Impasse tears apart Serbian Cabinet

Serbia's government has collapsed over an impasse between the nationalist prime minister and the pro-Western president on how Kosovo's independence affects the Balkan country's pursuit of EU membership.

"The government, which does not have united policies, cannot function," Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said yesterday in announcing the fall of his Cabinet. "That's the end of the government."

Kostunica said he will convene a session of the caretaker government today, which will propose to Serbian President Boris Tadic to dissolve the parliament and call new elections for May 11.

Tadic said in a statement that he would call early elections because they are a "democratic way to overcome the political crisis."

The Cabinet, made up of Kostunica's conservatives and Tadic's Democrats, was formed last May, after months of strained talks in the wake of the January's parliamentary elections last year.

The new elections will determine whether Serbia will continue on its path toward the EU and other Western organizations, or return to the international isolation of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic's warmongering era in the 1990s, which is epitomized by Kostunica's hard-line policies.

Tadic disputed Kostunica's claim that their clash was over Kosovo's independence.

"I believe the issue is that the Serbian government does not have a united position over European and economic perspectives of Serbia and its citizens," he said.

Kostunica said "the government will function in a reduced capacity until the elections are held."

He accused pro-Western ministers of failing to support his efforts to keep Kosovo. Kostunica denounced the Democrats for seeking close ties with EU states that have recognized Kosovo's statehood.