SPS and Yugoslav United Left-JUL) consists only of the Radicals of Vojislav Seselj. The Serb Revival Movement (SPO) withdrew in the last minute and its leader Vuk Draskovic denotes the new coalition government as the beginning of a difficult period for the state and the people. Having approached the Socialists in the past few months and counting upon a large number of ministerial posts, Draskovic has always claimed, like the since yesterday former coalition partner of the Left, New Democracy, that he would not enter the government with Seselj's Radicals.

Unable to form the government on its own, the Left turned to its most natural ally in difficult times - the Serb Radicals, by giving them no less than two vice-prime ministerial (Vojislav Seselj and Tomislav Nikolic) and thirteen ministerial posts, revealing in this way cooperation between the SPS and the SRS which has in fact never been interrupted.

At the very beginning of the assembly session, the new-old candidate for prime minister Mirko Marjanovic was faced with sharp criticism of deputies of other parties, which of course could not have affected the outcome of the elections of the new Serbian government, since the Radicals and the Socialists have the majority of votes in the Serbian assembly.

The policy of Serbia was subject to sharp criticism of the Muslims from Sandzak, autochtonous Serbs from Voivodina and Voivodina Hungarians. Their parties have not many deputies in the assembly, but they have an exceptional significance in formation of the public opinion, especially in regions which, along with Kosovo, are the critical points for Serbia. The group formed of the List for Sandzak, Coalition for Voivodina and the party of Voivodina Hungarians together with SPO and New Democracy are political parties which are in favour of opening of Serbia to the world and becoming more cooperative with the international community.

If judging by well-informed critics, in the new government they have all recognised continuation of isolationist policy and a crushing outcome both for Serbia and for attaining political objectives of the population of Serbia they represent.

Deputy of Coalition Voivodina, Dragan Veselinov, in prime minister Marjanovic, one of the greatest techno-managers, sees continuation of Polycratean rule, which enables transfer of money in favour of a few most influential families in Serbia, while on the other hand the average salary of the employed in Serbia does not exceed 120 dollars. According to Veselinov, the new Government is not a guarantor of peace, but a factor which will even further broaden the conflict with the international community.

Nenad Canak, deputy of the same party, stated an even sharper evaluation, presenting the coalition of the Socialists and the Radicals as the end of Serbia in economic, cultural and every other respect. Deputy of the League of Voivodina Hungarians, Jozsef Kasza, accused Marjanovic that he had not taken into consideration any suggestion presented in consultations, and he assessed the composition of the government as crushing and catastrophic for the interests of the Hungarians in Voivodina. Deputy of the List for Sandzak, Dzemail Suljevic put a question whether there was any sense in participating in institutions of the system after the established coalition, stressing that the government of Serbia had not even so far shown sufficient understanding for resolving the position of the Muslim population in Sandzak. Its policy was manifested in violation of human rights, ethnic cleansing, setting houses on fire, kidnapping people, their disappearance, and all that created insecurity in the region.

The union of the Radicals, the Socialists and the Leftists did not leave Serbia indifferent although it is used to shocks. In the country which is under semi-sanctions, it is simply not easy to face the fact that the new composition of the government does not promise change of policy which has already yielded disastrous results: in the previous four-year period Serbia has not solved a single burning problem, either political or economic. Problems have just been further strained and radicalised to the utmost, so the mostly optimistic, although without foundation, public of Serbia had expected that the personnel changes of the government would be aimed at least at abandoning the previous unsuccessful policy.

Instead of that, they got the rigid and belligerent Radicals in the government, who would gladly "destroy the whole world which is conspirating against Serbia" in their surges of patriotism.

The Socialists also caused revolt of the citizens by giving a ministerial post to Dragoljub Jankovic (ministry of justice) known to the public as the president of the First Municipal Court which became "famous" for the theft of votes in the local elections. Jankovic was the last to yield to pressures of the world to return the votes to the opposition. His promotion to the minister of justice is experienced as a provocation and a sign that there will be no freedom of judiciary in Serbia in the foreseeable future.

It is interesting that New Democracy, which had run in the elections together with the SPS and JUL, has also disassociated itself from the new coalition government. Deputies of this party refused to share power with the Radicals, so that they now have an extraordinary role in the parliament. On the one hand they are in a coalition with the ruling party and on the other they are in the opposition to its government.

At this moment, Serbia is equally fearing the Radicals and inflation and poverty which total international isolation may bring to it at the moment when its economic development depends on foreign investments, financial loans and privatisation.

The impression is that the left coalition was forced to enter the coalition with the Radicals, because the SPO demanded a high price for its entrance which Slobodan Milosevic in the role of the president of the Socialist party was not ready to pay. Marjanovic himself expressed regret because representatives of the SPO did not participate in the government. Nevertheless, the very fact that the former prime minister was entrusted with the mandate to form the cabinet again and that tthe Socialists kept control of the ministries of finance and police shows that the Socialists have no intention to give up on their policy.

In perservation of power, according to the initial assessments, the Radicals will be given the role of a large "broom" which ought to efficiently remove all those who are resisting the existing system of rule.

Ratomir Petkovic

(AIM)