Serb "vote for Europe" not as emphatic as some wish
ZAGREB (Reuters) - The United States and European Union portrayed the result of Serbian elections as an emphatic endorsement of the pro-European camp over nationalist rivals.
But Serbia's neighbors and Western analysts saw no clear resolution of the split between nationalists and pro-Westerners that might help usher in a period of stable government.
The Democratic Party of President Boris Tadic, which the EU favored, won 39 percent on Sunday, beating the nationalist Radical Party into second place. But with 29 percent and two potential partners, the Radicals are also challenging for power.
Western countries, whose support for the February 17 secession of the region of Kosovo inflamed nationalist sensitivities, said they were encouraged by the outcome.
"The result of the election is a clear expression of the desire of the majority of citizens of Serbia to get closer to Europe," said German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
"This is good news for Serbia and Europe. I hope that a government will be formed quickly so that together we can take the next steps in the direction of Europe," he said.
The U.S. embassy in Belgrade -- torched in riots when Kosovo seceded -- said Serbia "demonstrated its heart is in Europe".
But a former U.S. ambassador who is now an independent commentator on Balkan affairs took a more cautious view.
"The results show that the country is divided about 50-50," said William Montgomery. "The result of this deep division will be a very long process of negotiation to form the government," he told Radio Free Europe.
Serbia's neighbors view the nationalist Radicals as ideological heirs to late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic, who fomented war in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo in the 1990s.
Croatia-based analyst Davor Gjenero said the election had managed only to avert a clear victory for "isolationist forces", which he said would have been a tragedy.
"We are all happy Boris Tadic is the relative winner...but there is no real good news for the region or for Europe. There is still no clear and strong pro-European majority and the Serbian society remains deeply split," he said.
NO CLEAR ANSWER
The EU hailed Tadic's 'victory', but EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana later issued a more muted statement, implicitly recognizing that Tadic had yet to secure power.
"I hope that a new government can be formed rapidly, which would be strongly committed to reforms and to meeting the necessary conditions for further progress towards Europe," he said. The EU "would give such a government all its support".
The Socialist Party -- founded by Milosevic -- appeared to hold the balance of power, poised to secure a parliamentary majority for either the pro-Europeans or the nationalists.
Independent observers noted that nationalist voters taken together still make up half the electorate, even though they voted for three different parties.
The Radicals, whose leader is standing trial for war crimes, were expected to try to form a government with nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica and the Socialists.
But Tadic was also seen courting their heirs of Milosevic.
"It is highly ironic, but not a joke, that the fate of the future government will be determined by Slobodan Milosevic's Socialists," said the daily Express in Kosovo.
The nationalist backlash provoked by Kosovo's independence had not in the end sunk Tadic's pro-EU campaign, as the West had feared, but neither had it abated fully.
"Even after this election Serbia does not have an answer to where it is heading - towards Moscow or Brussels, past or future," commented Kosovo's main daily Koha Ditore.
(additional reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic, Shaban Buza, Fatos Bytyci, Madeline Chambers, Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Douglas Hamilton and Ralph Boulton)
