The idea of “white” voting tickets is the expression of dissatisfaction of a part of Serbian intellectual scene with the achievements of Democratic Party in the past decade. It would be perhaps the most accurate definition of some kind of movement with no solid organizational structure, no clearly defined number of supporters, no political agenda and no clear plans for the future.
The matter of fact is that among the educated voters, especially in Belgrade, there is strong resistance to moves pulled by the Democratic Party, the party from which these people expect to accelerate reforms and European integration. They want to see the DS as a force that actively changes and reforms Serbia, without much regard to the fact how many voters are willing to accept this approach and what other parties think.
The advocates of “white tickets” are mainly present among those voters who between Europe and Kosovo firmly choose Europe and who believe that Serbia should join NATO without any hesitation. The see the alliance between the DS and the Socialist Party as despicable and unacceptable, and the Liberal Democratic Party led by Cedomir Jovanovic as weak and indecisive political force that cannot bring changes to Serbia.
They estimate that the DS-SPS coalition in the future government could even be strengthened by Jovanovic’s party. In such an alliance the pro-European orientation of LDP would probably be less prominent, which means that the strong acceleration of reforms and walk towards the EU and NATO will not happen and that these processes will run at the same pace as in the previous years, or since the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic.
It is quite certain that “white tickets” will be nothing more than just the same idea as when they appeared – an expression of protest and discontent of a part of the electorate. In order to become something more, this idea needs to be chosen in the elections by a large number of voters, which is not realistic because the overwhelming majority of people come to elections to vote for someone, and not to say that no one is good enough.
The advocates of “white tickets” cannot accept the view that Serbian political scene has no energy for the changes they are longing for. They believe that the main task should be changing Serbia and the consciousness of its citizens, and they don’t see the politics as a potential skill, but as a weapon in the hands of the educated classes that will enable the desired changes and irrevocably link Serbia with Europe and the West.
Such an approach would be acceptable and understandable to broad layers of voters if it was accompanied by a strong and visible economic progress and a significant improvement in the quality of life. However, this did not happen and an average voter does not seek the causes in insufficiently radical commitment to reforms of the ruling party. Neither in Serbia nor in any other country does he seek the internal reform of any party in parliamentary elections. He chooses between the parties.
Therefore, “white tickets” in the upcoming elections can hardly force the DS to change its policy. Just like any other party, Tadic’s party will go through changes only if forced by the defeat in elections and together with the appearance of sufficiently strong leaders who can define and impose a new direction. Pressure of the intellectual elite and educated classes of the population can hardly bring any result.
Large parties are aware of the limited range of “white tickets” campaign and practically pay no attention to it because they have no reason to believe that it poses any danger to them. But, they should have reason to lead a dialogue on the reforms and the direction in which Serbia is heading, while ignoring the intellectuals and voters who believe in politicians’ words is certainly not advisable.
How was the “white tickets” campaign started and what are its objectives, the possible political achievements and the eventual outcomes on the upcoming elections are just some of the questions that a retired professor of Belgrade University Srbijanka Turajlic and the Director of Ipsos Strategic Marketing Srdjan Bogosavljevic are trying to answer for the portal of Novi magazin.