Serbian nationalists on Monday started post-election coalition talks on forming the next government in an effort to topple the victory of the pro-Western bloc in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Vojislav Kostunica, nationalist caretaker prime minister and leader of the coalition of the Democratic Party of Serbia and New Serbia (DSS-NS), launched coalition talks with Tomislav Nikolic, leader of the ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS), the official Tanjug news agency quoted DSS spokesman Andreja Mladenovic as saying.
The meeting was confirmed by SRS Secretary General Aleksandar Vucic at a press conference, local news network B92 reported.
"They met and talked about the character, aims and manifesto of a future government, and about where the aims and interests of the Serbian citizens lie," Vucic said.
"Nothing's over yet, but I think that a significant consensus over the key matters concerning our country exists," he said.
The pro-Western Coalition for a European Serbia, headed by President Boris Tadic, claimed victory in Serbia's parliamentary elections, but did not garner enough support to govern alone.
Yet the nationalists still have chances to come to power, as bylaw, without the necessary 126 seats to be in a majority in the 250-seat parliament, and neither party is able to form a government alone and any alliance which can muster a simple majority in parliament can govern.
If the nationalists team up, namely, Nikolic's SRS, with 77 seats in hand, and unites Kostunica's DSS-NS coalition and the Socialist Party of Serbia, each with 30 seats and 20 seats respectively, they could manage 127 seats, just enough to secure them the power for forming a government even without the participation of Tadic's party.
Tadic acknowledged earlier in the day that talks on the new government would not be easy.
Kostunica earlier ruled out the possibility of allying with Tadic again, saying he would either forge a ruling coalition with the Socialists and Radicals, or move into the opposition.
The elections were called when the fragile ruling coalition of Tadic's Democratic Party and the DSS collapsed at a row over ties with the European Union (EU) after most member states of the 27-nation bloc recognized Kosovo's independence.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and closed at 8 p.m. (1800 GMT). The final results are expected on Thursday evening.
The voting was monitored by a dozen international organizations including the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Duma, the Russian Public Institute of Electoral Law and the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The ethnic Albanian-dominated Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on Feb. 17, which has been recognized by some 40 countries, including the United States and most EU member states.
The nationalists, represented by the SRS and DSS, strongly opposed Kosovo's move and Serbia's further integration with the EU unless the Western nations retract their recognition of the breakaway Kosovo.
The pro-western bloc, despite its opposition to Kosovo's independence, favors a speedy integration with the EU as it believes an EU membership would strengthen Serbia in the fight to maintain Kosovo.
Source:Xinhua
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