Vlade: From King to President?

As we ponder how flopping would help in a debate...

Vlade Divac: King in the NBA, President in Serbia?
Tue Mar 16, 2004 08:10 AM ET

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian reformers are looking to giant basketball star
Vlade Divac to put them head and shoulders above ultra-nationalists in
presidential polls.
The 7-foot-1 Sacramento Kings veteran was more likely to be concentrating
on the current playoff race than becoming his country's next head of state.

But in a sign of mounting concern at the lack of a pro-reform champion,
Divac's name was put into play in basketball-crazy Serbia Tuesday as soon
as news broke that Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica would not be a
contender.

"Divac for President," was the tabloid Kurir's headline.

Serbian liberals and Western diplomats fear the ultra-nationalist Radicals,
whose leader Vojislav Seselj is in The Hague awaiting trial on war crimes
charges, would simply stop the clock on economic and political reform if
they could.

Were it not for a law declaring the results of last November's election
void because turnout was below 50 percent, Radical Party acting leader
Tomislav Nikolic would already be president, and in a position to at least
delay legislation.

The minimum turnout law has now been scrapped. The date of Serbia's next
bid to elect a head of state -- its fourth in two years -- has not yet been
announced, but is confidently expected to fall between mid-May and
mid-June.

Kostunica had been reckoned the only figure among three possible "unity"
candidates from the reformist political parties with a good chance of
beating Nikolic at the polls. But there is as yet no guarantee of unity,
and now no Kostunica candidacy. As Serbia's newly appointed prime minister
and former President of Yugoslavia, Kostunica was "the only one who would
be a worthy opponent," ultra-nationalist Nikolic told Kurir.

He went on to predict: "I will win 1.5 million votes for sure, and that
will be enough against any of them, even Vlade Divac. Seriously, the only
thing he can beat me at is one-on-one."

Pollster Srdjan Bogosavljevic said Nikolic "is for sure the favorite" and
probably not even Kostunica could beat him.

"Vlade Divac is popular as a basketball player," he said. "But he's not
seen as a politician, that's the major problem." Polling showed Serbs had
no outstanding preference when invited to name a celebrity for president.

But political commentator Zoran Lucic thought the NBA star could be a
serious challenger, if he was asked and wanted to.

"Personally, I know many people who would vote for him rather than for many
of our politicians," Lucic said.

(Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl)

--
Gary Collard
SABR-L Moderator
gmcollard RemoveThis @yahoo.com

"I'm going out with a homeless girl. It's pretty cool...after our
dates, I can drop her off anywhere." -- Raider Dave

I can picture Vlade running. Imagine the debates. If he starts losing, he
flops on the ground after being taken out by the podium.... then whines.

"Gary Collard" <garycollard.TakeThisOut@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:4057927D.513EC14@netscape.net...
> As we ponder how flopping would help in a debate...
>
> Vlade Divac: King in the NBA, President in Serbia?
> Tue Mar 16, 2004 08:10 AM ET
>
> BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian reformers are looking to giant basketball
star
> Vlade Divac to put them head and shoulders above ultra-nationalists in
> presidential polls.
> The 7-foot-1 Sacramento Kings veteran was more likely to be concentrating
> on the current playoff race than becoming his country's next head of
state.
>
> But in a sign of mounting concern at the lack of a pro-reform champion,
> Divac's name was put into play in basketball-crazy Serbia Tuesday as soon
> as news broke that Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica would not be a
> contender.
>
> "Divac for President," was the tabloid Kurir's headline.
>
> Serbian liberals and Western diplomats fear the ultra-nationalist
Radicals,
> whose leader Vojislav Seselj is in The Hague awaiting trial on war crimes
> charges, would simply stop the clock on economic and political reform if
> they could.
>
> Were it not for a law declaring the results of last November's election
> void because turnout was below 50 percent, Radical Party acting leader
> Tomislav Nikolic would already be president, and in a position to at least
> delay legislation.
>
> The minimum turnout law has now been scrapped. The date of Serbia's next
> bid to elect a head of state -- its fourth in two years -- has not yet
been
> announced, but is confidently expected to fall between mid-May and
> mid-June.
>
> Kostunica had been reckoned the only figure among three possible "unity"
> candidates from the reformist political parties with a good chance of
> beating Nikolic at the polls. But there is as yet no guarantee of unity,
> and now no Kostunica candidacy. As Serbia's newly appointed prime minister
> and former President of Yugoslavia, Kostunica was "the only one who would
> be a worthy opponent," ultra-nationalist Nikolic told Kurir.
>
> He went on to predict: "I will win 1.5 million votes for sure, and that
> will be enough against any of them, even Vlade Divac. Seriously, the only
> thing he can beat me at is one-on-one."
>
> Pollster Srdjan Bogosavljevic said Nikolic "is for sure the favorite" and
> probably not even Kostunica could beat him.
>
> "Vlade Divac is popular as a basketball player," he said. "But he's not
> seen as a politician, that's the major problem." Polling showed Serbs had
> no outstanding preference when invited to name a celebrity for president.
>
> But political commentator Zoran Lucic thought the NBA star could be a
> serious challenger, if he was asked and wanted to.
>
> "Personally, I know many people who would vote for him rather than for
many
> of our politicians," Lucic said.
>
> (Additional reporting by Fredrik Dahl)
>
> --
> Gary Collard
> SABR-L Moderator
> gmcollard.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com
>
> "I'm going out with a homeless girl. It's pretty cool...after our
> dates, I can drop her off anywhere." -- Raider Dave