What President-Elect will mean for the Balkans

A few weeks ago in class we saw a video of Serbian President Tadic apologizing for the atrocities that occurred in Croatia during the Croatian war in the early 90s. Tadic has been adamant in his willingness to make Serbia a part of the international community, and repair a relationship that has been fractured for quite some time, but having lost the Presidential election to Tomislav Nikolic, some people are asking questions about the impact that this will have on Serbia’s relationship to the rest of the world.

Nikolic is a member of the nationalist “Serbian Progressive Party” which has been quite the radical party in the 21st century. The fact that Nikolic served in the administration of former President Slobodan Milosevic is quite alarming, as that was not an administration that was known for its kindness. In recent years Nikolic has toned down on the radicalism, certainly in order to gain more acceptance in his own country, but his positions in the past have been quite alarming for people who are hoping that Serbia will continue the more gentle position that it has taken under Tadic with regards to international justice. Nikolic’s sudden change of heart concerning Serbia’s potential inclusion into the European Union is soothing, especially as he had previoulsy stated that Serbia should form an alliance with Russia rather than joining the EU.

During the course of the campaign Tadic said that Nikolic’s newfound beliefs are purely cosmetic and that even though he accepts the President-Elect, many of his views will change as his reign as President goes on.

Can reconciliation take place under a President that served with Milosevic, and what does this election say about the Serbian people’s sentiments towards the international community?