Serbian Media Pore Over Djukanovic’s Defeat in Montenegro

Two days since Montenegro's presidential election, incumbent Milo Djukanovic's loss at the hands of 36-year-old political rookie Jakov Milatovic continued to reverberate in Serbian media.

On Monday, the front pages of all national print media in Serbia reported the end of more than three decades of political domination by Djukanovic with headlines such as 'Milatovic Won; End of the Djukanovic Era' [Vecernje Novosti], 'Milo's Fall' [Kurir], and 'Jakov Sends Milo into Retirement' [Blic].

Newspapers and Internet portal pored over the possible significance of Oxford-educated Milatovic's victory for relations between Serbia and Montenegro, which were joined in state union for almost a century until Montenegro voted narrowly in favour of independence in a 2006 referendum.

The demise of Djukanovic, the chief architect of Montenegrin independence, even won more prominent coverage on Monday than the start of the trial in The Hague of former Kosovo president and guerrilla commander Hashim Thaci and three former guerrilla allies on charges war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1998-99 Kosovo war and the months that followed.

In his first TV interview since the election, Europe Now leader Milatovic told Montenegro's public broadcaster that his first official visit would be to Brussels, and then the Balkan capitals.

"You yourself know that this process of European integration is taking too long," he said. "I believe that we have to step more strongly in that direction and I think it is important that I, as the president of Montenegro, go on my first official visit to Brussels."

In Italy, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Speaking afterwards,  Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic...