Newly elected President of the Republic of Srpska, Ms. Zeljka Cvijanovic in an interview with 'Vecernje novosti'.

- I shall follow up on Mr. Dodik's policy. It would be an honor if President Vucic comes to the inauguration.

My political goal is preservation of a strong and stable Republic of Srpska. My first move as the President of the Republic of Srpska after the government formation would be to organize a coordination meeting that would clearly define our future activities and the way of communication among representatives of the Republic of Srpska with our representatives at BiH level of government. I expect all to respect the agreement. In this way we would strengthen the position of the Republic of Srpska and all politicians from the Republic of Srpska shall have clear responsibilities. BiH should not be the bottleneck for bright, constructive ideas from the Republic of Srpska.

In an interview with Novosti, the newly elected President of the Republic of Srpska Zeljka Cvijanovic says she is particularly proud of the great support she received from women.

- It is not encouraging to see that the number of women elected to the National Assembly of Republic of Srpska National Assembly is fewer than before. On the other hand, even though the voters choose male candidates by inertia, it is important that women are visible in politics.

-Will you succeed in achieving the unity of Serbs at the level of BiH?

- In the last four years unfortunately, there was no Serbian unity at BiH level. I am especially dissatisfied with the fact that people who represented the Republic of Srpska at BiH were only fighting against SNSD and to do so were ready to act against the interests of the Republic of Srpska. The election results are the punishment for pursuing such a policy. It should not be repeated ever more. The Republic of Srpska will be defended in Sarajevo and once that pressure is out of the way, we can focus on the development. The unity in Sarajevo does not depend on SNSD but on the opposition, i.e. SDS. I am not too optimistic but I want to believe in the Serbian unity. We need people in Sarajevo who want to listen what the Republic of Srpska has to say. The decision is on the people who run SDS and whether they support or support not such a concept. 

As a successor of President Dodik, do you feel extra pressure?

- The relationship built between President Dodik and myself in the past two decades helps me a lot. Of course, I am grateful to President Dodik for the trust given. I learned a lot from Mr. Dodik with regard to the importance of preserving institutions and getting together around the interests of the Republic. My mission is to continue to keep the institutions together that are clearly focused on the interests of the Republic of Srpska. What President Dodik did during his presidential mandate can only be the good basis for my future work as a President. I have no fear and feel no pressure to perform this function. It can only be an advantage to succeed Mr. Dodik in the position of a President because we make a good team that would continue.

-Does the day pass that you do not hear from Mr. Dodik?

- No way! We talk to each other even when there is no special occasion or event, just to see what is happening (laughter). I must say that we talk about all possible subjects and it would be very unusual for me to spend the day without talking to him.

Will the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic come to your inauguration?

- I would be honored if he shall come. Of course, since no date has been fixed yet, we cannot confirm any attendance but we expect the arrival of officials of Serbia. I am looking forward to cooperating with Serbia. In the most recent period while Aleksandar Vucic was the Prime Minister and now the President, the cooperation between the Republic of Srpska and Serbia has become more tangible and visible on the ground. The concern that Serbia shows toward the Republic of Srpska means a lot to our people. When you go to parts of Republic of Srpska where Serbia finances certain projects, you clearly see how much it means to ordinary people that Serbia helps. I have to go back to a situation when we needed help and Serbia immediately got involved. The speed and readiness to help means a lot. Our relationship with Serbia is not directed against anyone in BiH and that must be clear. I regret that in BiH there are those who want to question the ties between Serbia and Republic of Srpska and do not see that the whole BiH could have benefits from cooperation with Serbia.

What would be your first official visit as the President of the Republic of Srpska?

- Logically and quite naturally it would be Serbia.

Can the Republic of Srpska benefit and seize the momentum of great economic progress in Serbia to bring the investors here?

- We must try to use this wave of investors coming to Serbia and, generally speaking, further strengthen economic cooperation with Serbia. Although it is complicated for those investors, because they see it as coming to BiH and the information they have are often untrue or campaigned in a negative way against us in the Republic of Srpska. With such imposed political stereotypes, few people know about the true potentials or business opportunities.

The issue of Kosovo and Metohija is inevitable subject. Serbia is fighting a major political battle.

- The Republic of Srpska follows the position of Serbia on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija and this is a sacred thing for us.

Your successor is also known, it will be Mr. Radovan Viskovic.

- Mr. Radovan Viskovic, as one of the Vice-Presidents of SNSD and the head of the SNSD caucus in the National Assembly is well known to our public. He is someone I have had excellent cooperation with and knows the teamwork well. Apart from politics, he is in business management for a long time and as the RS NA deputy is well acquainted with our political agenda so it would certainly facilitate our work as well as our concept of getting all institutions together in pursue of the interests of the Republic of Srpska.

After the elections, Mr. Dodik said that there were some 'tricky fellows' in the ruling coalition that did not act according to the agreement?

- If the trust has been granted to some partner and that partner is a part of the coalition, then it has to be respected in reality, on the ground. I cannot see anything spectacular about the statement referring to 'fellows'. The SNSD-DNS-SP Coalition and now United Srpska is stable and will be the backbone of our future policy. You have people who turned out to be tricky during the elections, but you also have those who are crooked. With the former it is possible, but with crooked it is very difficult. There are people like that in all parties and it is time to draw the line. The analysis we are working on will further "clarify" things.

The government authorities in Republic of Srpska could lose its opposition if the process of losing membership continues, primarily from the SDS.

- I think that Srpska would not lose opposition, but it is clear that many have realized that it is wrong to have the opposition which activities equal the outbursts of hatred without concrete political action. Being a creative opposition is one thing but crossing the boundaries of good taste and using BiH institutions of BiH to deal with RS institutions is another thing.

Did you at any moment doubt the election outcome during the campaign?

- First, I did not have time to think about winning or losing and especially if it would be negative. We had a clear plan of action and work in the field, and I followed it. I believed that we would win at all levels of government and I was not get it wrong. I relied on the results of the  Government and the clear political position of the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats.

Are you going to change your team of advisors now that you are moving to the Presidential Palace?

- It's been the same team for years and I will not change it. I am used to them and they are used to me. I always try to give a chance to young people to join and so will be this time. Here, I watch my team these days and I can notice that after 11 or 12 years of working together, it's no longer a young team (laughter).

Can we expect you to attend some Government sessions in future?

- Of course, but when it's procedural, or when dealing with strategic issues to be discussed. During my term we used to call the President of the Republic and the Speaker of the National Assembly to attend when it was relevant to make certain decisions or establish important positions and I think that such a practice would continue.

How does your family look at your new function?

- They are proud, of course. In some operational sense, we are already an established team and there will be no change in our functioning.

President Dodik will take an oath in the National Assembly to become the Serb Member of the BiH Presidency?

- It is very important that the people who are elected in the Republic of Srpska and who would represent it take an oath in the National Assembly of the Republic of Srpska. In this way, they show their attitude toward the institutions of the Republic of Srpska.