Serbian Presidential Contenders Compete for Nationalist Vote, Cozy Up to Moscow

BELGRADE, Serbia — The two leading contenders in Serbia’s presidential election are mixing their messages on Europe, Russia and nationalism. Campaign posters across the country show Democratic Party candidate President Boris Tadic, a pro-European, in front of the national flag. The tricolor, however, is difficult to spot on nationalist Tomislav Nikolic’s posters. Instead, he is telling all he is a lifelong pro-European, despite also saying that EU membership will have to wait until Serbia’s sovereignty over the province of Kosovo is assured. That outcome is far from certain with Kosovo’s declaration of independence set to come soon after the presidential […]