Kosovo Is No Trump Card Any Longer
Although the Democratic coalition headed by Serbia’s President Boris Tadic didn’t gain the absolute majority in the parliament, and his opponents have a chance to form the government, the Serbian Democrats can be rightfully reputed to have won the current elections. And the fact of the matter is not only that the Boris Tadic coalition received far more votes than its major rivals, the radicals. The May 11 elections became the last ones where the Kosovo issue was raised by the nationalists as practically the only point to dispute, with Kosovo appearing their main trump card.
The Kosovo issue was exaggerated during the present electoral campaign, and the dilemma implying that Serbs were choosing between the EU and Kosovo was false. The declaration of independence adopted February 17 virtually became the accomplishment of the loss of the territory, which had started as far back as 1999. It was then that Slobodan Milosevic signed an agreement with NATO turning Kosovo into protectorate and securing the presence of NATO troops there. Belgrade can’t turn back time and regain control over Kosovo now – it has no effective leverages to do it. Besides, more than half of Serbs doubt the possibility of retrieving this “cradle of the Serbian people.”
Nonetheless, the nationalists attempted to make up another Kosovo myth. The first one concerned the battle of Kosovo, as 1398 uncoordinated Serbian detachments were defeated by the Ottoman Empire, and Prince Lazar, who was in command of them, was captured, but Serbs have glorified the defeat at the Kosovo Polje (Kosovo Field) as victory for years. Although many Serbs understand today that Kosovo has been lost, Serbia’s nationalists made the slogan urging its getting back the key point in their bid for parliament. They hoped to take control of the it exploiting the Kosovo problem, and thus block any possible steps of Serbia in the EU direction to get revenge for Boris Tadic’s victory in the recent presidential election.
The intention was clear. For the Democrats, the dispute over Kosovo was a weak point: Kosovo unilaterally declared independence less than three months ago, and this wound really hurt. The discussion of the Kosovo problem inevitably spurred the growth of radical sentiments playing up to the nationalists. The democrats had to adjust themselves to the public sentiments so that no one could accuse them of betrayal of national interests. But they could not totally eliminate it: Pretty often opponents accused President Tadic and his adherents of treason.
For all that, the Kosovo trump card failed. It just turned out less critical than the European future of Serbia the Democrats bet on. That’s why they can regard the outcome of the present election their victory.
In every next voting the Kosovo wound will hurt less, and the Kosovo trump card will cease to play the crucial role.
Zorana Boic, Chief of the Serbian news agency Beta in Russia
All the Article in Russian as of May 13, 2008
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