Radicals win election but coalition battle begins

SERBIA:Serbia's ultra-nationalist Radicals acknowledged yesterday that they would not get a chance to run the country despite winning its general election - and predicted a rough ride for a likely coalition government of pro-EU parties.

Official projections after Sunday's poll suggest the Radical Party took 29 per cent of votes, with the Democrats of president Boris Tadic claiming 23 per cent and the party of conservative prime minister Vojislav Kostunica trailing on 17 per cent.

The Democrats - which aim for membership of the EU and Nato and have pledged to catch war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic - are expected to lead coalition talks with the reformist G17 Plus Party that took about 7 per cent of votes, and perhaps the smaller Liberal Democratic Party.

But Mr Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia holds the key to the talks: he has not publicly favoured a coalition with any group, and is expected to demand that he retain his post in return for committing his party to any alliance.

"We have won as we expected," said the Radical Party's candidate for prime minister, Tomislav Nikolic, who leads the party while Vojislav Seselj stands trial for war crimes at the UN court at The Hague.

"Tadic already said last night that he would not respect the democratic principle and he would not give a mandate to the Serbian Radical Party," Mr Nikolic said. "We have to wait to see whether it is possible for the Democratic Party and Democratic Party of Serbia, with a third partner, to form a government and whether such a government could function," he said, before adding: "But I think we'll have elections by the end of the year."

The new government will have to deal with an imminent UN decision to grant some form of independence for Kosovo - the mostly ethnic-Albanian region in southern Serbia that millions of Serbs regard as the historical and religious heartland of the nation.

Mr Tadic, whose party gained twice as many votes as in the 2003 election, hailed Sunday's poll as proof that most Serbs wanted liberal leaders to move the country towards the EU and away from years of nationalism, war, poverty and isolation.

"All parties supporting a pro-European stance won a majority and this is an important signal that Serbia will send to Europe and the world," Mr Tadic said, while admitting that weeks or even months of tough coalition talks may lie ahead.

"I never said it would be easy. We will face some challenges," he said. "I'll designate as prime minister the person who will secure a majority in parliament. The Democratic Party is in the leading position and we will insist on having the premier's post."

That is not likely to sit easily with the non-committal Mr Kostunica, whose three years in power have won him praise for managing economic growth, but criticism for his nationalist streak and for failing to catch Gen Mladic.

"We are open for talks with other parties," he said yesterday.