The Virus of Democracy

That was how the Serbian Liberal Party was formed as well as Vojislav Kostunica’s Serbian Democratic Party (DSS) and Dragoljub Micunovic’s Democratic Center. Elections are coming to Serbia once again, Djindjic’s Democrats are doing well and the breakaway virus seems to have crossed over to the Serbian Democratic Party. The clash inside that party entered a new stage last week: former deputy party leader Vladan Batic (recently expelled from the DSS) and another of the party’s founders author Svetislav Basara said they would hold a special party assembly on April 12.

The excuses they voiced for that assembly seemed to be a final warning before the Batic wing breaks away. The people who started all this said most DSS members disagree with the party leaders’ policies and added that an assembly is the best way to check out their claim and hear the will of the majority. If the official party bodies don't recognize the assembly a new political party will be formed and will join the Zajedno coalition.

Batic and Basara criticized Kostunica and other DSS leaders for drawing room policies which are favorable to the regime. Basara told last week’s press conference that the DSS leaders are also guilty of "political romanticism" and called them to face reality which he said would force them to accept the general rebellion which was best articulated by Zajedno. That political stand also reflects the rebels ultimate goal - the DSS, divided or whole, must stand together with Zajedno because anything else means support to the Socialists. Batic and Basara, as well as many other DSS members took active part in the protests following the second round of local elections in Serbia. Many DSS members felt that waiting for an invitation to join the protest is a sure way to become a marginal party and loose a good starting position for the coming elections. The party leaders favored support from a distance, saying the Zajedno leaders only wanted to grab the results of the general rebellion for themselves.

Batic told the press conference that an internal poll showed that 785 of the 1,000 polled DSS members disagreed with "Vojislav Kostunica’s isolationist policies".

Party leaders invoked their own poll which showed that Kostunica’s ratings were higher than the ratings of some of the people who actively took part in the protests.

Regardless of the difference in the polls, their interpretation and ratings, it’s obvious that this is the worst crisis the DSS has faced since it was formed in 1992. The special party assembly on April 12 will most probably be held n Kraljevo.