EU urges Serbs to back liberals as Kostunica dissolves government

SERBIA: NATIONALIST SERB prime minister Vojislav Kostunica formally dissolved his government yesterday and asked president Boris Tadic to call snap elections for May 11th, as the EU urged voters to back liberal parties that favour closer ties with the bloc.

"The government did not have a united and common policy any more . . . and this kept it from performing its basic constitutional function, to define and lead Serbia's politics," the cabinet said in a statement after a brief meeting.

"We propose the dissolution of parliament and the holding of new elections on May 11th, 2008."

Mr Tadic has already said he would respect the government's request for a snap poll, after his Democrats and their allies in the G17 Plus party clashed with Mr Kostunica and his Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) over the issues of Kosovo and the EU.

Mr Kostunica sides with the ultra-nationalist Radical Party and the socialists of former autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in refusing to deal with the EU until it rejects Kosovo's recent declaration of independence; Mr Tadic and his liberal supporters, however, say opposition to Kosovo's sovereignty should not stop Serbia moving towards EU accession.

Polls suggest the election will, like several recent presidential and parliamentary ballots, boil down to a close battle between the Democrats and their allies and the Radicals, who are currently the biggest single party in parliament.

Mr Kostunica and the DSS are likely to come third in the election and again be cast in the role of kingmaker, forcing the premier to choose between giving support to extreme nationalists or liberals.

Slovenian foreign minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the EU's presidency, said he saw "encouraging signs" that pro-EU parties would win the election.

"To be quite frank, I don't think there is any other possibility for our Serbian friends than the European Union," he said. "Where else should they go?"

The EU's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, said it was time to offer Serbs a sign of Brussels's commitment to forging closer ties with Belgrade. "What we have to do is to show the Serbian population that we want them in the European Union," she said of EU proposals for phasing out visas for Serbs travelling to the EU, more scholarships for Serb students and better EU-Serbia transport links.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times