I have decided after long contemplation to propose to the main board of the DSS that it accepts me as candidate for President of Serbia
Vojislav Kostunica
Posted on 08/24/2002 8:16:49 AM PDT by pythagorean
Friday, 23 August, 2002, 12:53 GMT 13:53 UK
Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica has said he will run for the Serbian presidency in next month's election, ending months of speculation.
|
|
I have decided after long contemplation to propose to the main board of the DSS that it accepts me as candidate for President of Serbia
|
|
|
|
Vojislav Kostunica
|
|
|
The decision sets up a contest between two camps of the reformist movement which ousted former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
On one side are Mr Kostunica's moderate nationalists, and on the other are pro-market liberals, whose candidate is Yugoslav Deputy Prime Minister Miroljub Labus.
The two men have been running level in opinion polls.
Mr Labus declared his candidacy a month ago, but Mr Kostunica kept the nation guessing about whether he would run, until his statement on Friday at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS).
"I have decided after long contemplation to propose to the main board of the DSS that it accepts me as candidate for President of Serbia," he said.
"I have no doubt that they will accept."
Power struggle
Mr Kostunica has been involved in an intensifying power struggle with Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic, a close ally of Mr Labus.
The two sides have clashed over a range of economic and legal reforms, and over co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal.
Earlier this year, the two remaining parts of the Yugoslav federation - Serbia and Montenegro - agreed to replace Yugoslavia with a loose "union of states", causing Mr Kostunica's job to disappear.
The new union will also have a federal presidency, but it is unclear how much real power the president would wield.
Problems agreeing the small print of the deal have also left open the possibility of Montenegro opting for full independence.
Other candidates
The current Serbian President Milan Milutinovic, indicted by the UN war crimes tribunal along with Mr Milosevic, will remain in office until the end of the year.
The Serbian Government has refused to extradite him while until then, but the first round of the election to replace him takes place on 29 September.
If no candidate secures an absolute majority, a second round runoff between the two leading candidates will be held two weeks later.
Other prominent candidates are Vojislav Seselj, a right-wing ultranationalist of the Serbian Radical Party; Velimir-Bata Zivojinovic, a popular actor in communist-era Yugoslav films running for Milosevic's Socialist Party; opposition leader Vuk Draskovic, and Borislav Pelevic, a leader of the nationalistic Party of Serbian Unity.
 |
In any case, I hope he wins.
This has clearly not been his choice and his patriotism is rarely doubted. He recognizes his and his party's lack of hard power and has made persistent efforts to build it. His policies will have the chance to be implemented only if he becomes president of Serbia and if DSS gets more parliamentary representation to have a major role in the next government.
I agree...... he is a good man, but in the scheme of things, a weak one.
Two erros here: (1) the president is a ceremonial figure who has no executive power (read Serbia's and Yugoslavia's constitutions), so there will be no VK's policies and (2) this election is to replace the current president (Milutinovich) and not the parliament.
If VK wins, he will still have to work with Djindjich, who is appointed, and who holds all the executive power as the prime minister. Djindjich's faction currently holds the highest number of DOS seats, and DOS has more seats than all the opposition combined, so nothing will change -- at least not until the parliamentary elections in 2004.
As for the powers of the Serbian president, you are well aware that in practice they largely depend on the political power that the president enjoys outside the context of the presidency. Milosevic was strong when he held the post and Milutinovic is weak for obvious reasons. VK will get stronger as president as long as his popular base remains strong and DSS get stronger. This will hopefully culminate with DSS doing well in the parliamentary elections and forming a government (by itself or in some coalition) withoutt relying on Djindjic and his allies. I see this as an entirely plausible and welcome scenario.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.