Jumping on the Wagon

By Stevan V. Nikolic

New York, Feb. 11, 2010 (Serbia Today) – Until couple a months ago, or rather until local elections in the Belgrade Municipality of Vozdovac, nobody in Serbia seriously believed that new parliamentary elections will happen this year.
And while the political analysts are still discussing if Serbian Progressive Party won the confidence of voters in Vozdovac or Democratic Party lost it, the activists of the Serbian Progressive Party and some other smaller parties are collecting the signatures on the petition asking for new elections.

The maneuvering and positioning of the major players at the Serbian political scene prove that new elections are quite possible. Being pro –European is the trend of the day among politicians who want to stay in the game. More so, showing the willingness to listen to the concerns of the American friends doesn’t hurt either. The list of the Serbian politicians visiting lately Washington for various reasons, is very eclectic. One would almost assume that the overseas confidence is more important for Serbian politicians than the confidence of the voters back home.

The language, the tone and the attitude of the politicians when expressing their opinions on various issues softened up lately as well. There are many in Serbia who question political abilities of the President Boris Tadic, but throwing into political arena the proposal of the Resolution on Srebrenica was a stroke of a master. Suddenly, party leaders were between the hammer and the stone. Being too much against the resolution would damage their prospects for the future, while voting for it could make them betray their party lines.

If nothing else, it seems that the days of “Serbian nationalism” as a trend among politicians that will brings votes of the citizens are gone forever. Serbian voters are tired of the political slogans that the “whole world is against them” and Serbian politicians realized that the only way to stay in the political arena of Serbia tomorrow is to jump on the wagon of the train heading towards Europe.

And as it is case anywhere in the world, when it comes to staying in power, party lines and party programs don’t matter much if the potential ruling coalition could guarantee well paid political office. So, it is a beautiful picture at the moment looking at the Serbian politicians being so cordial and understanding to each other across the party lines.. Just in a case…elections happen...