Beko concedes that the Yugo plant was outdated, and that its destruction by NATO bombs could represent an economic opportunity. If Yugoslavia were eligible for Western credits, a much more efficient factory could rise from the ashes. Before the war, negotiations were underway with Italian automaker Fiat on a joint venture, but those plans have been put on hold indefinitely. At city hall, officials are preparing for an eventual showdown with Milosevic. Right now, however, they do not feel strong enough to urge their supporters to take to the streets in protest demonstrations that could easily be suppressed by the government.
Nothing is likely to happen in the next few weeks.
Discontent will be cumulative. It will burst out into the open for some relatively minor reason, just as we saw in 1996. That was when tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Kragujevac, Belgrade and other cities to protest an attempt at electoral fraud by the Milosevic government. The opposition is pressing for early parliamentary elections, but cannot be sure of winning. An opinion poll published this week showed Milosevic retains the support of a hard core of about 20 percent of the Serbian electorate.