Serbs choosing course in watershed election

By Ellie Tzortzi

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Pro-Western president Boris Tadic and hardline challenger Tomislav Nikolic vie in elections on Sunday that will decide who drives Serbia's response to the trauma of the expected breakaway of its Kosovo region.

Opinion polls ahead of a first-round ballot gave Nikolic a slim lead over Tadic, but not enough for a knockout victory.

The winner of the February 3 run-off will be the candidate who can attract third-party votes with promises of better living standards, jobs and the defence of Kosovo, heading for independence with Western backing within months.

Tadic says the way to handle all that is through closer ties with the West. He opposes independence of Kosovo, seen by Serbs as their historic heartland, but favours signing a first-level agreement with the European Union even if the bloc takes over Kosovo's supervision as a prelude to recognizing the territory.

Nikolic, whose Radical Party supported the policies of late autocrat Slobodan Milosevic in the war-torn 1990s, puts his money on Russia.

"There is a risk of the return of the old guard that led Serbia into conflicts and isolation during the 1990s and led people into turmoil and uncertainty," Tadic said of a Nikolic victory.

"But I am certain the people will not allow this, they will vote for stability and economic progress, for a better life for their families."

UN PROTECTORATE