International   

Boris Tadic, an epitome of pro-Western image

— Photo: AFP

MOMENT OF VICTORY: Pro-European reformist Boris Tadic celebrates with his wife Tanja his victory in Belgrade on Sunday.

BELGRADE: Stylish and telegenic, newly re-elected Serbian President Boris Tadic is a rare Western-style politician in this traditionally conservative Balkan country.

The 50-year-old former psychology teacher has staked his political career on leading Serbia into the European Union and improving living standards in a nation still haunted by the ethnic carnage of the 1990s.

He represents the polar opposite from his challenger Tomislav Nikolic — an ultranationalist whose strident hostility to Kosovo’s independence movement threatened to plunge Serbia into a new era of isolation.

Mr. Tadic’s democratic credentials are solid: He was raised in a dissident family that strove to undermine the Communist regime of the former Yugoslavia, and he actively participated in the struggle to topple President Slobodan Milosevic.

But he has come under criticism for failing to keep promises of quick E.U. integration and economic reforms — shortcomings that almost cost him the election.

After Milosevic was ousted in 2000, Mr. Tadic served in the pro-democracy government as Telecommunications Minister. He took over the helm of the Democratic Party after the 2003 assassination of party leader Zoran Djindjic, Serbia’s first post-Milosevic Prime Minister.

Mr. Tadic promised to keep Djindjic’s pro-Western course and attract foreign investment — and won the presidency in 2004. But many Serbs have been disappointed by Mr. Tadic’s tenure.

Critics say he has turned away from his proclaimed goals and made many concessions to conservatives and nationalists like Prime Minister Vojislav Kostounica. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Clowns in the church
12 civilians die, 17 injured in Sri Lanka bus blast
Blast deepens uncertainty in Pakistan
Hillary’s lead dwindles ahead of Super Tuesday
Surgery restores vision to rare tiger cub
The burglar who overslept
Boris Tadic, an epitome of pro-Western image

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu