Serbian Ministers Prefer Greek Holidays

Greece remains the top summer destination for Serbian ministers, while some opt for Montenegro and one is is not going anywhere.

Bojana Barlovac

Belgrade

Santorini, Greece

Strikes in Greece have not prevented most of Serbian ministers from packing suitcases in order to spend another holiday in their favourite destination, Greece.

Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and his wife are to travel to the Chalkidiki peninsula in Greece in the first week of August.

Snezana Samardzic-Markovic, Minister of Youth and Sports, will spend her vacation on the Greek Island of Corfu. Milan Markovic, Public Administration and Local Self-Government, and Verica Kalanovic, Deputy Prime Minister, also plan trips to Greece.

Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac and Minister of Economy and Regional Development Nebojsa Ciric have already spent their summer holiday with their families at beaches near Athens.

On the other hand, two ministers have chosen vacations in neighbouring Montenegro - Oliver Dulic, Minister for Environment and Spatial Planning, and Kosovo Minister Goran Bogdanovic.

Ivica Dacic, Interior Minister, is likely to get some rest in Serbia's own countryside, while Jovan Krkobabic, Deputy Prime Minister, will most likely go to the northern Serbian town of Kacarevo.

Srdjan Sreckovic, Minister for Diaspora and Religion, has already spent ten days in Turkey with his family.

Milutin Mrkonjic, Minister of Infrastructure, is the only minister who is too busy to go anywhere. He has announced he is spending the summer in working mode.

No one seems to be going to Croatia, in spite of billboards reminding Serbs that Croatia is "So beautiful and so close".

Last year, some ministers, including Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic, were vocal in saying they would never choose Croatia as their summer destination. "Neither this or the next or any other year will the Croatian coast see me," he told reporters last year.

Serbian ministers on holidays abroad cannot use their official mobile phones for private calls. Their bills, which are paid by the state, are limited to 5,000 dinars (about €50) and have no roaming option.