We got lucky...or did we?

Serbia's Tadic ekes out narrow, pro-Europe mandate

By Robert Marquand

Tue Feb 5, 3:00 AM ET

European leaders breathed a sigh of relief after Serbian democrat Boris Tadic eked out a victory Sunday over ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolic in a divisive election held days before the expected loss of Kosovo, often spoken of here as the soul of ancient Serbia.

The Serbian presidencPublish Posty does not carry great powers. But the election won by the incumbent Mr. Tadic with 50.5 percent and a record turnout was seen as a psychological crossroads at a point of crisis – a referendum on reprising the chauvinist spirit of the 1990s and a pro-Moscow tilt, or moving toward Europe's economic and open-travel regime and a greater emphasis on civil society norms.

A radical Serbia is seen in many European capitals and Washington as a threat to Balkan stability. Yet Tadic's message of a bright future and rejection of brutal war years only narrowly triumphed over the Radicals, whose message of change was starting to sell.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080205/wl_csm/oround2_1