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Democratic Party Boosts Tadic's Hand

23 02 2006  Extension of popular leader’s term leads some to fear that deferred democratic reforms may come too late.
 
By Vladimir Sudar and Dragana Nikolic-Solomon in Belgrade (Balkan Insight, 23 Feb 06)

Serbia's main centrist party has boosted the powers of its popular leader, Boris Tadic, in an effort to overcome internal frictions, prompting concern amongst members that this will undermine long-term efforts to democratise selection of the party leadership.

The Democratic Party, DS, decided on the changes at its party conference on February 18, despite complaints that they will lead to authority being centralised around Tadic, who is currently the president of Serbia.

New leaders were selected at the conference and a new statute was adopted, prescribing elections for the party leadership every four years instead of every two, as is currently the case.

It was also decided that voting on the leadership should in future be opened up to all party members, but this will now not happen until the current leaders have completed their term.

Many observers point to the need to overcome frictions within the DS, in order to boost its chances in future elections. But other DS supporters say centralising party power in the hands of Tadic and his supporters – who are now set to stay in charge for the next four years – might damage the internal structure of the party and alienate its membership.

Many worry that when they are finally given a chance to vote on the party leadership, it might already be too late.

The changes are only the latest upheaval for a party that has been struggling to find its feet since the assassination of its former leader, Zoran Djindjic, in March 2003.

The telegenic Tadic took over the DS two years ago after beating Zoran Zivkovic, who briefly succeeded Djindjic as Serbian prime minister. Tadic's subsequent victory in the 2003 presidential election confirmed his leadership, and also lifted the DS high in the polls.

After prolonged factional disputes, the former party vice-president, Cedomir Jovanovic, Tadic’s most vocal critic, left the party last year. Jovanovic formed his own party, the Liberal Democratic Party, LDP, but it has failed to have much impact, with support from only about 2.5 per cent of the electorate.

The DS, meanwhile, is the second most popular party in the country with 24 per cent, trailing only behind the nationalist Serbian Radical Party, SRS.

Crucially, Tadic is more popular than his party, which is why DS bigwigs have elevated his powers and profile in the run-up to the next poll.

But – inevitably in a party that sees itself as the standard-bearer for mainstream democratic values in Serbia – no change occurs without a good deal of internal debate, pitting Tadic supporters against those who fear the DS is becoming a one-man band.
Some delegates at the recent conference complained of a lack of choice when it came to electing Vida Ognjenovic, Dusan Petrovic, Dragan Sutanovac, Nenad Bogdanovic and Bojan Pajtic – all of them perceived as, Tadic loyalists – as the new vice presidents of the party, saying they were presented with papers indicating who they should vote for. Ultimately, it was the local party boards who had the last word on their selection.
"Everyone knew what was going to happen, so what was the point of the
delegates being there?" Marko Vucinic, a DS member, asked Balkan Insight.

Critics complained of excess lobbying from the central structure, which limits the scope for democratic initiatives from the membership.

"There will be no democracy in society if there is no democracy within the Democratic Party, which is the backbone of democracy in Serbia," Vucinic told Balkan Insight.

"Centralism has won out over democracy in our party," he added.

A former member of the party’s local board in Nis, Aleksandar Visnjic, added, "There's no communication between party headquarters and local members."

DS spokesperson Djordje Todorovic told Balkan Insight, however, that it is not true that Tadic stifles democracy within the party. He claimed that Tadic in fact promotes internal debate.

It is true, he said, that there is no longer such strong opposition to Tadic from within the DS as there used to be. But he praised this as a sign that the party had overcome frictions that in the past had threatened to split it.

Tadic supporters say a degree of centralisation is necessary in a party that has been so prone to fractures.

"This is the party that has been the most susceptible to internal splits and divisions from which new parties emerge," said Dejan Vuk Stankovic, an analyst for the magazine Nova Srpska Politicka Misao. As a result, he said, centralism in the party might be perceived as a necessary process.

"Boris Tadic is the undisputed leader of the DS, and will remain so for as long as his personal popularity continues to boost the party's standing in public," Stankovic added. "As the most popular politician in Serbia, he is pulling his party forward."

Stankovic said that if the party membership wants to see more exercises in internal democracy, they should take advantage of the new rules allowing for direct elections every four years.

But while the amendments to the party statute envisage direct voting by members in future, there are those who say this idea could be difficult to implement in practice, since local party boards are likely to resist being stripped of their current powers.

The critics also believe that the party leadership is unlikely to make a genuine effort to implement direct elections. The concern is partly that they will use their four years in office to strengthen their powers and, once their term is up, might then seek to avoid direct elections.

In the meantime, DS loyalists hope the changes will boost the party's
hand in the country, not only against the opposition SRS, but also against the government, which is dominated by the Democratic Party of Serbia, DSS.

The DS has seen a slight reduction in support of late. One of the reasons for this downward trend, according to analysts, has been the fact that last October, the party walked out of parliament after two of its deputies defected to the DSS-led government.


By walking out of the assembly, it is believed that the DS hoped to expose illegitimate moves on the part of the government and undermine their main rival, the DSS. It was even thought possible at the time that the government might lose its weak majority in parliament, which would have led to new elections.

The new DS leadership may opt to re-think its position on the matter, however, since it seems that the boycott of parliament will neither improve the party’s popularity nor bring about the early elections that the party has frequently demanded.

Belgrade political analyst Slobodan Antonic says the DS walkout has failed to have a positive impact. "Against their better judgement they let their emotions prevail," he said.

"Such an important political party must not remain outside parliament."

Vladimir Sudar is a journalist with the Tanjug news agency. Dragana Nikolic-Solomon is BIRN director for Serbia and Montenegro. Balkan Insight is BIRN’s internet publication.