Clock ticks as Serbia's ruling party must agree new PM or trigger election

By Aleksandar Vasovic

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia's ruling coalition began talks to form a new government on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned amid protests and President Aleksandar Vucic floated the possibility of a snap election in April.

Vucevic on Tuesday became the highest-ranking official to step down in the aftermath of a roof collapse at a railway station in the city of Novi Sad in November that killed 15 people and triggered months of demonstrations over alleged poor government oversight.

President Vucic has 30 days to propose a new prime minister designate, or an election will be triggered. On Tuesday he said he would make a decision in around 10 days.

The protests have shaken Vucic, a populist, who held a grip on power since he became prime minister in 2014 and president in 2017.

But the Novi Sad incident has reignited claims that Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) are corrupt, bribe voters, stifle media freedom and maintain ties with organised crime - all charges he and the SNS deny.

It is not clear how he will fare if a snap election is called. In December, the IPSOS Strategic Marketing pollster said the SNS enjoyed the support of 48.3% of the electorate, although popular sentiment against the government has surged since then.

A decision by SNS to appoint an expert government would be its "best hope of de-escalating the crisis", said Andrius Tursa, the Central and Eastern Europe Advisor for the Teneo consultancy, in a report on Tuesday.

"For now, the president appears reluctant to go down this path, which would amount to a major political loss and reduce his leverage over the government."

Opposition parties dismissed the possibility of an early vote and said that an interim government without the SNS would be the best solution.

The protests that triggered the political crisis began in Novi Sad in November but have grown and spread to most of Serbia and the capital Belgrade, where students who are leading the demonstrations blockaded a major intersection this week.

The streets of Belgrade were calm on Wednesday. But the students say they will continue to rally until their demands - which include all those they blame for the station disaster being held criminally responsible and an end to prosecutions of students arrested during the protests - are met.

They say Vucevic's decision can be seen as a proof of popular pressure.

"This only demonstrates social influence that ... protests and blockades could have," said Tijana Knezevic, a student activist.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Edward McAllister and Alex Richardson)