What would be the role of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) in the government when the current prime minister resigns and starts its presidential term?
Socialist leader Ivica Dacic may succeed Aleksandar Vucic and become premier, report Belgrade media. Still, Dacic is reserved over that idea.
Dacic, according to his own words, did not even think about it when he was deciding to support Vucic in presidential race earlier this year, as he told N1 TV.
When asked what he would change if he became the PM Dacic replied: “You shouldn’t ask me that because that issue is absolutely not on the agenda now. I cannot talk about hypothetical things”.
Dacic, who was already a prime minister from 2012 to 2014 and is now foreign minister, added that “those who were seen by the newspapers” to succeed Vucic would certainly not overtake his current role. Sociologist Jovo Bakic shares Dacic’s opinion.
“As the prime minister, Dacic would undoubtedly boost SPS, and which Aleksandar Vucic will not allow”, Bakic said.
He argues that SPS’s decision to take part in Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) coalition was bad for Socialists since only the party bosses benefited from coalition, Bakic claims.
Dacic says that SPS has become stronger after recent elections in five municipalities, adding that his party has “preserved its identity” following the presidential elections. “We have not supported the SNS candidate, but chosen Aleksandar Vucic as the nominee of all of us. Everybody knows my position. I’m the president of the Socialist Party”, he insisted.
Djordje Vlajic, a journalist, told N1 that SPS’s decision to uphold Vucic was pragmatic; but abandoning their own candidate would have consequences, he added.
“The unconditional support (from SPS to SNS) has certainly lead to SPS losing a part of its identity. In long terms, this would not benefit SPS”, Vlajic said.
According to the latest polls conducted by IPSOS agency, SPS would get eight percent if parliamentary elections were held today. That is almost half of the votes the party won in the 2016 elections.
(IBNA, 02.05.2017)
http://www.balkaneu.com/dacic-unlikely-to-become-pm/
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