Serb nationalists could pull plug on government

Serbia: Serbia's powerful ultranationalist Radical Party has urged the old Socialist allies of Slobodan Milosevic to scrap their support for the country's pro-western government and force a general election.

Buoyed by widespread Serb anger towards the West after Mr Milosevic died at the UN war crimes court at The Hague, the Radicals and Socialists arranged the funeral of the former Yugoslav president and a 50,000-strong farewell rally for him in Belgrade.

Now the two parties, after dominating coverage in Serbia of Mr Milosevic's death and sharing in public mourning for him, could join forces to oust the weak minority government that hopes to lead the country towards the EU.

"We expect that after the death and the funeral of their leader, Slobodan Milosevic, the SPS will withdraw its support for the current authorities," said senior Radical Party official Alexander Vucic. "We expect the break-up of the parliamentary majority and new elections in Serbia."

Bitter infighting between the reformists who toppled Mr Milosevic and sent him to The Hague has deeply eroded their popularity and left the current government to rely on the Socialists for a parliamentary majority.

Opinion polls now show that an election could be won by an alliance of the Socialists and the Radicals, whose leader, Vojislav Seselj, is facing charges at the UN tribunal at The Hague.

A victory for those forces would almost certainly end Belgrade's already fitful co-operation with The Hague, dash hopes of capturing Bosnian Serb war crimes suspects Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic and take the country off the path towards EU membership.

"Unfortunately, I believe that, for the first time since October 5th [ 2000], we are close to something like that happening," warned Vlajko Senic of the reformist Serbian Renewal Movement. Senior government official Miroljub Labus said: "Serbia is facing two possible paths towards the future," he said, "black and white. There is no grey one."