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Serbia's 2008 parliamentary elections: domestic and regional dilemmas
28/04/2008 By Sofia Sebastián
Following the fall of the coalition government on March 7 over fundamental disagreements on Serbia’s European future – and only three months after President Tadić defeated radical leader Tomislav Nikolić in the presidential elections – Serbs will be asked again to choose between a pro-European agenda and a nationalist one in the upcoming parliamentary elections on May 11.
Both the nationalist front, with radical leader Tomislav Nikolič and outgoing PM Vojislav Koštunica in charge, and the so-called democratic camp – led by President Tadić – have presented the elections as a decisive referendum on Serbia’s future. The EU, as well as other external actors, is taking sides and playing into the heated electoral fight in a society that, since the demise of Milosević in 2000, has been confronted with a similar choice in nearly every electoral contest.
Andrej Isakovic / AFP / Getty Images
Irrespective of the outcome of the elections, the political campaign reflects two profoundly entrenched dynamics: the EU’s failing record to pull Serbia into the European orbit and Serbia’s chronic failure to muster the necessary support to undertake the reform agenda, long due since the end of Milosevic’s rule.
The elections, however, are not likely to bring any significant changes. On the contrary, opinion polls suggest that Serbia will face protracted coalition talks, with the risk of a weak government, unable to focus on the urgent steps that Serbia needs to undertake in order to move forward, coming to power.
Published in the run-up to the elections, this commentary examines the domestic and external political dynamics involved in the political campaign as well as the critical dilemmas that both Serbia and the EU will be facing in the aftermath of the elections.
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Keywords
Divided societies Elections European Union Kosovo Serbia Western BalkansRelated publications
- Can Democratic Elections Solve a Civil War? The case of Serbia and Kosovo
- Serbia's Elections and the Challenges Ahead
- Serbia's Troublesome Road to Democracy
- The EU's challenge in Kosovo
Bio author: Sofia Sebastián
Bosnia. Kosovo. State-building. Divided societies. Conflict.
