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Eastern dimension and the Balkans / Comment

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.

Andrej Isakovic / AFP / Getty Images

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.

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 Balkans

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Bio author: Sofia Sebastián

Sofia Sebastian is a PhD candidate in the Government Department at the London School of Economics (LSE), where she teaches a seminar on democracy and democratization processes. The title of her thesis is 'The Interplay of Domestic and International Actors in the Process of Political Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina.' Prior to her PhD studies, Sofia earned an MSc in Foreign Service with a focus on foreign policy and international security at Georgetown University under the sponsorship of the Fulbright Commission. Sofia received her BA in Political Science and International Relations from the Universidad Complutense de Madrid.