Serbia appeared to move closer to setting up a government of
nationalists and socialists following an inconclusive general
election, but coalition negotiations were still going on, officials
said.
The country has been balanced on a political see-saw between
hard-liners and pro-European liberals since Sunday's ballot, which
gave neither side a clear majority.
The coalition that emerges will decide if Serbia will pursue EU
membership or shelve its bid until the EU revokes its recognition
of the independence of Kosovo, whose large Albanian majority
declared statehood three months ago with EU backing.
"We have agreed today on the principles for the formation of a
joint government and discussions will continue on a coalition
agreement," said Ivica Dacic, leader of the Socialist Party, once
headed by the late autocrat, Slobodan Milosevic.
Dacic made the statement after talks with the nationalist Radical
Party and the DSS-NS bloc of outgoing nationalist Prime Minister
Vojislav Kostunica.
Serb President Boris Tadic said earlier that a
nationalist-socialist pact would be "a short trip on the Titanic",
and said he felt bound to oppose it because it would halt Serbia's
progress.
Tadic said it would be far better for Serbia if the pro-European
Union bloc led by his own Democratic Party entered a coalition with
Dacic's Socialists.
Talks in the Hague
Sunday's election put the pro-Western alliance led by the
Democratic Party in first place, but without a majority.
The nationalist Radicals and Kostunica's DSS-NS Kostunica came
second and third and quickly joined forces.
Radical leader Tomislav Nikolic told the Tanjug state news agency
that he expected a deal with the Socialists to "create Serbia's
future government".
Local reports said he had flown to The Hague to consult with the
party's founder, Vojislav Seselj, who is on trial for war crimes in
the 1990s break-up of Yugoslavia.
Earlier, reports said that nationalists and Socialists had clinched
a deal on who would be mayor of Belgrade -- seen as a sure sign of
a coalition pact. But there was no announcement at a press
conference by the officials involved.
The Radicals' secretary general Aleksandar Vucic, a baby-faced
firebrand known for his long emotional speeches in parliament, was
hotly tipped to emerge as mayor of the capital, but told reporters
talks on that were still going on.
Tadic's pro-Western bloc wants to push ahead for closer EU ties
regardless of Kosovo, so it can woo foreign investment and boost
the economy. It argues that only a strong Serbia can defend its
interests in Kosovo.
Tadic's alliance has signalled it could water down economic reforms
to accommodate the Socialists' promises of handouts and focus on
social justice.
The nationalist bloc advocates freezing Serbia's bid for EU
membership until the EU revokes recognition of Kosovo, and instead
taking a non-aligned path.
They say they will pursue reforms, but at slower pace, to limit the fallout on the poor.
