SERBIA: EX-RADICALS TOUT OPENNESS AND CHANGE AT FOUNDING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 001108 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: EX-RADICALS TOUT OPENNESS AND CHANGE AT FOUNDING PARTY CONGRESS REF: BELGRADE 1072 Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) At the founding congress of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS),newly elected president Tomislav Nikolic and his deputy Aleksandar Vucic emphasized themes of open dialogue and change in tackling Serbia's political challenges. Seeking to appear moderate and to distance themselves from the Serbian Radical Party (with which they broke weeks ago),Nikolic and Vucic made efforts to highlight the SNS's openness to international dialogue and desire for EU membership while avoiding inflammatory nationalist rhetoric on Kosovo and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The congress did not, however, provide any detailed discussion of the SNS policy platform. Absent a new platform, SNS intent to diverge from traditional Radical goals remains unconfirmed. End Summary. Showcasing Openness and Change -------------- ¶2. (U) The SNS held its founding party congress on October 21 and elected former Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leaders Tomislav Nikolic and Alexander Vucic as party president and vice president, respectively, until the election of the Main Board in six months. Held in the main hall at Belgrade's cavernous Sava Center with a standing-room-only audience of approximately 4000 people, the party congress was designed to highlight the SNS's new openness and its position an agent of change. In addition to the familiar well-groomed political personalities, a number of college-aged students and families in working clothes filled the balconies. Seeking to capitalize on the positive response received from the international community, congress organizers placed representatives from the diplomatic community at the front of the hall and announced the presence of seven ambassadors (Slovakia, Norway, Cuba, India, Sweden, Denmark, and Algiers) and representatives from fourteen embassies (U.S., Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Spain, UK, Libya, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Iraq, Iran, and Greece). Poloff and Pol FSN, who were prominently seated in the front row ten seats from Nikolic, received moderate applause with minimal booing and whistling. The audience responded most favorably to introductions of delegations from Russia, Cuba, and Greece. ¶3. (U) The program opened with a film entitled "Serbia Moves Forward" featuring still shots of Nikolic and Vucic interspersed with images of peasants, students, mechanics, monasteries, and the Serbian countryside. As the film concluded, Nikolic and Vucic emerged from the back of the hall to the theme song from the film "Rocky." Clearly buoyed by the enthusiastic reception, Nikolic and Vucic appeared to relish greeting supporters while walking slowly toward the front of the hall. ¶4. (U) A highly animated Vucic delivered the first address, which he began by announcing that the SNS had attracted 70,000 members as of that evening. He quickly transitioned to welcoming the members of the diplomatic community and praising his party's openness to discussing ideas face to face with other countries. Vucic stated that his party's vision of Serbia was one which respected the international community and expected respect in return. He continued by describing his party's desire to build a Serbia that develops into a strong, modern state and exists as a bridge between East and West. The SNS would seek Serbian membership in the EU, he said, while preserving Kosovo's position as a part of Serbian territory. ¶5. (U) Vucic closed his remarks by commenting that the power of the SNS was derived from the people and that the party sought to transcend party divisions. "Our obligation is that we do not create enemies on the political scene in Serbia," Vucic said. "Our wish is that we have political opponents and that we live as all normal people in the world." With this message, Vucic concluded, the SNS would realize the goal of victory. (Comment: During the January presidential elections in Serbia, Vucic told an Embassy official visiting Radical HQ in Belgrade that he was an admirer of Barack Obama. The themes and tone sounded as if he had been closely following the U.S. presidential race. End Comment.) Targeting New and Old Constituencies -------------- ¶6. (U) Vucic's speech was followed by a series of speakers who played toward the SNS's target constituencies; each entered to the "Rocky" soundtrack. Two students from the University of Belgrade announced their admiration for the SNS's forward-looking approach to politics and commented that many young people were signing up to join the party. An unemployed worker from the Zastava plant in Kragujevac, dressed in blue overalls, described the plight of the BELGRADE 00001108 002 OF 003 working people and the need for Nikolic and Vucic to protect them. A blind pensioner spoke about the shortcomings of the current government in protecting the elderly, the fraudulent promises of the Party of United Pensioners (a member of the current coalition government),and the confidence she had in the leadership of the SNS. Two elderly labor activists spoke about the capacity of the SNS to deliver on social justice, while a somber Kosovo Serb read a short statement - fairly unpersuasively - about the willingness of the SNS to preserve Kosovo as part of Serbia. (Comment: The Kosovo Serb speaker was so lackluster that Simo Spasic, who heads an organization representing the families of missing persons in Kosovo, walked out of the congress complaining that the SNS had not brought in a real Kosovo Serb from Mitrovica. End Comment.) The congress also heard from SNS economic adviser Jorgovanka Tobakovic who advocated the principles the SNS's economic policies in the context of protecting Serbian families. ¶7. (U) One of the most warmly received speakers was a peasant in traditional dress who walked on stage with a flask of rakija (local moonshine) and a bag. He spoke from a prepared statement describing the Serbian peasant as the heart of the country and underscoring the need for a person from the central Serbian region of Sumadija, like Nikolic, in power. Concluding his remarks, the speaker held up his flask to speak of the rakija his family produced and then pulled a loaf of bread from his bag, triggering a standing ovation from the entire audience. Emboldened by the audience reaction, the peasant went off-script and declared that "Serbia knows that her only true friend is Russia," which led to one of the wildest audience reactions of the evening. Nikolic Walks a Moderate Line -------------- ¶8. (U) Nikolic concluded the program with a strong speech that reprised themes of openness and change while referencing ideas expressed during his previous campaign speeches. In contrast to his emotional speeches during his presidential campaign, Nikolic donned glasses and coolly read his remarks. Alluding to his split with Radical Party leader Vojislav Seselj, Nikolic stated that his motivation in politics is Serbia's interests over political interests, and that this approach to politics had not changed. The SNS, Nikolic said, will look to protect the well-being of Serbs everywhere, including in Montenegro and Banja Luka (capital of Republika Srpska, a constituent part of Bosnia and Herzegovina), while never recognizing Kosovo independence. (Comment: While Nikolic's reference to protecting Serbs everywhere was received with strong applause, his statement regarding Kosovo was met with strikingly moderate applause. End Comment.) Nikolic discussed the aim of the SNS to combine Serbian ideals of democracy, Europe, stability, and cooperation to move Serbia forward. The SNS, he said, would have the power to tell corrupt officials to keep their hands off of the public till. He stated that at least two million Serbian citizens sought the path SNS offered but for two decades they had been thwarted by the parties in power. ¶9. (U) Like Vucic, Nikolic made only a short mention of Kosovo; he said that "Kosovo is carved into Serbian history" and that "nothing that is Serbian will be for sale." Nikolic described his idea of Serbia's place in Europe as one in which Serbia appears to be the "east to the west" and "west to the east," a reference to the idea of Serbia as a bridge. Nikolic stated that Serbia sought to be respected in the world in which Serbia's "biggest friend is Russia and Serbia (is) a member of the EU." ¶10. (U) Nonetheless, Nikolic reverted somewhat to his old Radical rhetoric toward the end of his speech. Describing himself not as a politician but as a Sumadijan (considered the "heart" of Serbia), Nikolic said that the SNS would preserve the values he had protected while in the SRS. Nikolic warned that while welcoming good neighborly relations, Serbia would not let any foreign country prevent all Serbian children from sleeping peacefully. The congress ended with a performance by a single violinist accompanied by a choir singing the Serbian hymn "Tamo Daleko," chosen as the party's official song, in which the entire audience joined in singing. (Comment: "Tamo Daleko", or "There, Far Away" is a Serbian nationalist hymns dating back to World War I: it had been banned during the Tito era. End Comment.) SNS Eager for Dialogue, Pleased with Congress -------------- ¶11. (SBU) At a reception following the congress, Nikolic and Vucic warmly greeted Poloff and expressed appreciation for the Embassy's presence. Vucic on two occasions expressed his desire to meet Poloff to continue discussions about his party's vision for Serbia's future. Nikolic, within range of journalists and TV cameras, greeted Poloff in English to express thanks that the Embassy took an interest in his party. (Comment: Nikolic previously refused to BELGRADE 00001108 003 OF 003 speak English with foreign representatives, and never revealed in public that he spoke English. End Comment.) ¶12. (SBU) SNS spokesman and newly elected member of the party presidency Nebojsa Stefanovic told Poloff that he was pleased that the party congress had gone off with few hitches. Hinting that he had been concerned about what some of the speakers would say, Stefanovic commented that the speeches ended up as moderate as he had hoped. He revealed also that his position in the SNS would include responsibility for overseeing SNS political strategy in Belgrade and said that he looked forward to inviting Poloff to official and social events in the future. ¶13. (SBU) SNS organizers were concerned that the SRS would attempt to mar the occasion. Vucic told an Embassy contact that the SRS had sent Luka Karadzic, brother of indicted war criminal Radovan Karadzic, to crash the congress and get embarrassing photos with SNS leadership. Standing immediately behind Karadzic in the receiving line, Poloff observed Vucic gently pushing Karadzic away as the latter tried to kiss him. During the congress Karadzic complained loudly to those seated around him about Nikolic and Vucic's failure to mention his brother or the ICTY. Another Embassy contact told Poloff that representatives of the ultra-nationalist youth group Obraz were present at the reception and some members were assisting the SNS to organize its youth groups. Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Nikolic and Vucic made great effort to present a modern moderate face of a dynamic party by discussing Kosovo without the emotional, nationalist rhetoric that characterized their speeches as Radicals. Similarly, they touched on relations with Russia briefly and only in conjunction with aspirations of EU membership. No one referred to the ICTY, which was a staple of SRS oratory. Although the tone of the congress speeches was therefore encouraging, it is important to note that they articulated only principles, not policies. The extent to which the SNS is truly attempting to shed its SRS skin will remain open to question until the policy platforms are released, which our contacts say will occur next month. References to partnership with Russia, traditional values, and protection of Serbia's interests received the greatest applause of the evening, suggesting that Nikolic and Vucic will find it challenging to attract SRS believers without a nationalist platform. One significant test of the SNS's ability to succeed will be the November 9 local elections in four municipalities, including the SRS stronghold of Ruma. End Comment. MUNTER