Serb opposition leader quits party posts over SAA

08/09/2008

Tomislav Nikolic, the acting leader of Serbia's ultra-nationalist Radical party, quit his post following disagreements within his party on the country's EU future.

(FT, AKI, Euobserver - 08/09/08; BBC, B92 - 07/09/08; AP, AFP, Reuters, DPA, Bloomberg, Beta, B92 - 06/09/08)

SRS deputy leader Tomislav Nikolic tendered his resignation Friday (September 5th). [Getty Images]

Tomislav Nikolic's resignation as deputy leader of the ultranationalist Serbian Radical Party (SRS) and chairman of its parliamentary group will weaken Serbia's main opposition party, political analysts said on Sunday (September 7th).

Nikolic stepped down after a session of the SRS presidency Friday evening, when the majority of members decided not to back the ratification of Serbia's Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU.

SRS Vice-President Dragan Todorovic confirmed on Sunday that party leader Vojislav Seselj, who is currently on trial at the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague, participated in the meeting via phone. However, he denied media reports that Seselj had ordered the party's leadership to reject the draft law on the SAA's ratification.

Nikolic said on Thursday that the SRS, the biggest party in Serbia's 250-seat parliament, would support the key accord with the EU, following the government's acceptance of its proposal for an amendment to the bill. Later that day, Seselj ordered that the Radicals vote against the SAA, he explained on Saturday.

"I have resigned, because I wanted to show that I can take anything, but not this," said Nikolic, who has been effectively leading the SRS for more than five years.

When Seselj surrendered to The Hague tribunal in February 2003, the party had 300,000 voters, analyst Slavisa Orlovic told Belgrade-based B92 on Sunday, noting that the SRS has won the backing of "another million" voters since Nikolic took over.

"That only confirms that modernisation of the party with Seselj at its helm is impossible," he said, adding it is not clear if Nikolic would ask his followers within the SRS parliamentary group to vote for the SAA, or to follow party orders. "This will depend on his appraisal of how many people he can count on, should he decide to split the party or establish a new one."

Others agreed that Nikolic's resignation will have serious consequences for the future of the SRS and that it will be unable to retain its positions.

"This split is going to weaken the Radical Party for sure," analyst Dragan Bujosevic said. "The party is never going to achieve the results it did with Tomislav Nikolic."

The Radicals' positions would be further eroded if other members decide to leave its ranks to join a new formation, others noted.

"If a wiser fraction of the SRS, led by Nikolic, leaves the party, the influence of the radicals on the Serbian political scene will be considerably weakened," Italian news agency AKI quoted analyst Milan Nikolic as saying.

According to reports Sunday, Nikolic has only quit his party post, but is not leaving parliament.

According to a B92 report Monday, Todorovic will now head the SRS parliamentary group. The party is not expected to pick a new deputy leader until the next meeting of its Central Homeland Administration, scheduled to take place in two years.

"Until then, the party will be led by president Seselj, the presidency, the Central Homeland Administration and party boards," SRS official Milorad Mircic was quoted as saying Monday.