Serbs weigh pride against prosperity in crunch polls

Neither of two main parties expected to win outright; low voter turnout

Two voters make their choice in a crucial Serbian parliamentary election at a polling station in the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica, northern Kosovo, yesterday.

By Ellie Tzortzi - Reuters

BELGRADE – Serbs voted yesterday in a parliamentary election that will show whether the lure of European Union membership outweighs their anger over the Western-backed secession of Kosovo.

The country is divided and the two front-runners, the nationalist Radical Party and the pro-Western Democratic Party, will have to woo smaller parties to form a coalition. The West has made clear it hopes the Democrats will win.

“This election is a referendum on whether we let Kosovo go or fight for it, this is the only reason I came to vote,” said a 50-year old Belgrade man who declined to give his name. “I feel a lot of disappointment over the broken promises,” said another voter, Djordje Petrovic, who backed the Democrats in the past but now opted for a smaller, more liberal party.

The Radicals say that in the eight years since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic, acquiescence to the West and harsh market reforms have brought Serbs only humiliation and poverty.

They want to put EU membership on ice and push Serbia’s claim to Kosovo. The Albanian majority in the former province declared independence with EU support in February.

“We’ll make Serbia a country of proud people again, defend our borders,” Radical leader Tomislav Nikolic said after voting. “We’ll cooperate with everyone, openly with friends but cautiously with those who show they are not our friends.”

The Democrats say EU accession is the only way to attract investors and raise living standards. They have tried to combine firm opposition to Kosovo’s secession with offering a hand of friendship to the Western countries that recognized it.

“This vote has clear and great consequences,” said the Democrats’ leader, President Boris Tadic. “I am convinced Serbs will vote for life, prosperity, faster development.”

Turnout was 43 percent by 1500 GMT, lower than in previous polls. Pro-Western parties, whose voters are not as dedicated as the Radicals’, tend to do better on higher turnout.

Neither of the two main parties is likely to win outright, making outgoing Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica of the nationalist Democratic Party of Serbia the probable kingmaker.

He has moved closer to the Radicals’ position over Kosovo and is unlikely to renew his alliance with Tadic’s Democrats, whom he accuses of selling out to the EU.