rs of the Socialist Party of Serbia

Those in the know say that a huge celebration is being prepared for that day which will most likely outshine the congressional one seen in the middle of February of this year. Those in the know also claim that the socialists (who otherwise have their very own official plum brandy complete with certificate of a certain private manufacturer) will in most cases drink scotch that day. Not so much because of summer and ice, more because it will give them the chance to toast each other with the famous Johnny Walker slogan - keep walking. Backwards or in place, no matter, only one thing counts - keep walking. Naturally, in power. As for the Socialist Party of Serbia, power practically equals oxygen.

This July 17th will mark exactly ten years since the day when the Socialist Party of Serbia was founded in Belgrade's Sava Center. Or to be more precise, on July 16th of 1990 communists entered this congressional center, stayed there the entire day and night discussing the name, program and top officials of the newly formed party and exited early the next morning as socialists. Belgrade dailies carried the following caption the next day "Communists Are Leaving, Socialists Are Coming". Some ten days prior to the inaugural congress, all those who found themselves on the corridors of the former Central Committee of the League of Communists building were intercepted by various secretaries. Whoever carried personal identity papers later found himself on the founders list of the new party since in accordance with the regulations of that time, a fairly large number of signatures was needed in order to register a newly founded party with the authorized bodies. It would most certainly be fairly interesting to look at the list of founders today, since it must include those who later found themselves in some other parties or on diagonally opposite political poles.

On that July 17th 1990 in Sava Center, as some will note many years later, double subterfuge was committed. The party formed by officially merging the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) and the Socialist League of the Working People (SSRNJ) at the very outset claimed how, like a huge all-inclusive national umbrella, it would cover the entire political field in Serbia on its own. The socialists claim the very same thing today, just like ten years ago, and say that they are, just like they were ten years ago, "the only true political expression of the citizens will" and how their battle for power is actually "our" battle for freedom. That initial self-delusion concerning their own role and mission later created an entire system of illusions in which the practice of regularly presenting national and economic defeats as major historical successes and progress was built to perfection and such events were subsequently largely celebrated as well.

In the meantime, all those under that huge umbrella have become drenched to the bone. Official statistics says that in the year when SPS was founded, national income per citizen amounted to 2700 dollars per citizen, while today, ten years later, it barely reaches 900 dollars. Many of the things which made the socialists shudder during their inaugural congress in July 1990 could today be classified as the result of their ten-year-long rule - poverty, hunger, impudent social inequality, corruption on every step, unemployment, collapse of the health system, education, science, increase of criminal activities... Their inaugural document stated, among other things, that a society built by SPS "should not allow permanent unemployment, chronic famine and lack of any kind of health insurance, a practice certain very developed countries still tolerate". As one of the most important messages from that inaugural congress, reporters singled out the following "mothers should give birth to and raise their children for joy and future birthdays, not for wars and poverty".

The second subterfuge from this first inaugural night had to do with property. The new party seized all funds and property they had the right to as official successors of the former parties. As to what type of property that was, the best way to judge that is by relying on the evaluation of the official bodies - last year when Nato missiles destroyed the Usce business center, the value of this building (former building of the Central Committee of League of Communists of Yugoslavia - SKJ) was set at 30 million dollars. And what of the other property which was subsequently seized by this party - buildings, business centers, cars...

Taking into account the rather diffuse belief that hardly a single promise from those given at the inaugural congress (including subsequent ones as well) hasn't been betrayed in the meantime (diminishment of the country and  national interests, Swedish standard of living, fast railroad tracks, rich oil deposits, robbed foreign currency accounts, founding of false banks under  government protection, hyperinflation, unsuccessful battle against criminal activities...), many could possibly come to believe that the socialists don't have many reasons to celebrate today. However, such an impression isn't entirely accurate. The Socialist Party of Serbia is by many standards a unique party, very difficult to compare with any other party founded when former communists were being transformed. Primarily because Serbian socialists belong to the only former communist party which never split into two or more wings, never suffered serious fractional and inter-party conflicts and, most important of all - never lost power. The socialists regularly won (this way or that) all the elections held from December 1990 until today (more than enough elections were held in that time period), except local elections held in autumn 1996. From their inaugural congress until today they never lost the ability to continually dictate their rules of political games and to help the infantile Serbian opposition to bicker amongst themselves. Up to the point when certain analysts are classifying the opposition itself as one of the less apparent columns and factors of stability of this regime to a greater extent.

MSc Dijana Vukomanovic from the Institute of Political Studies, otherwise one of the most serious researchers of this party in government, agrees with the thesis that SPS truly does have a reason to celebrate these days.  "In these ten years, the socialists have attained what hasn't been possible for any other former communist nor even opposition party in the countries of Middle and Eastern Europe", says political scientist Dijana Vukomanovic for VREME. "A full ten years after the collapse of communism they are still and have been continually in power and strictly control all its aspects. At the same time, the socialists also have a reason to feel troubled. Even though they are the most powerful party in the region, they have been excluded from the European political scene and an even broader attempt of excluding this ruling structure from the UN seems to be in the making. We must give the socialists credit for having been able to, until now, mostly skillfully manage to find ways which would lead them out of crisis, since that primarily depends on domestic political circumstances and less on outside factors. In these ten years they also demonstrated that they are very successful in ideological transformations as well. They changed practically overnight and from hard-line communists turned into reformed social-democrats, from local patriots they turned towards mondialism. When needed, they collaborated with the Americans, only to turn to the Russians and Chinese later", says Ms. Vukomanovic.

This party's inaugural congress was also the only one in which the undisputed leader of SPS Slobodan Milosevic had a counter-candidate for the presidential position. The candidate was the today mostly forgotten Radmila Andjelkovic who got 60 votes in comparison to Milosevic's 1228. Some of those who later left (or were kicked out) from SPS say how the inter-party life at the beginning, in comparison to what's happening today, was practically a model of democracy. Criticism was allowed, although no one overdid it, however much could be said, especially at meetings held behind closed doors. For a certain short period of time, Dr. Borisav Jovic headed the party since Slobodan Milosevic, in accordance with the Constitution, as the president of Serbia, could not hold the position of SPS chief as well. In July 1992 Milosevic, speaking at a rally in Leskovac, rather sternly criticized the operations of his own party. The very next day Dr. Jovic, in a public press statement, addressed that criticism by saying "it wasn't specific enough", that it wasn't sufficiently backed by arguments and was imbalanced. He also noted that such public assessments which weren't preceded by a democratic discussion could only harm SPS and Milosevic himself "at a time when we least need such a thing". To make things even more interesting, Borisav Jovic remained in the position of "first man" of the socialists a certain period after this statement, and was kicked out of the party due to an entirely different reason a few years later, as one of those who didn't favorably look upon JUL (Yugoslav United Left). After Jovic left the party, SPS never had a man in the number two position again (some even say that he was eliminated because he tried to become number two). Therefore, Slobodan Milosevic, followed by no one, no one, then followed by certain Sainovics, Gajevics, Minics, Matkovics...

Ten years ago the inaugural congress was opened by the youngest member of the organizational committee, an engineer from Kladovo, Goran Trivan. This model young man is a JUL official today, just like professor Vladimir Stambuk, once one of the first ideologists and SPS founders. Even Dr. Milovan Bojic was once the owner of an SPS membership card along with many other eminent experts who later assessed that Slobodan Milosevic's party wasn't left enough for them, and who then turned to the party founded by his wife. Even though many of them today still believe that all that is happening on the left front is a purely family "deal" and how personnel is allotted left and further left in a planned type of way, it seems as though they aren't entirely right. One socialist had at one time admitted the following to the author of this text how they wanted to candidate an eminent member for an important city function, and found out the following day from a newspaper article that the man had become one of JUL's top officials. However, certain controversial cases existed as well - one of the most influential JUL members today was practically facing a fine in SPS and promptly changed his party. He is now seen on an almost daily basis on Radio Television Serbia (RTS). The minister who didn't know how to answer the journalists question as to who had put his candidature forward him for the function and where his base was - JUL or SPS, seemed even more comical. He resolved both his and the journalists' dilemma with the following words: "Let's say that I'm a JUL member."

In the past ten years JUL became the largest enigma for the socialists themselves. Many of them also believe that it is a stone around the neck which is dragging them down. Nebojsa Covic, one of the most eminent SPS renegades, today president of the Democratic Alternative, claimed previously how JUL was "the largest champion of abuse of the initial socialist ideas". As a party of the extreme left, JUL, according to Covic, easily finds mutual interest with Seselj, is pushing SPS into a sandwich position and is reducing it to a ballot box for the others in the ruling coalition. Nebojsa Covic is most certainly not the only one who believe that, in order to preserve domestic harmony, Slobodan Milosevic had initiated unease amongst his own ranks after JUL's foundation. A huge majority of socialists privately believe that the formation of JUL and connection which this party has with SPS is Milosevic's suicidal move. Only a few of them are prepared to talk about this publicly and rather comply with the thesis - without Slobodan we're nothing, therefore it is better to back him even when he most obviously isn't right.

The aforementioned Borisav Jovic claimed in an interview two years ago that SPS is being ruined because of JUL. The formation of this party was a historical mistake, remarks Dr. Jovic and then adds: "Let Mrs. Markovic put herself up as a candidate for president of the republic or member of parliament to check whether she has the backing of the people. When she wins at the elections I will congratulate her, and will respect such a thing. That's the heart of the matter. You simply can't credit yourself with other peoples' votes. I believe Milosevic still isn't aware how much he has lost on account of that, how much the party has lost."

When JUL was founded, there were those who believed that Milosevic wanted to, via his wife's party, try to occupy the entire left political space and prevent the appearance of a powerful party of a social-democratic orientation on time. Amongst the theoreticians, some even believed that the appearance of JUL actually signified a "decontamination", that it appeared at the moment when the political terrain was supposed to be cleansed of the fat layers of nationalism left over from previous SPS policies. Namely, JUL appeared at the moment when Milosevic stopped looking at maps of Serbian territory and when the terrain was supposed to be cleared for Dayton. Today it could primarily be stated that JUL plays a "sponge" role in relation to SPS, the party which absorbs all the dissatisfaction and poisonous barbs aimed at the government. The suggestion that Milosevic is to be declared national hero and the proposal for an anti-terrorism law arrived from JUL and it could easily be proven that both initiatives are working against Milosevic himself and against the ruling coalition in general.

At the very beginning, while the socialists were still alone, i.e. at their inaugural congress, Slobodan Milosevic, as the newly elected president of the party ascertained that a time of left policies lies ahead of us, and informed how "SPS is a barrier against the right which is active in propagandizing an ultra destructive political direction". Many years later, at the moment when the radicals had already become SPS's and JUL's coalition partner, Dr. Mirjana Markovic, at the first congress of the Yugoslav Left,  performed a "revision" of the former political beliefs of her spouse. "The left should not be in conflict with the right, nor should it wage futile wars against it", stated Dr. Markovic at the same time saying that the right should actually be "outwitted" and "led to our own side".

Who outwitted whom in the meantime and who joined whose side is an issue which could be discussed in a broad and serious fashion. Speaking of SPS's future, Dijana Vukomanovic primarily mentions this party's ambition to enter the 21st century as a ruling party, meaning with the ambition to win the elections which await us this fall. According to her opinion, a precondition for a victory at the elections is to renounce at least one of its current coalition partners. "The socialists, in case they wish to retain their hold on power, must renounce at least one of their current coalition partners - JUL or the radicals - and find another who will help them come to terms with this crisis in an easier way. They need new partners since ultra left-wing parties such as JUL or Balkan nationalists like the radicals aren't contemporary partners who can remain in power at the beginning of the 21st century. The unsuccessful policies of SPS must be attributed either to JUL or the radicals. Maybe both. Anyway, socialists have up until now always demonstrated a certain ease in renouncing their partners and have managed to continue in another direction. The election campaign which awaits us in fall will soon demonstrate whether they shall cast off any of their coalition partners", says Dijana Vukomanovic for VREME.

At the cocktail party held in honor of the ten-year inauguration of the party, many of those who were sitting in the front rows of the congressional center Sava in July 1990 will be missing. Many of them have lost their places since they failed to hang on tightly enough in the curves which SPS often executed. Some of them couldn't come to terms with the fact that little is left of the promised social-democratic orientation when a detour toward a powerful national policy was made, others didn't learn to say "there is no alternative to peace and Dayton" fast enough, the third failed to demonstrate their enthusiasm at the time when JUL appeared on the scene. And ever since JUL appeared, practically all personnel promotions and falls in SPS can be directly linked to the closeness with this coalition partner. Those who were allowed forward were only those who were close to Dr. Mira Markovic and her personnel.

Except Nebojsa Covic, not a single party sinner ever tried to subsequently form his own party. Let alone try to divide SPS. One of the reasons for that could be found in fear of revenge of a powerful party which, via its huge propaganda machine, always has possibilities to turn a sinner into something a lot more dangerous. For example, into a traitor. We should definitely mention Milosevic's skillful rule here as well - Milosevic never endangers  those who he deprives of positions in their daily lives and in most cases leaves them with the hope that they will be returned to their place in politics one day, recycled and relocated to an important function. Many lived to see this which is why there have always been practically spectacular public personnel changes in this party. For those inside, it isn't all that spectacular. Or as a certain socialist once said - we always cross ourselves three times when someone is given a certain function and only once when he is replaced.

Most of the sinners are also aware that their power usually stops or is dramatically reduced at the moment when they depart from Milosevic's gravitational field. Of all those who had fallen out of the top SPS echelons, only professor Mihailo Markovic, the former party ideologist had, by some assessments, certain "leadership capacities". Moma Trajkovic and Pavic Obradovic were both SPS members at a certain time, and are now in opposition to the ruling party. Of those who had played an important role ten years ago at the inaugural congress, the celebration which is to be held in the next few days will be deprived of the presence of Slobodan Jovanovic, the former Belgrade socialists president. In the "knocking on the doors of forgotten SPS aces" column, Milorad Vucelic can be found a long time ago as well, the man who had managed to rise twice, come up to the very party pinnacle and to sink again. Amongst those who are very well informed how it all looked at the very beginning and who won't be invited to the celebration of the party jubilee is Raka Radovic. Therefore, in a matter of days it shall be exactly ten years since, in the first SPS party program (which proved to be of short duration) an almost prophetic sentence was written: "A country which doesn't know where it's heading doesn't know where it will end up." Turns out that ten years on all signs have been broken and still no one knows where we are heading nor where we shall arrive. The only certainty is that it most certainly won't be Sweden, the country they first mentioned.

"Keep walking" as the socialists would say.