Music for Free

Those with long memories, and there are less and less of them here, remember former Socialist Yugoslavia Prime Minister Ante Markovic ahead of the first multi-party elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo (November 1990), and the promotion of his party of Reformist Forces in the Skenderija sports center. Popular rock groups played and Markovic was cheered, while the Reformists received the support of all those who meant something in Bosnia and Sarajevo at the time. The Reformists left the sports center in triumph that evening, convinced that with so many people on their side, they would win the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Those who were better informed of the activities of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) and the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) commented loudly: "The people came for the music, not because of Ante."

Even though this comparison may seem out of place, it does bring to mind Zeljko Raznatovic Arkan's spectacular campaign with folk singers and full sports halls. It seemed that after such a campaign, Arkan's Party of Serb Unity (SSJ) would win at least 10 - 15 seats. Some foreign journalists who attended Arkan's campaign tour of Serbia saw the general euphoria which followed his appearance, and forecast that he would win twice as many seats. They claimed that Arkan, who is wanted by Interpol and is described as a war criminal, would certainly be in the government.

During the campaign Arkan was viewed as a pawn in a game of chess, one who reaches the end of the board in an incredibly short time, and is waiting to advance from a deputy to a minister, from the commander of a paramilitary formation (the "Tigers") to chief-of-the-general staff, or from president of the "Pristina" football club to President of the Serbian Assembly. After Arkan's meteoric transition from the underworld to respectable society, it looked as if the time had come for the architects of Serbia's national program to repay him for services rendered, with status and honor.

Apart from lonely critical voices, everything was in Arkan's favor. The SSJ and its leader were among the chosen few who were not attacked on state television. This does not mean that Arkan played the role of front man on TV, as did Serbian Radical Party (SRS) leader Vojislav Seselj a year ago, but his party was regarded as part of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) entourage, a party to be counted on should the SPS need some friendly deputies in the Assembly. In the middle of the campaign Mirjana Markovic (Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's wife and President of the League of Communists - Movement for Yugoslavia) wrote favorably of Arkan in her column in the bi-weekly Duga. This was a clear sign to all, as to who was in favor in Serbia, and who was not. On his part, Arkan and his associates said on several occasions that Milosevic was a true son of Serbia, that he was a responsible and wise politician, that he had told the European Union ministers a few things they weren't likely to forget quickly...

In the end, the SSJ didn't manage to come up with a single seat and won only around 40,000 votes. The yawning disparity between the money spent by Arkan on his campaign (estimates of 3-7 million Deutsche marks have been made) and the results he achieved, or rather didn't, lead to the conclusion that his campaign is one of the worst investments made in Serbia in the last few years.

It was expected that Arkan's party would attack Seselj's Radicals from the right, but the SSJ seems to have become one of the victims of the SPS attacks on the Radicals. The frenzied several-months-long campaign against the SRS hit wider than expected - all those who found themselves on this end of the political scene in Serbia were affected. A good part of the voters recognized the SSJ as the SRS in a different packaging. Three distinct political blocs emerged at these elections: the winning SPS bloc (nationalist and diverse), the nationalist center on the rise (the Democratic Party - DS, the Democratic Movement of Serbia - DEPOS, and the Democratic Party of Serbia -DSS); and the radical bloc (DSS in part, SRS and SSJ).

The authorities will probably take advantage of the failure of the third bloc to stabilize their position in the eyes of the world, and they will be able to say that ultra-nationalism in Serbia is firmly under control, and that all those who have been accused by the world of various misdeeds, are not welcome here.

From Milosevic's point of view, it would be difficult to regard Arkan's campaign as "free music", all those megastar folk singers didn't sing for free.

It remains to be seen who will foot the bill in the end. Those who believe in the unconfirmed story that "Arkan's men hold the racket business in Belgrade", claim that sums of money being paid out could jump, in order to cover campaign expenses.

After the first shock, some SSJ top officials said that their failure was due to the final lap of the campaign, and the fact that Seselj attacked Arkan mercilessly on some TV talk shows, when he accused Arkan of murder. A more serious analysis of the SSJ's disastrous election results would certainly have to take into consideration many other things, not just Seselj's forked tongue.

Arkan's limited vocabulary and high-pitched sergeant's tone which is perfect for recruitment centers, does not go down too well with the image of a politician who is calling for an all-Serb reconciliation and unity, but leaves the impression of arrogance. In politics it is very rare to skip a number of steps at the same time - something unexpected always crops up to trip the candidate. The people who conducted Arkan's campaign forgot to advise him to take off his gold Rolex. This was smart advice and all the SPS candidates adhered to it. On TV, watched by a hungry, impoverished and miserable Serbia, Arkan boasted that he would add another two storeys to his villa, just to spite Seselj. Asked "Is it true that you are the richest man in Serbia?", he replied "I hope so." Arkan has often underlined his political messages with the thesis that the "whole world hates us", while at the same time justifying the origin of his capital with the success of his companies worldwide.

Arkan's main mistake is not much different from the many mistakes which have been made for years by other political leaders in Serbia. Like the majority of them, he was late in understanding something that Slobodan Milosevic has been doing from the very start of his political career: in order to mobilize as many people as possible for the national program, the promises one makes must be vague and difficult to achieve. Arkan's thesis of an all-Serb harmony follows this rule, but comes too late. Many years ago Milosevic mobilized the people with the slogan "For Serbia", letting others interpret what he meant by it, and allowing them to add various attributes; most often the word "Greater".