Serbia PM rejects corruption claims

By Matthew Price BBC correspondent in Belgrade

The prime minister of Serbia has dismissed allegations that senior members of his government are tainted by corruption.

In an interview with the BBC, Zoran Zivkovic said many people had tried to level such accusations against politicians in Serbia, but they had never been able to prove them.

Belgrade is not a pleasant place to be a politician at the moment

The political situation in the country has deteriorated since the assassination of the former prime minister, Zoran Djindjic, four months ago.

Belgrade is not a pleasant place to be a politician at the moment.

Accusations are flying around against government officials and members of parliament.

Mr Djindjic used a variety of friends and allies to help maintain political cohesion, but after his death those diverse elements are battling for supremacy.

The latest spat erupted this week when the governor of the central bank said he had documents that could prove corruption allegations against government officials.

Mr Zivkovic says such talk is nonsense.

He admits the greatest danger in any transition country is corruption.

Certainly there is corruption at lower levels, he told the BBC; many have been sacked.

But at higher levels, he said, it has never been proven.

No hope?

Some government sources are concerned the level of political animosity made public in the papers each day could, they fear, tear apart the main party and the ruling coalition.

In the latest illustration of this, the finance minister and the governor of the central bank engaged in a fierce and at times personal debate live on television.

The two men were once close friends; they represented the new democratic face of Serbian politics.

If they have fallen apart, commentators ask, what hope for the coalition?