Serbian Radical Party leader Tomislav Nikolic says that Europe has nothing to worry about from the victory of his party in parliamentary elections.
Photo: Vasily Shaposhnikov
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Parliamentary Elections in Serbia Favor Nationalists
The first parliamentary elections in Serbia since the death of Slobodan Milosevic and the secession of Montenegro took place yesterday. The results will be announced today, but the victory of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party has been widely predicted. That party promises to reorient Serbia away from Europe and toward Russia. The leader of the Serbian Radical Party, Vojislav Seselj, has been in prison in The Hague for several years accused of war crimes. Neat graffiti reading “Seselj is a Serbian hero” has been sprayed on many buildings in Belgrade. The party took 40 percent of the vote in the last parliamentary elections, but no party would enter into a coalition with it. Now its election slogan is “Fifty percent plus your vote.”
The Serbian Radical Party is managed in Serbia by Tomislav Nikolic. He commented as he voted in a Belgrade kindergarten, “We will be victorious. Serbia should take its own path and no one should interfere with it. We don't interfere in European affairs, why should they interfere with us? Russia will help us. Russia is our strategic partner. It always supported us and now won't let anyone take Kosovo away from us.”
Deputy speaker of the State Duma Sergey Baburin is heading the Russian observers at the elections. He noted with approval, “the [Serbian Radical] party opposes NATO and favors Russian interests… If they win, Serbia will have a problem with the European Union”
Kosovo was a major issue in election campaigning. “In reality,” Baburin commented, “Kosovo is lost. What is there to say if there isn't a single Serb for dozens of kilometers around Kosovo Pole? Why was Kosovo the biggest issue in the election? Only the radicals were really prepared to fight for Kosovo.”
Leader of the Socialist Party Ivica Dacic summed up dissatisfaction with President for the Democratic Party Boris Tadic. “Tadic says we will not go to war over Kosovo,” Dadic began. “And we will not break off relations with those countries that demand a referendum on Kosovan independence. And we will not demand a referendum on independence for the Republic of Serbia in Bosnia. That is against the interests of Serbia.”
A middle-aged man outside a polling place explained his choice of candidates. “I used to vote for the democrats,” he said. “But I ma tired of them. The radicals have a problem with personnel, of course. But maybe they won't steal. The democrats promised that the EU would accept us, but where is it? Nobody accepts us. The Europeans say that we didn't meet some criteria, but they accepted Bulgaria and Romania, which are not richer than us at all. Insulting. Humiliating, I'm tired of it. You understand, there should be something in life to be proud of. Some people are proud of their riches, or their work, or their family. Their cat or dog, if nothing else. I want to be proud of my country.”
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 22, 2007
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