Old Shoes On Tito’s Mercedes

When he took over as head of the Beogradska Bank, Slobodan Milosevic found a foreign debt of 350.000 USD, his political opponents claim and add that the debt was raised to 1.1 million USD when he left the bank a few years later. When he was elected Serbian president at the first post-W.W.II multi-party elections in 1990, the former Yugoslavia was still whole, salaries were fairly decent, Belgrade was considered the safest town in Europe, Partizan and Dinamo were rivals in the same league and not teams from different countries.

When Milosevic took over as FRY president on July 23, few people drew up the sum total of his seven years in power. In those seven years, Yugoslavia broke up and was reduced to just two federal units, industrial production is 40% of what it used to be, exports are just a third of former levels, average salaries are barely 200 DEM, Belgrade is known as "Palermo on the Danube" because of organized crime, every tenth person in the capital is a refugee and about every tenth original Belgrader has left the country for good.

In his inaugural speech, Milosevic did admit that the country is in a sorry state, both economically and morally. He mentioned crime ranging from the economy to the streets and everything that happened to us as a "historic storm" which we couldn’t protect ourselves from. He added that others are even worse off, even though their storms weren’t as strong as ours. He also mentioned a big renewal and development project and promised the citizens of the FRY that he will obey the constitution and laws.

That oath, that he will stick to the constitution and laws, was the only similarity with the inauguration ceremonies of the first and second FRY presidents, Dobrica Cosic and Zoran Lilic. Cosic arrived in federal parliament in a taxi, and a doorman showed him in. Few people even remember Lilic’s inauguration. Milosevic arrived in Tito’s Mercedes with his family. The master of ceremonies was waiting to show him in along with a nervous Serbian police minister, Vlajko Stojiljkovic. The entire mood, the president’s entourage, the diplomatic corps, band in ceremonial uniforms and the number of accredited reporters showed that Milosevic’s presidency won’t be anything like Cosic’s or Lilic’s, although their job description in the constitution is identical.

Something similar could be said for the mood in front of the federal parliament building during the inauguration. Several hundred of Milosevic’s fans were there to see him. In the hour they spent in the sun they could see how rich this country is from the one hundred or so Mercedes, BMWs and Audis parked there.

Across the street in the park, several hundred others whistled and booed the new president.

The only exiting moment happened when the ceremony was over. As his Mercedes was pulling out of the parliament parking lot, at least 10 old shoes were thrown at it. The tight security also allowed several protesters to slip through the cordon and stand almost in front of the car shouting angrily. The whole thing ended with just a few head injuries and arrests.

Before this incident, there was another inside parliament. Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic and parliament Speaker Svetozar Marovic were late for the ceremony and arrived after Milosevic said he would respect the constitution and laws. Marovic listened to the end of his speech from the place reserved for him while Djukanovic sat down in the nearest free seat next to a surprised Vojislav Seselj. Later, both men said they were late because of the traffic chaos in Belgrade. They were among the last to congratulate the new president and it seemed Djukanovic wasn’t too happy about the whole thing. In the end he only shook Milosevic’s hand and avoided Mira Markovic.

The incident inside probably just convinced people that the new president’s first job will be the removal of the Montenegrin prime minister and the changing of the federal constitution. The ceremony was attended by Former President Zoran Lilic, who is being mentioned as the most serious contender for candidate for Serbian president. Some analysts believe that Lilic, if elected, could be Milosevic’s priority. Even more than Djukanovic. Despite the fact that he will leave a man who is completely loyal to him in Serbia, Milosevic is also leaving behind the republican constitution which seems to be his portrait and gives him virtually unlimited power. His successor could read that constitution and realize the power he wields. Just like RS President Biljana Plavsic recently read her constitution and realized that Karadzic is no longer president. With that experience in mind, Milosevic could cut down the Serbian constitution first to secure his position. That would be called bringing the republican and federal constitutions into accord.

When everyone went home, including the hundreds of policemen, the road in front of parliament was littered with old shoes. Milosevic’s cabinet was left empty in the park across the street. Dragan Tomic, parliament speaker and acting Serbian president, said he won’t even enter that cabinet because "Milosevic has left everything perfectly in order and there’s not much to do".