The week behind us has been marked by the beginning of consultations the President of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, holds with the parties that could form a parliamentary majority and propose a new prime minister designate. Despite the unaltered state, as regards the formation of the government, the public speculated on the distribution of ministries within a future government. More in our regular feature SERBIAN POLITICAL SCENE prepared by Jelica Tapuskovic.
Although busy with preparations for the inaugural ceremony, to be held on June 11, Tomislav Nikolic urged the parties that received the most votes to act responsibly and form a parliamentary majority as quickly as possible. On the first day of the past week already, the first man of Serbia held consultations with representatives of the Serbian Progressive Party, and as expected, the meeting was a mere formality, since both sides share an implicit agreement on the future policies of the government and who should form it. They also presented a program of the government that would be considerably less with 12 ministries and two offices. Consultations with DS were three times shorter and the Democrats have said they will soon form a government. As they stated, they just need to formally coordinate positions on the economic program with potential partners.
The Democratic Party and the Serbian Progressive Party publicly portray themselves as great opponents, but in some places they have already established cooperation at the local level. It would not be a surprise should it happen in the parliament, although both sides claimed during the election campaign as well as later on, that they will never cooperate at the highest level.
Analysts see several options when it comes to the composition of a new government. Various pieces of information can be heard almost daily regarding the future cabinet, composed of members of the previous coalition government, and the distribution of ministerial posts. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether and how the campaign promises, made primarily to get more votes, will be kept. For the time being, many have simply begun to distance themselves from some bad choices, as if they had nothing to do with them. How the future government will be formed and who will form it remains to be seen in the coming days or weeks.