Serb opposition leader resigns

by Amy Judd | September 6, 2008 at 04:28 pm

128 views | 0 Recommendations | 0 comments

Tomislav Nikolic, the head of the main opposition party in Serbia, has resigned after his senior colleagues would not back him in his efforts to join the European Union.

Tomislav Nikolic had recently persuaded his Serbian Radical Party to approve the ratification of an important agreement with the European Union.

But there was a party revolt over the issue, with critics saying it meant abandoning Serbia's claim to Kosovo.

Kosovo unilaterally declared itself independent from Serbia this year.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Belgrade says Mr Nikolic had steered his party towards the centre of Serbian politics, focusing on social issues such as unemployment and poverty, rather than the militant nationalism of the past.

Mr Nikolic is officially the deputy president of the party as its leader, Vojislav Seselj is facing charges at the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague.