In Serbia, fascination and cynicism toward U.S. primaries

ANDREJ ISAKOVIC/AFP/Getty Images

Pro-Europe candidate Boris Tadic narrowly beat out his opponent Tomislav Nikolic in the second round of Serbia's presidential election, held on Sunday.

EU High Representative Javier Solana declared the results a sign that Serbian citizens want to "resume the European path." But Serbian democracy is not out of the woods. Its democratic coalition, led by both Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, is on shaky ground. Kostunica did not endorse Tadic prior to the elections and is now opposing efforts to sign a cooperation agreement with the European Union.

Despite the importance of Sunday's elections, it was not the only presidential race on the minds of Belgrade's Serbs. I visited the Serbian capital between its first and second rounds of voting and found students there more interested in U.S. politics than in their own. Demonstrating a global trend mentioned here earlier, the students I spoke with were closely following the U.S. primary season. A bit skeptical of the hubbub, they found the state by state run-offs both frivolous and fascinating. All were intrigued by the prospect of an African-American or female U.S. president, but several told me, with a classically Serbian cynicism, that they thought the Obama-Clinton battle was all for show—that, in the end, "the Man" (the white man) would prevail. I guess that's a vote for McCain?