SERBIA: DEMOCRATS AND SOCIALISTS CLOSER TO FORMING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000559 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: DEMOCRATS AND SOCIALISTS CLOSER TO FORMING GOVERNMENT Ref: A) BELGRADE 533, B) BELGRADE 519 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) It now appears likely that Boris Tadic's Democratic Party will form a coalition government with the Socialists, perhaps as early as next week. Recent actions by the Socialists (SPS) and further intransigence by Prime Minister Kostunica's party regarding Serbia's European future have tipped the scales toward a pro-European government. The Democratic Party (DS) and SPS are reportedly poised to start negotiations, as talk of a possible Radical-Democratic Party of Serbia-Socialist government has faded. Remaining hurdles for the Democrats include the need to reach agreement between two feuding Sandzak parties and to address the G-17's concern that it is getting squeezed out, in favor of the Socialists. The Democrats and Socialists are now at the closest they have been to forming a coalition; however, egos, greed, or political miscalculations could still derail the train. End Summary. Socialists Lock in MPs -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On June 3, the Socialists' 300 person Main Board approved the list of the party's 12 members of parliament and gave effective control over their mandates to party leader Ivica Dacic. (Mandates belong to the parties rather than the MPs, who sign undated resignation letters as soon as they are confirmed; this gives party leadership great leeway to wheel and deal.) With these mandates in hand, Dacic can now begin public negotiations with President Boris Tadic and his "For a European Serbia" coalition. According to daily media Vecernje Novosti, once negotiations with the democratic block are complete, the SPS Main Board will vote on which coalition to join. SPS leader Dacic's chief of staff assured us after the June 3 meeting that "everything will be OK" with forming a government with the DS coalition. Kostunica's Party Terms SAA "Null and Void" -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Rumors that the SPS had reached an impasse in negotiations with the Radicals and Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) were reinforced by the June 4 DSS announcement, and then by PM Kostunica's June 6 press conference, that its legal experts had concluded that the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU was "legally null and void" due to shortcomings regarding Kosovo, and could not be ratified without revisions. �A; ¶4. (SBU) Most observers believe that this announcement makes further coalition talks between the SPS, DSS, and Radicals highly unlikely given the insistence of SPS's coalition partners on ratification of the SAA. In a June 5 meeting, Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac (DS) told us that Kostunica's decision on the SAA was "political suicide" since it provided no alternative to Socialists than to begin talks with the Democrats. Even DSS MP Milos Aligrudic expressed his dissatisfaction to us on June 6 that the analysis had been released without proper explanation; he claimed the bottom line was that the DSS remains pro-European, and would work for a better SAA text. ¶5. (SBU) United Serbia (JS) leader and SPS coalition partner Dragan Markovic (aka Palma) told the press on June 5 that due to the DSS position on the SAA, his party considered coalition talks with the Radicals and DSS to be over. (Over the past several days, Palma has frequently reiterated his insistence that any coalition he joined support the passage of the SAA.) "Since we don't have anything to negotiate with the DSS, it's clear that the government will be formed with the DS-led coalitions, or there will be new elections," Markovic told state television on June 5. Palma continued to up the pressure on Dacic to make a decision on June 6, telling the press that he would not accept Kostunica as Prime Minister. Speculation on Ministerial Appointments -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Speculation on what a DS-SPS cabinet would look like is the new focus. Over the past few days, the pro-DS daily Blic has offered numerous possible scenarios. The DS reportedly might offer one deputy prime minister slot for SPS leader Dacic and another for his coalition partner Jovan Krkobabic (Pensioners); the SPS might also receive two or three other ministries, including Capital Investments, to be led by Mirko Mirkonjic, and the Kosovo Ministry. Blic suggested that SPS official Zarko Obradovic could be offered either the role of Speaker of Parliament or Mayor of Belgrade, implying that a national level DS-SPS agreement would obviate the BELGRADE 00000559 002 OF 002 deal between SPS, DSS, and SRS for Belgrade. On June 6, Blic reported that Dacic might refuse an offer to be Prime Minister. Our contacts in the international community speculate the Socialists would not want the PM job because they will need to disassociate themselves from unpopular government decisions further down the road, including handing over war criminals Mladic and Karadzic to the Hague War Crimes Tribunal in order to satisfy the EU Stabilization and Association Agreement. Other Mouths to Feed: Sandzak and G-17 -------------- ¶7. (SBU) In addition to accommodating the Socialist and their coalition partners, the DS needs to maintain the support of the right of center G-17 Plus party, as well as the two rival Sandzak minority parties led by current Novi Pazar SDA (Sandzak Democratic Action Party) Mayor Suleiman Ugljanin and current SDP (Sandzak Democratic Party) Minister for Social Affairs Rasim Ljajic. According to Blic, Ugljanin's "For a European Sandzak" coalition could get the Ministry for Sustainable Regional Development in return for their two parliamentary seats. Under this scenario, Ljajic, as leader of the Sandzak Democratic Party, would keep his current position as Minister for Social and Labor Affairs. Left to be decided, however, would be which Sandzak party would secure control of the hotly contested mayorship of Novi Pazar. ¶8. (SBU) The G-17 Plus, led by current Economic and Regional Development Minister Mladjen Dinkic, has voiced concerns that the DS may offer too much to the SPS in coalition negotiations. Suzana Grubjesic, chair of the G-17 Plus parliamentary group, told us on June 2 that her party would not accept Dacic as Prime Minister; they could agree to a deputy PM slot for him, and possibly an SPS person as speaker of parliament. The G-17 Plus has also said it would not accept a national coalition with the SPS unless the SPS annuls its current Belgrade city coalition agreement with the DSS and SRS. Dinkic told us on June 4 that his party is considering creating a right of center block within the coalition, to include Hungarians and Bosniaks, in order to strengthen its position within any future DS-SPS led coalition and also to join the European People's Party-European Democrats (EEP-ED)group in the European Parliament. How Long is Needed: Days or Weeks? -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Sources in the DS believe the final pieces could fall into place very quickly, making a DS-SPS government possible by next week. Miki Rakic, President Tadic's Chief of Staff, told us on June 4 that while he expected furious attacks from the DSS/Radicals, "with any luck" the deal between the DS and SPS would move ahead in the course of next week. Other sources are more cautious, such as Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic (DS),who told us on June 5 that he expected it would take a "few more weeks" to put the final coalition together. Comment -------------- ¶10. (SBU) With the SPS having exhausted talks with the Radicals and DSS, and with Dacic now holding his party's mandates firmly in hand, conditions seem right for the Democrats and Socialists to conclude negotiations. While pieces may come together relatively quickly, it is also probable that a few key politicians may hold out a little longer to secure the best deal they can get from the DS. Ultimately, the Democrats most likely will succeed in forming their coalition with the Socialists, but they will have to manage how they swallow portions of the Socialist agenda, in order to retain their democratic constituency and remain credible in Europe. End Comment. BRUSH