Thursday, December 29, 2011

Bosnia set to form a government ending months of deadlock


After over a year of negotiations, Bosnia's leading political parties were set to name new prime minister on Thursday, a day after the country's Muslim, Serb and Croat leaders agreed to form a government.
Wednesday's breakthrough ended a political deadlock dating back to an inconclusive parliamentary election in October 2010.
"Nobody really got what he wanted, but its good that this has come to an end," Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik told reporters.
Leaders of the six largest political parties said they had agreed to share power and pass a budget for 2011 after fears of a financial collapse escalated. Over the last 14 months Bosnia's credit rating has sunk and the lack of a budget threatened the functioning of the state.
Bosnian Croat leader Dragan Covic, whose party will get the prime minister's post, said "a lot of courage and determination were needed to broker this deal."
"The agreement shows the level of confidence we have established among us," Covic added. "We believe this is the path to follow to try to stabilize the economic and political situation in Bosnia."
The new government could be formed as early as next month.
EU application
The country's political leaders also agreed two pieces of legislation regarding the distribution of state aid and holding a census. The European Union had named the two laws as crucial to Bosnia's bid to join the bloc.
The six parties are yet to reveal who will get the ministerial posts. It is known, however, that the ethnic breakdown of government will remain the same, with four cabinet places reserved for Muslim Bosniaks, three for Serbs and three for Croats.
The agreement will now allow the EU and the International Monetary Fund to release hundreds of millions of dollars of funds to the country, which had been blocked until the deadlock was resolved.
The European Union and other Western ambassadors reportedly pressed the political leaders to reach a deal, partly over concerns that the threat of financial crisis would spark social unrest.

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