SERBIA:After four weeks of coalition talks with nationalists, Serbia's Socialist Party looks likely to switch allegiance to a rival liberal bloc and help form a government firmly turned towards the European Union.
The leader of a small party allied with the Socialists - the kingmakers following last month's election - said yesterday that differences with nationalists were too great, and an alliance should now be pursued with the pro-western bloc.
The inconclusive May 11th election left Serbia split between hardliners led by the nationalist Radical Party and liberals led by the pro-western Democratic Party.
The dividing issue is whether Serbia pursues EU membership by ratifying an association agreement with the union or shelves its bid until the EU stops supporting Kosovo, whose Albanian majority split from Serbia in February with EU backing.
The Socialists, the party of late former president Slobodan Milosevic, hold the key. Adamant that Serbia must get closer to the EU for the sake of development, they tried to soften the resistance of the Radicals and the DSS party of nationalist prime minister Vojislav Kostunica.
It seems to have been in vain. In a show of intransigence, the DSS published a report saying the stabilisation and association agreement (SAA) with the EU was illegal for not specifying Kosovo as part of Serbia, so it could not be ratified.
"I have asked my coalition partners to stop negotiating with the DSS because of their view on the SAA," said Dragan Markovic, leader of a smaller party allied with the Socialist camp.
He said the Socialist coalition would meet "today or tomorrow" to discuss, then present "a united stance". - (Reuters)
