The initial shock caused by Kosovo's February 17 2008 declaration of independence has faded away, but Serbia's government is in the middle of a new political crisis, Dnevnik daily reported on March 5.

The secession of the province has prompted Serbian prime minister Vojislav Koštunica and his Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) to call for tearing any diplomatic relations with the West, but they are opposed by Serbian president Boris Tadić and other parties in the ruling coalition - Tadić's Democratic Party (DS) and G17 Plus.

The tension between the two camps reached its highest point on March 4, when Koštunica said he would table a motion in parliament, asking the EU to either recognise Serbia's territorial integrity or stop negotiating with Belgrade. A day later, the speaker of the Serbian parliament, Oliver Dulić, who comes from Tadić's DS party, adjourned the parliament session saying that such a motion could not be adopted without the cabinet first making it position known.

Earlier in the day, Dulić said that since the prime minister and the president did not see eye to eye on the issue, a referendum on the future of Serbia should be carried out, Dnevnik daily reported. The Koštunica camp hit back saying that referendum should be on whether the Serbian citizens wanted Serbia to join the EU with or without Kosovo.

The heightened tension in Belgrade have prompted local analysts to start talking about the break-up of the ruling coalition and snap polls, Dnevnik daily said.