The Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), along with its current partners United Serbia and Green Serbia, could expand its pre-election coalition because many options on the political scene are open to discussing it, but under certain conditions.
However, according to our unofficial information, some Socialists fear that if SPS passes the electoral threshold, its partners could subsequently be more inclined toward SNS than toward them.
As recently reported, SPS has decided to contest the upcoming elections independently, that is, together with its long-standing allies JS and ZS. Regardless of this, realignments among the parties are still underway and talks are taking place on several fronts, which also includes the Socialists.
Branimir Nestorović, leader of the We Are the People’s Strength party, told Danas that there is room for cooperation, but only on the condition that SPS changes its leadership and leaves its coalition with SNS.
– I mean Ružić taking over SPS. I don’t think that is realistic and I think this will be the end for them. They are at around three percent support, because their membership does not like SNS and that is their basic problem, Nestorović says.
As he adds, according to unofficial polls he has seen, SPS’s potential is around eight percent, but they must run in the elections on their own and with changed leadership. He says they had contact with Ružić (Branko Ružić, SPS vice president, ed.) and some others last year, but he believes changes in the party are not realistic because the Socialists like doing nothing, being on the SNS list and getting certain positions.
Asked whether his movement could help the Socialists pass the electoral threshold, he repeats that he cannot work with Dačić.
– He is spent, he would only harm us, that is, take away from us. As much as we would help them, they would hurt us. Our membership isn’t exactly fond of such combinations. They know what the conditions are and I don’t think they can fulfill them. We had some semi-official contacts, but while that leadership remains… Nestorović explains.
He estimates that SPS will run in the elections on its own, but that it will perform poorly.
– They are already falling apart. When a party does not run in elections, it falls apart. Because elections hold a party together. It is a moment of mobilization. If you don’t run in elections, then what is the party for? Nestorović asks.
Željko Veselinović, representative of the Workers’ Party, told Danas that SPS is ideologically closest to the Workers’ Party and that, unfortunately, there has never been an ideological left-wing coalition in Serbia, adding that something similar could be interesting because the right wing has been full of various highly questionable parties and coalitions for years.
– Officially, we have not spoken, unofficially, yes. There is certainly mutual interest in cooperation. Whether talks will take place depends mostly on SPS and its decision on whether it will join SNS on a list or run independently. If they run independently, we are ready for a serious agreement that, on our side, would mean adopting the Labor Law proposal that we presented and that would best protect Serbian workers. That would be our only condition, Veselinović says.
Bogoljub Karić, leader of the Strength of Serbia Movement, also told Danas that he cannot give a specific answer regarding SPS, but emphasized that his party is open to dialogue with everyone because, as he explains, if there is no dialogue, then we have a tunnel without light.
– Serbia is already in that situation, divided into two parts. We, as the Strength of Serbia Movement, Bogoljub Karić, without whom a government certainly will not be formed. We are the only force that reconciles and brings people together. My tour of Serbia confirms this best, because citizens support the fact that we have become active. We have only one goal, and that is how to arrive at the program that is best for the citizens of Serbia and for our country. And we would like that program, when we harmonize it after the elections, to be confirmed in a referendum, Karić says.
According to him, the Strength of Serbia Movement has already conditionally agreed on a coalition with two opposition parties, as well as with two groups of students from Novi Sad and Belgrade.
– It is all conditional. We are holding talks. They agree and want to be with us in the movement. And we are open to dialogue with everyone, including SPS. What does politics mean if you don’t talk to people, regardless of differences in the program or anything else? We need only one thing, which is how to reach a GDP of three hundred billion, with salaries of 3,000 euros and pensions of 1,500 euros. Only Bogoljub Karić knows how to do that, Karić emphasizes, but he does not want to reveal which parties the conditional agreement was reached with.
We also did not receive a response from the Serbian Left, which was once led by Radoslav Milojičić, to the question of cooperation with the Socialists. Miloš Stevanović, who is listed in the Register of Political Parties as the party’s representative, says he is no longer in that position and that documentation regarding the change has been submitted. He did not want to give us the name and contact information of the new president.
We also received no response from Aleksandar Vulin’s Socialist Movement.
Although bringing together the “left” might not be a bad idea, according to our findings, there is also unofficial talk within SPS about whether some of the potential new coalition partners are “Vučić’s sleepers” who would be loyal to Aleksandar Vučić, the former SNS leader who is currently serving as president of the country, rather than to the Socialists.
According to our interlocutors, the traditional partner United Serbia would have three to four winnable positions, even though the party’s strength is far below that. The same is the case with the “Greens,” who would take one mandate. In addition, as we were unofficially told, the calculation is that new pre-election partners would receive two to three mandates.
As Danas has already reported, there is a possibility that Vučić could shape the SPS list and that members of this party who would be “at his service” could occupy winnable positions. Some Socialists are also afraid of this, our sources say.
If this scenario comes true, and SPS passes the electoral threshold, SNS could control up to eight mandates on the SPS list, in addition to loyal SPS lawmakers.
Let us recall that by August 25, the Socialists are expected to submit to party bodies proposals for candidates on the parliamentary list, as well as candidates for the presidential elections.
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Source: Danas, Foto: Ata images
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