The Evil European

Serbia recently went to the pools in what seems to have been dubbed as a referendum on the future. The two candidates represented two distinct paths for Serbia.

Nationalist Tomislav Nikolic represented a closer relationship with Russia and the rejection of the EU, while Boris Tadic was the pro-Western candidate calling for closer integration with the EU.

Boris Tadic won by a not very convincing 51%. Serbia seems to be a country trapped by both geography and history. The events of recent years, the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, the final disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, the unfinished business surrounding the status of Kosovo, tied with the increased economic and social integration of the nations surrounding Serbia with the EU, seem to represent a complex cocktail of pressures.

While Serbia seems to be increasingly heading towards the west, it aint going to be a walk in the park.