Serbian parliament narrowly approves new government

08/07/2008

The new Serbian government, whose priority will be rapid European integration, won parliamentary approval after a 12-hour debate.

By Igor Jovanovic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 08/07/08

New Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic presents his programme to the Serbian parliament on Monday (July 7th) in Belgrade. [Getty Images]

The new Serbian government, which won parliamentary approval by a slim margin on Monday (July 7th), will contain as many as seven parties and will hold 128 out of 250 parliamentary seats. The cabinet won the votes of 127 of the 164 MPs who attended the session; many opposition members stayed away in protest.

Leading the new cabinet will be Serbian President Boris Tadic's Democratic Party (DS) and the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) -- which former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic led until his death in March 2006. Tadic and SPS leader Ivica Dacic said they will soon sign an agreement on political reconciliation.

DS official and former Finance Minister Mirko Cvetkovic will be the new prime minister.

The opposition will include former Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia and the far-right Serbian Radical Party, which have 108 MPs combined. Those parties have berated the new cabinet for allegedly lacking a clear policy on Kosovo and not presenting concrete economic projects. They also accuse Cvetkovic of being a "weak" figure who will conceal a concentration of power in Tadic's hands.

Cvetkovic said to parliament that his cabinet will focus on Serbia's European future, rejection of the independence of Kosovo, strengthening of the economy and the government's fulfillment of social obligations and a stronger crackdown on corruption and crime.

One of the new government's first acts will be to send the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU to parliament for ratification, he said, adding that Serbia aims to obtain EU membership candidate status in late 2008 or early 2009.

The new government will have 27 members, 24 of whom will lead ministries, making it one of the region's biggest. Dacic of the SPS will be deputy prime minister and interior minister simultaneously. Other SPS members will head the infrastructure, energy and education ministries. Slavica Djukic-Dejanovic of the SPS is the parliamentary speaker.

Apart from the coalitions headed by the DS and SPS, the new cabinet will enjoy the support of six representatives of the Hungarian and Bosniak minorities in Serbia. The opposition Liberal Democratic Party, which holds 13 seats in the parliament, has announced it will support the government only in certain matters, primarily the arrest of three remaining ICTY indictees and the country's EU accession.

Most Belgrade analysts say since the new cabinet comprises many different parties, it will be difficult to harmonise all their demands. Arresting the remaining Hague tribunal indictees and finding a common attitude toward Kosovo, which declared independence from Belgrade on February 17th, will be the biggest challenges for the new government, they say.

Serbian economists have said that Cvetkovic's "ambitious" plans require a restrictive monetary policy, the implementation of reforms and association with the EU.

According to polls, Serbians most of all expect the new government to ensure better lives, new jobs and higher salaries.