On February 3, 2008, majority of Serbs decided to offer another five-year presidential mandate to Boris Tadic; his victory was received with evident relief, but also without triumph, for the obvious reasons. Not only were the election results tight (50.5 percent of the ballots went to Tadic, 47.7 percent to Nikolic), but the winner also faces great temptations concerning vital issues in Serbia's social and political life.
The prestige of his European orientation taken aside, one of the main tests for Tadic's statesmanship capacity will be the crisis of Serbia today, for which he himself is partly responsible. The country simply split into two almost equal halves - one supporting a European and the other a "domestic" Serbia. Vojvodina, Belgrade and Sandzak voted Tadic, whereas central Serbia plus Kosovo Serbs put their trust into Tomislav Nikolic. The

root of the problem is not only the large political, but also economic and cultural differences between parts of the country, which were neglected and underestimated for years. Will Tadic and the Democratic Party finally gather the strength to face this moment of bitter truth, to at least nudge the problem from a standstill, or will the ghosts of old conflicts, which have haunted us for two decades, rise even more dramatically? The large turnout in both election rounds - something not seen around here for a long time - testifies that the citizens, or at least those democratically inclined, have better understood their time than the

parties that aspire to represent them. Their behavior clearly reveals a condemnation of party arrogance and usurpation of authority and property. Large election abstinence over the past years was an expression of open disapproval of the road-lacking party politics, but also a protest against abuse of the very institution of elections.
At the parliamentary elections last year, the citizens sent one message, while parties distributed power within their coalition in a manner quite different from the voters' will. The politicians played a good game and established themselves solidly, clearly demonstrating that the essence of their politics was the fight for power, and not care for the welfare and prosperity of the people. On top of that, the citizens this time sent a direct message to the parties that they wanted to really participate in the country's politics. Whether they can actually do so has been a subject of controversial discussions for a long time here. The citizens saved Serbia's face with their antiwar stances and actions in the 90's. And again in 1996/97, when the democratic opposition won local elections in 40 towns and municipalities, and also in 2000, with electoral success and a nationwide revolt, when Milosevic was toppled, when the nation was also fighting for elections for a Constitutional Assembly that would bring a truly democratic constitution. Though it sometimes turned flaccid, the democratic movement has followed an uninterrupted line of political maturation, which is also the most important legacy and a lesson which the citizens place before both the government and the opposition. Who will understand and support them today?