Serbia's pro-Western president said today early elections were the only way to get a government which would be ready to make difficult steps needed to bring the country closer to Europe.
Mr Boris Tadic, who heads the opposition Democratic Party, made this clear in a front-page interview in the respected daily Politika.
He did not say how he planned to force new elections with his 37 deputies in the 250-member Serbian parliament. Mr Tadic said the nine-month old coalition government of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica was not doing enough and the solution was to bring about change.
"Elections are the solution to the problem and I believe elections are the only way to get a stable, democratic, European oriented and reform government which will make decisive and courageous moves for this society," Mr Tadic said.
Mr Tadic, who has been co-habiting with Mr Kostunica's centre-right coalition since his election in June, accused the government of failing to cooperate fully with the Hague war crimes tribunal and resolve the issue of Kosovo.
The government is under strong Western pressure to hand over war crimes indictees to The Hague or risk isolation, while the future status of Kosovo, a Serbian province with an ethnic Albanian majority which has been run by the UN and NATO since 1999, has yet to be agreed.
Mr Tadic said new elections could be held in early spring. Mr Kostunica's shaky coalition, which relies on the parliamentary support of the Socialists of ex-strongman Slobodan Milosevic, has so far passed several hurdles, including a smooth adoption last month of a restrictive 2005 budget.
Mr Kostunica insists his policy of calling alleged war criminals to surrender instead of arresting them is giving results and has two recent surrenders to show for it. But Mr Tadic and the West have frequently criticised this as a passive approach and non-compliance with international rules. Recent polls have shown the popularity of Mr Tadic and his party growing, with that of the parties in the government coalition dropping.