Kostunica: Unlikely Crusader
Nothing in the demeanor of Slobodan Milosevic's main challenger reflects the daunting task he has completed: the defeat of one of the world's last autocratic leaders.
Yet President-elect Vojislav Kostunica has done what seemed impossible in the run-up to Sunday's general elections: rekindled hope for the future now that Milosevic has stepped down.
Kostunica's campaign convoy zigzagged Yugoslavia's main republic Serbia, trekking more than 3,000 miles and electrifying crowds at every stop.
When 150,000 people flooded Belgrade's Main Square, gone were the former law professor's monotones. Instead, his clear voice ignited many to chant with passion: "Kostunica, save us from this madhouse!"
"May God help us to have enough courage and enough wisdom to win freedom," he replied.
An unlikely presidential candidate in the turbulent Balkans, where charismatic leaders are idolized, the down-to-earth Kostunica's attraction is hard to define. He is low-key and unassuming. His honesty is probably what warmed the hearts of average citizens outraged by endemic corruption and the regime's record of bloodshed and wars.
The no-frills Kostunica, 56, pursued an academic career until he was kicked out of Belgrade Law School in 1974 for his anti-communist stance.
Active in Serbia's fledgling opposition movement in early 1990s, Kostunica founded his own Democratic Party of Serbia in 1992 and has led it since. He lives with wife Zorica, a fellow law school graduate, in a middle-class Belgrade apartment. The couple have two cats and a dog.
When Milosevic called general elections this summer, an alliance of 18 opposition parties — the Democratic Opposition of Serbia — picked Kostunica to run against Milosevic.
His personal and political consistency and his Serb patriotism endear him to the man on the street.
In a country where NATO bombings last year are still fresh in people's minds, Kostunica has been careful to keep a distance from the West, while cautioning that this nation must "make its peace with Europe and the world."
On Kosovo, he has promised to do his best to stand by the province's Serb minority and work for the return of many of the 200,000 who left out of fear of the Albanian majority.
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