SERBIA: LOCAL ELECTIONS STRENGTHEN EX-RADICALS, RATTLE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000511 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 1258: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL SR SUBJECT: SERBIA: LOCAL ELECTIONS STRENGTHEN EX-RADICALS, RATTLE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The results of June 7 local elections in two Belgrade municipalities strengthened the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) - led by ex-Radicals Tomislav Nikolic and Aleksandar Vucic - while leading to discord within the Democratic Party (DS) and the national governing coalition. Although the SNS succeeded in delivering a significant blow to the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) in the SRS stronghold of Zemun and may edge out the DS in Vozdovac, neither the SNS nor DS is positioned to assemble a governing coalition with traditional partners in either municipality. The result is heated debate about the prospect of DS-SNS coalitions, which is rattling the DS and the national governing coalition. Although the local election results are not a mirror of voter sentiment in Serbia nationwide, the demonstrated electoral strength of the SNS has alarmed the DS. End Summary. Local Elections in Belgrade Municipalities -------------- ¶2. (U) The June 7 local elections in the Belgrade municipalities of Zemun and Vozdovac delivered victories to the Serbian Progressive Party, led by ex-Radicals Tomislav Nikolic and Aleksandar Vucic, over Democratic Party-led coalitions and the Serbian Radical Party. (Repeat elections were necessary in Zemun because the SNS-SRS split caused the local government to fall, and in Vozdovac because parties were never able to form a governing coalition after May 2008 elections.) In Zemun, a traditional SRS stronghold , final returns show the SNS garnered nearly 34% to the DS-led "For a European Zemun" coalition's 19%, followed by 10% for the SRS, 8% for the Serbian Socialist Party-United Pensioners Party-United Serbia (SPS-PUPS-JS) coalition, 7% for the Democratic Party of Serbia-New Serbia-People's Party (DSS-NS-NP) coalition, and over 2% for Rasim Ljajic's "List for Tolerance." The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) did not cross the 5% threshold. With a total of 57 local assembly seats at stake, the SNS will receive 23, while the DS-led coalition, SRS, SPS-PUPS-JS, and DSS-NS-NP will receive 19, 6, 4, and 4 seats, respectively. As a minority party, Ljajic's "List for Tolerance" benefited from a lower threshold and will take one seat in Zemun. Voter turnout was low at only 35%, according to the Local Election Commission. ¶3. (U) In Vozdovac, unofficial returns show that the SNS squeaked �A;by the DS-led coalition "For a European Vozdovac" by 29.8% to 29.26%, while the DSS-NS-NP and SPS-PUPS-JS coalitions won 12.3% and 10.54%, respectively. The SRS in Vozdovac came in fifth with 6.36%, ahead of the LDP which barely passed the threshold at 5.41%. Ljajic's "List for Tolerance" garnered a surprising 3.31%, given that he has previously been politically active only in the Sandzak. Out of 56 local assembly seats, the SNS holds 18 and the DS will take at least 17 seats. DSS-NS-NP, SPS-PUPS-JS, SRS, and LDP will take 7, 6, 3, and 3 seats, respectively. The "List for Tolerance" will take two seats. Voter turnout was a mere 33%. Citing irregularities, the Municipal Elections Commission in Vozdovac announced on June 8 that the vote would be repeated in three polling stations, giving rise to SNS accusations of a last ditch effort by the DS to change the distribution of seats whereby one DSS seat could go to the SPS or one SNS seat could go to the DS. Tremors in National Coalition over SNS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Negotiations to form the local governments may be protracted, and are already having an impact on national-level politics as neither the DS nor the SNS appears able to form a majority coalition with their traditional partners. In Zemun, an SNS coalition with DSS-NS-NP and Ljajic's list would fall one vote short of a majority. (The SRS refuses to join a coalition with the SNS.) In Vozdovac, a DS grouping with its national coalition partners (including LDP and Ljajic's list) could also fall one vote short, pending the outcome of the contested seat. Speculation about a DS-SNS coalition has underscored a rift in the DS between those who support a DS-SNS alliance in the municipalities (reportedly Tadic advisor Srdjan Saper and DS deputy president Dusan Petrovic) and those who oppose cooperation and prefer new local elections (Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas and Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac). G17 Plus President and Economy Minister Mladjan Dinkic on June 9 threatened to leave the national government should the DS choose to form a local government with the SNS. (Note: This is not the first time Dinkic has threatened publicly to leave the government over a political dispute. End Note.) There are also rumors that the DS and SNS are discussing a third option in which the SNS would form the government in Zemun with the DSS-NS-NP coalition, Ljajic's list, and JS deputies, while the DS would form the Vozdovac government following the revote in three polling stations that is expected to give the DS or SPS an additional seat. BELGRADE 00000511 002 OF 002 ¶5. (SBU) Current Vozdavac Municipality President Goran Lukacevic told Charge at the June 11 Russian National Day event that he was hopeful DS would eventually get the remaining disputed seat, allowing them to put together a pro-European coalition. He said that at least in Vozdovac, any agreement with SNS was "unacceptable." According to Lukacevic, Vozdavac SNS consisted of thugs and drug-dealers and giving them power would be "scandalous." He said he was only speaking for Vozdovac SNS and did not want to comment on possible cooperation with SNS in other municipalities. Lukacevic blamed the DS loss on lack of support from the DS leadership. "Every party president came to Vozdovac except for the Pro-Europe Coalition partners," he said. In response to Charge's comment that Belgrade Mayor Dragan Djilas had the same criticism, Lukacevic said, "even Djilas only visited us twice during the campaign." As a result, he said, anyone and everyone who would ever vote for SNS turned out for the election, while those who might have voted for the Pro-Europe coalition mostly stayed home out of election fatigue and apathy. He said he hoped for new elections where DS might wake up and do more to get out the vote. SNS, SPS Buoyed by Results -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In addition to their concerns over the SNS's ideology, those who oppose any coalition with Nikolic's party are also alarmed by the SNS's surprisingly strong showing in its first electoral test. Local SNS party officials from Zemun predicted to us on June 5 that they would attract at least 60% of SRS voters, as well as new voters from other parties and the younger generation, by focusing the campaign on everyday life issues such as fighting drugs, cleaning parks, and developing infrastructure. The weak showing of the SRS in the Radical base demonstrated that the SNS strategy succeeded. The SNS's strong showing in Vozdovac exceeded the party's expectations; SNS Vozdovac officials told us on June 5 that they expected to come in slightly behind the DS. SNS Belgrade chapter head Nebojsa Stefanovic noted that the four-person SNS Vozdovac party board consisted of one former SRS member as well as two former DSS and one former G17 Plus mid-level officials. ¶7. (SBU) The SPS-led coalition also fared better than expected, doubling its seats in Vozdovac and winning seats for the first time in Zemun. The returns exceeded the expectations of SPS Belgrade chapter head Nikola Nikodijevic, who told us on June 5 that his party expected to receive between 5-8% in both municipalities. Nikodijevic voiced complaints, which we also heard from SNS officials, about the lack of local media coverage and alleged expenditures by DS of municipal funds to finance last-minute vote-winning activities. Some observers believe that JS chairman and Jagodina mayor Dragan Markovic Palma may have been a boon to the SPS ticket in the rural areas of Vozdovac, where the mayor played up his populist charm and sponsored bus tours for Vozdovac citizens to see SPS-favored policies at work in Jagodina. Comment -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Although the Zemun and Vozdovac elections marked a significant achievement in the SNS's development as a party, we do not believe the results provide a reliable picture of Serbian voter preferences nationwide. Zemun's history as a hotbed of nationalist-populist sentiment predisposed the municipality toward the SNS, while the divisions between rural and urban areas in Vozdovac provide a more balanced but still imperfect sample of voting preferences. With SNS officials telling us that they are prepared to join with the DS to form governments in both municipalities, the ball is in the DS's court. If Tadic's party is not able to reach agreement with the SNS either to go into coalition or trade one municipality for the other, the alternative would be yet another round of municipal elections in six months. This outcome could be a serious blow to DS's image among frustrated voters who have already waited months for local governments to be formed. End Comment. BRUSH