At one level Serbian politicians have been playing against one another, at another level they have been playing the Kosovo Albanians and on the third they have been taking on international players including the United Nations’ troubleshooter Martti Ahtisaari, the United States and Russia. Now it seems all sides are moving to avoid the checkmate that might have ended the game with another Balkan bungle.
Serbs heaved a huge sigh of relief when Serbia’s President Boris Tadic called a general election for January 21. It meant that months of speculation about this date had finally come to an end. Within hours a statement was issued in Vienna, which instantly formalised something that had also been speculated about.
