This Sunday, not enough Serbs could be bothered to vote in the second round of their presidential election, so the process has been declared void and must be started again. Given the initial apathy, it is possible that a second election may actually attract even less enthusiasm and support.
This debacle should be of considerable concern to the outside world. The issues at stake in the election, effectively a power struggle between Yugoslav Federal President Vojislav Kostunica and Serb Premier Zoran Djindjic, are secondary. What matters here is that the Serbs are so little interested in the democratic process. On the face of it, the newfound freedom of expression that followed the ouster of Slobodan Milosevic ought still to be fresh in people’s hearts. In the closing days of Milosevic’s rule, the streets of Belgrade were packed with hundreds of thousands of angry demonstrators demanding the right to be heard. There was general rejoicing that the old police state was dismantled and that at last Serbia was on course to be reintegrated into the international community.
What on earth then has happened to change attitudes so quickly, to dull the enthusiasm of two years ago when Serbs voted for the reforming Federal Yugoslav presidency of Kostunica? The consensus among pundits is that Serbs have become disillusioned with the politicians who replaced the Milosevic regime. Time and again Serb voters tell pollsters that they are disappointed by the performance of their political leaders and believe that they are only in its for themselves. The economy has hardly grown, while prices have risen sharply, especially for essential items like electricity and fuel. What asks the average Serb, is the point of voting?
No other former communist country that came new to political freedoms has become so disenchanted. Democratic politicians are almost by definition self-serving to some degree. The business of politics is as much about survival as it is about anything else. It is a lesson which most intelligent electors take on board very early on in their voting life.
It can hardly be that Serbs do not appreciate freedom. Perhaps it is just sheer selfishness, an ability to disengage from wider national and social life and concentrate only upon matters close to home and family. If this is so, then maybe we have an explanation of why so much horror was perpetrated in the name of Serbs by their past political leaders. Though it may have seemed like it at times, the Serbs are not demonic racialists, ever eager to brutalize and murder Bosnians, Croatians, Slovenes, and Kosovars. The thugs who emerged as Milosevic’s henchmen during his wars were not typical Serbs. But maybe what was atypical was the disinterest most Serbs felt in these criminals’ presence within the political process.
Serbs seem not to care enough about who and how they are governed. This is immensely dangerous. Their lack of involvement leaves the door wide open to the return of extremists and bigots. By ignoring last Sunday’s presidential runoff, Serbs were also ignoring their own best interests.
But then, though Europe may find the attitude strange, many of the Third World countries will not. Lack of public involvement has been the story of our political life.
