Serbia is in shock after what looks like an assassination attempt on its president. Boris Tadic escaped unscathed when a car tried to ram his limousine. Security officials, travelling in his motorcade, managed to block the Audi used in the attack. It then drove away from the scene.

Pro-Western Tadic is a hate figure for Serbian nationalists after stepping up pressure on the government of premier Vojislav Kostunica to arrest and extradite war crimes suspects. Today’s attack happened in an upmarket district of Belgrade. It brought back memories of the killing in the capital last year of Zoran Djindjic, the Prime Minister shot dead by a sniper outside government headquarters. He too infuriated nationalists by sending former President Slobodan Milosevic to the Hague war crimes tribunal. For years, Djindjic led the Democratic Party, which is now headed by Tadic. Last week a letter containing death threats against the President was sent to Serbia Montenegro’s embassy in Vienna.

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