Serbian progressive Party (SNS) Vice President Aleksandar Vucic said Monday the SNS could form a coalition with the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) after the next election, adding that the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians could also be future partners.

"I respect the PUPS' political strength. They have lied to me much less than others," Vucic stated.

The SNS sees the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians as partners in the future, he stated. There have been no talks about a coalition with the Democratic Party of Serbia, but the relations with them are fair, and the talks with worker unions involved only worker issues, without mention of any kind of political cooperation, he added.

There is no possibility of a cooperation with the Social Democratic Party of Serbia and its leader Rasim Ljajic because he has already chosen another party as a partner, Vucic noted. A coalition with the United Regions of Serbia is also out of the question, he continued.

Vucic presented the results of latest surveys, but did not name the author since the SNS had not ordered the research. The results give the SNS a 10 percent advantage over the Democratic Party (DS). The SNS and DS are by far ahead of the other parties in the Belgrade area, having an 80 percent support among the people, Vucic remarked.

The government bears the greatest responsibility for the drop in the living standard and deterioration of Serbia's economic position in the world, he pointed out, adding that they should resign because of it.

Serbian employees have the lowest average salary in the region, said Vucic. The national debt has increased significantly in recent years, and the country's rank in terms of its business environment dropped by 12 over the last year.

Colakovic: PUPS open to cooperation with SNS

Caucus whip of the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia (PUPS) Momo Colakovic stated on Monday that his party is open to cooperation with all parties, including the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which respect the PUPS programme based on the principle of social justice.

Commenting on the statement of SNS deputy leader Aleksandar Vucic who earmarked PUPS as a ruling majority party with which SNS would gladly cooperate, Colakovic told Tanjug that he sees positive elements in SNS when it comes to social policy.

Any political option that respects the PUPS programme, which primarily rests on the social dimension of the state and social justice, is an acceptable partner, Colakovic said and added that in this context, he sees positive elements in SNS as regards social policy.

However, he underscored that PUPS will open the talks primarily within the framework of the coalition with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and United Serbia (JS), with regard to the current ruling majority, but he noted that negotiations are also open to all parties that respect the PUPS programme.