Kostunica's dilemma

Mr Kostunica has stayed tight-lipped on the extradition

By the BBC's Alix Kroeger

Yugoslav President Vojislav Kostunica is in a difficult position following the collapse of the coalition government on Friday.

Mr Kostunica consistently opposed the extradition of Slobodan Milosevic, and, when Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic seized the initiative and decided to send the former president to The Hague, Mr Kostunica said he was not informed until several hours later.

The differences between the two men appear to be escalating.

Contrasting opinions

Mr Djindjic's supporters said the president and his party had agreed to co-operate fully with the tribunal.

Zoran Djindjic has played down the rift with President Kostunica

But in a statement carried by the state news agency, Tanjug, on Saturday, Mr Kostunica is said to have commented: "I never said at any DOS (Democratic Opposition of Serbia ) meeting that I supported the extradition of Milosevic or any other indictee to The Hague tribunal."

A moderate nationalist who stood aloof from the Milosevic regime, Mr Kostunica supported the idea of a Greater Serbia, incorporating parts of Bosnia and Croatia, but he never backed the use of force to achieve it.

Nonetheless, the extradition has cost him support among the nationalists. And his own job may yet disappear. If Montenegro decides to leave the Yugoslav federation, there will be no Yugoslavia of which to be president.

Direct competition

That would place Mr Kostunica and Mr Djindjic in direct competition for the job of Serbian prime minister - unless and until Serbian President Milan Milutinovic goes to The Hague on war crimes charges.

Mr Kostunica is performing a delicate balancing act. After all, Mr Milosevic enjoyed great popular support for many years.

Milosevic: Extradition has split Yugoslavia

Those supporters may now be disillusioned with their former leader, but they're still suspicious of Mr Djindjic - many see him as a careerist who sold Mr Milosevic to the West in return for more than $1bn in international aid.

Since the extradition, Mr Kostunica has been keeping a relatively low profile. In comparison, Mr Djindjic has been talking about the need to reform the Yugoslav federation.

Mr Djindjic has also said his alliance with Mr Kostunica should weather the strain of the extradition. But the silence from Mr Kostunica has been deafening.

Mr Kostunica himself has described Serbia's political landscape as a peaceful democratic transition on the surface, but with a volcano underneath. There may well be more upheaval to come.