Nationalism Rising in Serbia? - by DEJAN ANASTASIJEVIC
While the presidency of Serbia is a largely ceremonial role, electing the President has become a barometer of popular — and thus political — sentiment. In the first round of voting on Jan. 20, ultra-nationalist candidate Tomislav Nikolic won the most votes, 1.6 million or 39.4% of the ballots cast. The incumbent President, pro-Western Boris Tadic, came in second with 35.4% or 1.4 million votes. The contest is now headed for a Feb. 3 runoff.Even if Nikolic wins the runoff, he will not be able to change Serbian politics dramatically or immediately. Kostunica and his moderate nationalism are likely to hold sway even if he and Tadic decide to call it quits. Kostunica's parliamentary bloc, while numerically small, is an essential ally to any larger party seeking to form a ruling coalition. Meanwhile, parliamentary elections are not scheduled until January 2011. "The government would probably survive, at least for a while, even with Nikolic as President", Svilanovic explains. "But Serbia's road towards the E.U. membership would certainly become much more complicated at best."
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