VZCZCXRO4042
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0844/01 2321620
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191620Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0306
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNS/NSC WASHDC
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BELGRADE 000844 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EADM PINR SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA: BELGRADE MAYOR FINALLY NAMED 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (U) Dragan Djilas, a leader of the Democratic Party and a close 
associate of President Boris Tadic, was named mayor of Belgrade on 
August 19 after months of coalition negotiations, following the May 
11 municipal elections.  Djilas formed a minority coalition 
government with Ivica Dacic's Socialist Party and the support - but 
not participation - of Ceda Jovanovic's Liberal Democratic Party. 
The new mayor identified infrastructure, fighting corruption, and 
development as his immediate priorities.  End Summary. 
 
The Deal 
-------- 
 
¶2.  (U) More than three months after local elections and just four 
days before a legal deadline, the Belgrade City Assembly on August 
19 finally elected Dragan Djilas, candidate of the Democratic Party 
(DS), as mayor of Belgrade.  The assemblymen also elected Milan 
Krkobabic of the Party of United Pensioners (PUPS) -- the son of 
PUPS leader and Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabic -- as Deputy 
Mayor, and selected thirteen members of the City Executive Council 
(city government).  All were proposed by Djilas.  (Comment:  In a 
purely Serbian twist, the late-50s Krkobabic Jr. represents the 
"youth wing" of the Pensioners Party.  End Comment.) 
 
¶3.  (U) Many members of the opposition Serbian Radical Party (SRS), 
Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), and New Serbia (NS) boycotted the 
assembly session.  The session opened with 70 of 110 members 
present, before SRS members left to attend the funeral of SRS member 
Ranko Panic who died over the weekend of injuries sustained at the 
July 29 Karadzic protest.  The SRS members left after very little 
debate, which came as a surprise to many observers given the 
announcement by SRS mayoral candidate Aleksandar Vucic that the 
party would use all democratic means to block the election of the 
mayor and city government. 
 
¶4.  (U) The new ruling coalition in the Belgrade Assembly will have 
a narrow majority of 58 out of 110 seats - 45 from the DS and 6 from 
the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), with minority support from 7 
members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).  (After the May 
elections, the SPS initially signed a coalition agreement with the 
SRS and the DSS, but after forming the national government with the 
DS, decided to break the agreement and establish a coalition with 
the DS in Belgrade as well.)  Ceda Jovanovic's LDP played a crucial 
role in the formation of a democratic government in Belgrade, which 
it conditioned on several issues such as the de-politicization and 
professionalization of the city administration.  LDP is expected to 
propose candidates for some important positions in the Belgrade 
municipal administration, but will not be a formal coalition partner 
due to strong resistance from the SPS. 
 
¶5.  (U) In his first statement as Mayor, Dragan Djilas said his 
priority would be completing unfinished business and thanked the DSS 
representatives with whom DS and G-17 Plus had worked productively 
during the previous administration, noting that there would still be 
room for people who did their job well.  He called on the opposition 
to nominate representatives for public enterprises' executive boards 
and tender commissions.  Djilas praised deceased Belgrade Mayor 
Nenad Bogdanovic for having "turned Belgrade into a metropolis." 
(Note:  Bogdanovic died of cancer in late 2007 and the city had been 
operating under a caretaker government since then.  End Note.)  In a 
statement to the press later on August 19, Djilas listed his 
priorities as infrastructure (including bridges and a metro), 
fighting corruption, and new development. 
 
Djilas Bio 
---------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Dragan Djilas (DS) has a degree in aeronautical 
engineering from Belgrade University but made his success in 
advertising. He was known in the 90's for standing up to Slobodan 
Milosevic as a student leader and was one of the founders of the 
independent radio station B-92.  He later withdrew from politics and 
concentrated on developing his advertising agency Ovation. It was 
not until after charismatic pro-Western Serbian Prime Minister 
Djindjic was assassinated in 2003 that Djilas resurfaced politically 
and became a friend and confidant of Boris Tadic. He is the head of 
the Belgrade chapter of the DS and is thought to be conservative but 
pro-EU integration.  Djilas was Minister without Portfolio and 
National Investment Plan Coordinator in the previous Kostunica 
government. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The election of a DS mayor of Belgrade is a significant 
milestone in modern Serbian political development, giving the 
 
BELGRADE 00000844  002 OF 002 
 
 
Democratic Party for the first time control of virtually all 
significant political institutions: the Presidency, the Government, 
the Parliament, and all the major cities.  It is also significant 
that SPS and LDP, until recently sworn enemies, will cooperate in a 
government for the first time.  The conditions appear ripe for the 
process of national political reconciliation that President Tadic 
has been advocating, assuming self-interest does not get in the way. 
 Post will immediately reach out to Djilas, who is already familiar 
with the issue and supportive, to reiterate the need for fast 
approval of the new Embassy project.  End Comment. 
 
BRUSH