It can easily happen that unions’ latest attempt to influence political decisions ends with a settlement. The parties believe that unions can attract some votes, and the balance of power in the political scene is such that every vote is important, says director of CESID Marko Blagojevic.
Are unions capable of entering the politics through the electoral process?
Some unions have political capacity, but it is limited. It is not sufficient for individual performance, but it is good enough to make union a valuable “spice” in any pre-election coalition. Their new strategic decision to engage in politics may be beneficial only for the political parties that that some members of union decide to join. Once they take part in the elections, they cease to be unions and become a kind of political party.
Unions, as a rule, should fight for the rights of workers no matter who is in power. And this can be achieved only through pressure on the government or through cooperation with it, if such option is possible.
Are unions taking part in some kind of political voice trade by offering their support to political parties?
It’s normal they took part in the stock market and now waiting to be bought. What is unusual is their determination to give up a union and become a political party or a part of it. When this happens, they will naturally tend to create a better arrangement.
What political parties are they aiming at?
They are seeking an arrangement with a party that is popular enough to get into the parliament and any party that achieves that is a candidate for a partner in future coalition, as it is certain that several coalition governments will be formed. Any party that gets the opportunity to constitute the government will face a difficult task and they all have been aware of this fact for quite some time.
Is it possible to define more precisely the support that party in the electorate may benefit from alliances with organizations such as unions?
For exceeding the required minimum by five percent, each party needs about 200,000 votes. “Price” of additional parliamentary seat is about 15,000 votes, which means that the support of those who offer to increase the number of seats in the favor of certain party or coalition does not have to be particularly large.
So, the fact is that other entities became aware of potential opportunities that this situation offers and parties became aware of the benefits they can have even from the association with less powerful partners. There are indications that Progressive Party will make coalitions with the associations of disabled people, refugees and so on. The impression is that parties believe that none of the potential candidates for election coalition should be excluded regardless of how small they are.
Is this related to the electoral system?
The electoral system in Serbia inextricably links members of parliament only to parties, and not to voters.
I do not think that’s good. Changing the system would provide a possibility for different arrangements than the ones unions and political parties are aiming at now. It would be very important to move towards changing the electoral system in a way that is already defined in the Draft Law on the Election of Deputies. This document was prepared by the Ministry of State Administration and Local Self-Government, but has never reached Serbian government. The law provides that voters support the candidates they know and who are representatives of specific constituencies, instead of supporting the lists under the control of the parties.