Is It Something Serious?

Ever since Coalition Zajedno disintegrated ignominiously and ended in infighting and competition over crumbs of authority at the SPS table of power, every announcement of a new unification of the opposition and a regrouping of forces always appeared ahead of time as the second honeymoon night of two elderly newlyweds-- the first, unsuccessful night in which nothing happens, despite secret hopes.  During the second night, everything should take much less time — until each of the newlyweds turns to their side of the bed.
The new opposition project has been officially entitled “Alliance for Change” and was promoted at the beginning of last week with Zoran Djindjic (DS), Vesna Pesic (GSS), Vuk Obradovic (Social Democracy), Nebojsa Covic (DA), Vladan Batic (DHSS), Veljo Ilic (Serbia - Together) and Milan Panic, former Federal Premier in attendance.  As it was explained in the promotional press conference, the Alliance for Change was formed mainly with the objective of forcing early elections at the federal level.  Its other objective, somewhat less emphasized on the occasion of the promotion of the new opposition alliance, is the unification of all moderate political forces in Serbia which the reformist movement of Milo Djukanovic could finally fall back and is defined fairly superficially for now.  Certain members of the Alliance for Change believe that in this kind of coalition, which still requires a lot more work, there is room even for people like Draskovic, who is singing the same tune as the Left-Radical coalition with ever greater frequency.  Given this all too frequent, sycophant choral singing, Draskovic was sent a message that he can only be accepted in this company if he sends a request for consideration.  Only the next day, Draskovic, who previously called this coalition sneeringly as “all my people”, continued with his jabs.  He suggested that the Alliance for Change should in fact beg him to join them, but that in any case he is not interested.

Regardless of what anyone thinks about this new project of opposition unification, which looks ever so much like the second honeymoon night of elderly newlyweds (in the meantime, “viagra” has also been discovered, and there is also Panic who has connections with the medical drug industry), the Alliance for change represents the most serious attempt on the part of the opposition to do something with itself, and to fill its time more productively since the creation of Coalition Zajedno.  Some “insider” information suggests that the whole project is based on the calculation that 40 percent of the Serbian electorate follows moderate political options — either liberal or socio-democratic ones.  That is to say, that with a quarter of the electorate, they could still count on getting power.

However, as far as getting into power goes, there are certain other calculations of which the founders of the Alliance for Change have not taken note.  In order to win power democratically in Serbia, it is first of all necessary to go outside of the strict center of town in Belgrade and to enter the part of the electorate that is for now firmly controlled by the Socialists and the Radicals.  From statements made by the six party leaders in last week’s press conference, there is no apparent ambition for taking up that task of winning over disillusioned Socialist and Radical supporters.  Among the founders of the Alliance for Change there are few people who have enough stamina for such work, there are few people who have no problems in their parties, and finally, there are very few people there who inject Serbian politics with something new.  The entire Serbian opposition and its leaders already look like one big, wet match.

The Alliance for Change is not an entirely new political address.  The opposition, which has been patching itself for years following defeats, corruption, frustrations, greed, and spies in their midst, had to begin from something which would at least deserve well-intentioned pessimism.  In any case, the easiest thing is to turn to one’s side of the bed.