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P 301805Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
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INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0013
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RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
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RXFEAA/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000648 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: TADIC NAMES CVETKOVIC AS PRIME MINISTER 
 
REF: BELGRADE 625 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Following several days of heated debate within his own 
party, Serbian President Boris Tadic named outgoing Minister of 
Finance Mirko Cvetkovic as his choice for Prime Minister on June 27. 
 Cvetkovic's nomination was supported by Tadic's coalition partners 
but criticized by the Radicals and other opposition parties.  Draft 
legislation to expand the cabinet to 24 ministries and create a 
First Deputy Prime Minister position (believed to be for Socialist 
leader Ivica Dacic) was criticized by parties across the political 
spectrum.  Debate in Parliament over the structure of government is 
expected to last for several days, followed by a vote on ministerial 
nominees.  End summary. 
 
Cvetkovic Designated Prime Minister 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) President Tadic convened the presidency of his Democratic 
Party (DS) on Friday, June 27 to announce outgoing Minister of 
Finance Mirko Cvetkovic as his choice for Prime Minister.  The 
announcement followed several days of heated debate within the DS 
core presidency over Tadic's reported desire to designate Vuk 
Jeremic.  In comments to the press over the weekend, Tadic 
emphasized that Cvetkovic, Jeremic, and Bojan Pajtic -- but "above 
all Cvetkovic" -- were his preferred candidates all along, not the 
candidates of "some group or part of the DS" as the press had 
reported. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Our contacts tell us that in contrast to Tadic's public 
statements, the presidency meeting was very tense.  An agitated 
Tadic was reportedly the only person to speak, chastising the 
members of the core presidency for 45 minutes for leaking 
information to the press in pursuit of their own aims.  He allegedly 
said that he would no longer convene the core presidency. 
 
Draft Laws on Government and Ministers Submitted 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Immediately after the announcement of Cvetkovic, the 
government submitted a draft Law on Ministers and a package of draft 
amendments to the Law on Government to the Parliament.  The Law on 
Ministries specifies that the new government will have 24 
ministries; the PM can also appoint ministers without portfolio over 
and above that number.  The draft law calls for the preservation of 
the Ministry for Kosovo and Metohija; press reports identify Goran 
Bogdanovic, a moderate Kosovar Serb from Leposavic in Northern 
Kosovo and a DS member, as the rumored nominee. 
 
¶5.  (U) The draft amendments to the Law on Government include two 
new points:  the creation of a First Deputy Prime Minister position 
and a "golden vote" for the Prime Minister.  The draft law gives the 
First Deputy PM equal power and all the competencies of the PM in 
the latter's absence, with the exception of the right to call for 
elections or suspend/dismiss government members.  It also specifies 
that the First Deputy is to assist the PM in the running and 
direction of the government.  The media reports that PM-designate 
Cvetkovic will nominate SPS leader Ivica Dacic for this position. 
The so-called "golden vote" provision means that in the case of an 
even number of votes the PM's vote breaks a tie. 
 
Reactions 
--------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) There was some criticism even from within Tadic's own 
electoral coalition.  G-17 Plus expressed support for Cvetkovic's 
candidacy but criticized the DS for negotiating poorly and giving 
the SPS "too much" in the government (including the First Deputy PM 
position).  G-17 Plus announced that it would form its own 
parliamentary group rather than working through the DS-led "For a 
European Serbia" group.  Istvan Pasztor, head of the Coalition of 
Vojvodina Hungarians, refused a deputy prime minister position in 
pursuit of a ministry position and/or local positions in Vojvodina. 
 
¶7.  (U) Cedomir Jovanovic's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) announced 
over the weekend that they would not vote for the new government due 
to the increased number of ministries, the "concessions made to the 
SPS," and the creation of the First Deputy PM position.  The LDP has 
continued to provide Tadic's coalition with the quorum necessary to 
convene parliament, however. 
 
¶8.  (U) Criticism from the opposition was stronger.  Acting head of 
the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) Tomislav Nikolic criticized the 
choice of Cvetkovic for PM, alleging that as director of the 
 
BELGRADE 00000648  002 OF 002 
 
 
Privatization Agency Cvetkovic had "destroyed Serbia" by taking part 
in illegal privatizations.  SRS MP Vjerica Radeta said that the 
party saw the new First Deputy PM position as unconstitutional.  New 
Serbia (NS) representative Miroslav Markicevic criticized the growth 
in size of the cabinet, which he said would make the Serbian 
government one of the largest in the world.  Democratic Party of 
Serbia (DSS) vice president Borko Ilic questioned Cvetkovic's 
authority, describing him as the only PM in Europe who is "forming 
an already-formed government." 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
 
¶9.  (U) Parliament began on June 30 to debate the draft Law on 
Ministers and the proposed amendments to the Law on Government in 
principle.  This will be followed by a 24-hour period for 
amendments, then a detailed debate of all points.  Once the laws are 
approved, Cvetkovic will submit to Parliament a list of nominees for 
the ministerial positions.  Although President Tadic told the press 
over the weekend that the government would be formed by the middle 
of this week, our contacts in Parliament predict that the debate 
will last all week with the vote on ministers the week of July 7. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) The acrimony within DS over the choice of a Prime 
Minister, combined with the resentment within Tadic's coalition over 
the numerous concessions to Dacic's Socialist Party, have put an end 
to the new government's honeymoon before it even started.  With 
Tadic and Jeremic out of the country until July 3 for an African 
Union summit in Egypt followed by the Socialist International 
Congress in Athens, it is unclear how the negotiations over 
ministerial portfolios will wrap up.  End comment. 
 
MUNTER