BELGRADE: Serbia's most influential opposition party will hold an anti government rally on Saturday, hoping to force an election before 2012 on the back of rising discontent with economic austerity.
A pro-European Union coalition has governed Serbia since 2008, but persistent economic hardship and frustration with slow EU integration has left many people disgruntled.
In February, about 70,000 gathered peacefully in central Belgrade to support the conservative Serbian Progressive Party and its allies. Its leader Tomislav Nikolic said the latest rally would be even bigger.
"When we finish tomorrow, (President Boris) Tadic will have no options but to call an early vote. His arrogance will disappear, his political future as well," Nikolic said.
Tadic, who met Nikolic on Thursday, said it had not been possible to fix an election date until Serbia received the status of candidate for EU membership, which it did in late 2010. He also implied Nikolic's party was ready for violence.
"Ultimatums, threats and speculations about election dates are totally inappropriate," Tadic's office said in a statement.
"I understand impatience and nervousness of some opposition parties, but Serbia needs stability instead of instability and constant veiled threats of violence," Tadic, who also heads the ruling Democrats, said.
After months of strikes in the public sector, which employs about 500,000 people, the government agreed to increase wages and pensions by 5.5 percent in the second quarter of 2010.
Nikolic said his party, which leads an alliance of several smaller parties scheduled to participate in the protest, is demanding early elections, higher wages, a crackdown on corruption and pro-European reforms.
"Tadic openly threatened he will declare us enemies of the state if Serbia loses its candidacy because of us. We are motivated by Serbia's benefit and its future international position," Nikolic said.
Discontent also was stirred this week when Svetlana "Ceca" Raznatovic, Serbia's biggest folk music star and the widow of Zeljko "Arkan" Raznatovic, a notorious criminal boss and warlord from the 1990s wars, struck a plea bargain to avoid trial on multi-million euro embezzlement and illegal weapons charges.
"The key problem is that the people have less and less trust in current ruling parties as none is regarded free from corruption, organised crime and nepotism," said Milan Karagaca, an analyst with the Belgrade-based European Movement think tank.
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