Serb rightist wins presidency, backs EU path

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Serb rightist wins presidency, backs EU path

By Aleksandar Vasovic and Matt Robinson

BELGRADE | Sun May 20, 2012 6:25pm EDT

(Reuters) - Opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic, last in power when Slobodan Milosevic's Serbia was bombed by NATO in 1999, was elected president on Sunday and pledged to keep the former Yugoslav republic moving towards the European Union.

In a major upset, rightist Nikolic narrowly defeated liberal leader Boris Tadic, ending his eight years as head of state in a tense run-off election in which fewer than half of Serbia's eligible voters turned out.

"There is divine justice," Nikolic told jubilant supporters in the capital, Belgrade. "Serbia will not stray from its European path," he said, directly addressing concern in the West and the region over his hardline nationalist past during the bloody collapse of Yugoslavia.

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Tracing the Balkan country's gradual progress from pariah state under Milosevic to EU membership candidate in March, Nikolic has tried to reinvent himself as a modern, pro-European conservative since splitting in 2008 from his firebrand mentor Vojislav Seselj.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/20/us-serbia-election-nikolic-idUSBRE84J0AF20120520

[Lars77]

1. Serbia's Nikolic pledges to stay Europe course

http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,15965836,00.html

The unexpected victory of former Milosevic ally Tomisalv Nikolic has many wondering about the state of Serbian politics and how the country's domestic and foreign politics will be shaped in the future.

The surprise win of Serbian opposition leader and formerly far-right nationalist Tomislav Nikolic to the presidency has analysts questioning what his election will mean for Serbian politics.

Nikolic has shifted his politics in recent years to embrace a pro-European stance, though some have expressed concerns over his formerly extremist leanings.

"Serbia will not turn away from the European path," the leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) said.