THE METROPOLITAN » MARCH 13, 2008 » A8

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A BIGGER VIEW » End of Days
‘Radical Shift: Fresh
elections in Serbia could
favour the nationalists’
From the Economist Intelligence
Unit ViewsWire, March 11, 2008

Serbia’s prime minister, Vo-

jislav Kostunica, the leader of the
Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS),
on March 8th announced that ir-
reconcilable differences between
the DSS and its pro-EU coalition
partners, the Democratic Party
(DS) and G17 Plus, necessitated an
early election. The leaders of the
other parties quickly agreed with
the assessment. It seems likely
that President Boris Tadic, the DS
leader, will agree to dissolve parlia-
ment, setting the stage for a pre-
term general election in May, most
likely in tandem with municipal
elections scheduled for May 11th.
The government has been
brought down after less than a
year in office by disputes following Written by GEOF WOLLERMAN » gwollerm@mscd.edu
the February 17th declaration of
independence by Kosovo’s Alba- Illustrated by ANDREW HOWERTON » ahowert2@mscd.edu
nian leadership, and recognition of
this by the US and major European

Rocky Mountain low

states. Mr Kostunica has refused
to countenance any deepening
of relations with the EU, unless it
recognises Serbian sovereignty over
Kosovo. President Boris Tadic and
the leaderships of the DS and G17
Plus also insist on Serbian sover-
eignty over Kosovo, but are unwill-
ing to condition deeper EU relations
on the EU acknowledging this.
This would appear to mark the
end of the so-called democratic co-
alition, based around the DS and
DSS, that toppled Yugoslav Presi-
dent Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
The coalition had been under
strain for several years, as the DS
was liberal and pro-EU while the
DSS was conservative and mildly
nationalist, yet it took Kosovo to
trigger a split …
... EU-Serbia ties were in any
case set for a prolonged period of
difficulty as a result of Kosovo’s
independence, as the pro-EU par-
ties in government cannot finesse
the Kosovo question when taking
concrete steps towards accession.
Yet matters could soon get worse:
absent a near-inconceivable rec-
onciliation between Messrs Kostu-
nica and Tadic, the pro-EU parties
won’t have the seats to form a gov-
ernment. The main rationale for
the EU’s recognition of Kosovo, as
set out in policy documents, was to
help stabilise the Western Balkans.
So far, recognition has only created
instability in that neighourhood’s
largest state.
Colorado means different things
to different generations.
Indeed, talking to a baby boomer
or young professional on the subject
gives one the impression that our
state is paradise. For many, the state
offers an intoxicating mixture of
gurgling mountain streams, endless
sunshine, open space, snow-covered
peaks, low unemployment and low
taxes. In short: Colorado offers escape
into life in a beer commercial.
The youth in this state, on the
other hand, don’t seem to be buy-
ing it.
Colorado’s teens are among the
nation’s most depressed, drug abus-
ing and drunk. According to a report
released this week by the Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Colorado teens rank
No. 1 in the nation for depression, No.
4 for alcohol dependence and sixth
for abuse of illegal drugs.
While Colorado’s adults nation-
ally score relatively well in those cat-
egories, Colorado’s youth are feeding
on the bottom.
As to the reasons behind the sad
and sloppy kids, community groups
have been quick to point out that
Colorado is also ranked near last for
mental health funding. We have also
previously ranked last in substance
ANDREW FLOHR-
SPENCE
spencand@mscd.edu
abuse prevention, treatment and re-
search funding, not to mention our
No. 46 ranking in state funding for
education.
As the saying goes, “you get what
you pay for.”
Paradise, it seems, means screw-
ing over your kids to keep the taxes
low.
But then, can we really be sur-
prised about this generation gap?
These people moved here inspired
by the screeching tones of John
Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High,” a
song about a naïve young man try-
ing to escape his life on the road, who
is “born again” in the beauty of the
mountains. Surely, we should expect
no less from anyone who can toler-
ate such auditory waterboarding, but How Colorado rates:
the point is they came to escape the Drugs, drinking and
stress of the East Coast and the West mental health
Coast. They came to escape their by category, age-group
cloudy, drab hometowns. They came and national ranking.
to escape their parents and families.
They came for peace and quiet, to get At least one major depressive
away from it all for as cheap as they episode in the last year, 12-17,
could find it. 1st.
They, at least, chose to come and
settle in Colorado. Marijuana use in the past month,
The children who grow up here, 12-17, 7th.
however, did not make that choice.
And anyone who grew up here Cocaine use in the past month
knows, Colorado is perhaps the most 12-17, 6th.
boring place on earth for kids. Unless
you are into dressing up in a Speedo Alcohol dependency or abuse,
and mountain biking with yuppies, 12-17, 6th.
the only thing to do here is get loaded,
stoned or kill yourself. Illegal drug dependency or abuse,
The taxpayer refuses to pay for 12-17 6th.
anything more. And since they were
raised by escapists, is it any wonder Smoking
the children turn to escapism?
Somebody needs to tell the par- 11percent of 12 to 17-year-olds
ents, when they wake up from their smoked cigarettes in the past
hippie party, that unless they make month.
an investment in their children’s fu-
ture – yes, this means paying some 40 percent of 18 to 25-year-olds
taxes in return for services – the kids smoked cigarettes in the past
ain’t gonna be all right. month.
For the youth, it seems, living in a
beer commercial sucks.