Presidential election in Serbia, Jan/Feb 2008: Toma, Voja i BOTA.

Believed to be the pro-EU candidate Boris Tadic, a.k.a DS BOTA and/or DS BORI-SE, won the Serbian presidency by a very narrow margin with a very large effort (of which some included bullying and/or paying for people's ballot). Many international journalists-would-be-writers were relieved and reported from in front of the flourishing Belgrade downtown buildings that Serbian electorate chose Europe over the past, etc. The complexity of this victory, covered by the subsequent news coverage, was that the election left Serbia divided and split wide open. This excludes the Kosovo issue over which, actually, most of the nation went collectively blind mad. Years of brainwashing and elites' hatemongering led to people's lack of mental and cultural capacity to understand and accept that the People of Kosovo have right to chose their future. And who could blame them, I would too opt for the way away from this kind of never de-1990's-ized and largely Putinized Serbia.

Now, as the Belgrade's political analyzers would have it, a question is arising will the so called democratic block (political forces that toppled Milosevic’s regime, and in power since then) and the Kostunica’s Government, actually politically survive, or will it face necessary reconstruction or even the new parliamentary elections? That is, will Boris and DS get their act together and listen to the people who voted for him/them? Does Boris think that the Radicals (SRS) are really stopped or will the soon-expected Kosovo departure bring them into the driving seat, first time since the fall of Milosevic’s regime? Or would Boris first seat in the seat by re-becoming the biggest Serb and patriot of Kosovo brand? I said what I think about this by not voting for 'BORI-SE'.

DS-BORI-SE managed to sell the just completed Serbian presidential election as a fight alike the Alien Vs. Predator, sequence 13, in which he actually plays none of the two but nothing short of Cinderella. So, the the nation’s choice between Deputy President of the Radical Party of Serbia (SRS) Tomislav Nikolic and DS President and past Serbian President Boris Tadic was the fake one! Only the politically naive would of actually thought over his/her ballot as being actually invested into some pro EU future. In fact, as during the last presidential election in 2004, during this election too, held on 20 Jan and 3 Feb 2008, DS tried hard to divide the electorate and the country between so called supporters of a pro-European course for Serbia and those who advocate for the ultra nationalist stand on Kosovo and cooperation (or lack thereof) with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Surprisingly to a sane external viewing, DS BORI-SE actually managed to scare many into voting for him only to get back into the Voja-the-fascist stomach through the back door . Again! Don't tell me you who now would gladly chew your ballot rather than again vote for DS BORI-SE have not been warned about this.

The victory for DS BORI-SE, although only by a slight 2% margin (50.5% vs. 47.9%), enjoyed the highest voters turn out (67.6%) since the toppling of Milosevic’s regime in 2000. Uh, so many people got scarred and bought into voting. Actually, let us be honest and say that during his campaign DS BORI-SE was greatly challenged by SRS Nikolic hard-line stand on Kosovo and the ICTY, and his popularity on the rise in front of the determination of Kosovo final status. So much that Tadic was quick in adopted Toma's rhetorics energized by those elegant watter polo champion-like mimics. And boy, did he do well, from impersonating Toma and the SRS gang to paying people in cash to bring votes in, in the Serbiastan's provice alike Priboj. Hence, of course, DS BORI-SE managed to get the backing of those scared alike ethnic minority parties, most of sp called liberal votes, as well as some moderate nationalist votes. What a stew! The slight damage he could not care less about in his mind, a phenomenon driven by this real DS BOTA's rhetoric and lack of internal democracy within the DS, was pushing away from him, small part of liberal voters in Serbia and/or those least believing in the pro-reform and pro-EU capacities of Boris Tadic’s leadership.

The real nature of of the so called democratic block's stability will become apparent with the further developments regarding the Kosovo status. Actually, it already did, i na way to show that there is not ANY REAL difference between Voja and BOTA. Idiotic official Belgrade's campaign over the issue of Kosovo will soon turn into its practical manifesto, DS BOTA being the coo-driver. We'll se what this exactly will bring us apart of the inetrnational isolation and political harassment of those thinking differently. A likes of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill wil start jumping out from their massive glossy billboards reading “Kosovo is Serbia”. Famous world leaders will join Voja and Bota in their "struggle for preserving the borders of their nation". The rest of the country will form Serbian version of 1 million people march orchestrated by Toma the SRS and surrely supported (tacitly) by Voja and sports-like energetically by DS BOTA .

Underneath of this victory for pro-EU Serbia does not resides a rift between the Serbian opposing political poles. There is not anymore so called democratic (pro reform) and conservative (1990’s regime) blocs as these stopped to be sharply opposed and have in effect blended into each other stance's over the import set of issues. On the otehr hand the DS cohabitation has been turned into a rape of the (good part of the) 2.2 m of ballots and merrige of the same kind. Those still refusing this reality into their hads must have some vasted interets or they read different news than I do. Do not know about you, but I am not expecting new elections any time soon, nor anything else, for that matter, from BOTA & the imploded DS Co.