Balkan hope; West should signal approval of Serbian shift.

COLUMN: IN OUR OPINION

The recent parliamentary elections in Serbia were won by the pro-Western party of Boris Tadic, who scored a surprising win over three rival parties whose agendas are driven in large measure by nationalism and resentment over the recent independence declaration by Kosovo. If Mr. Tadic can put together a coalition government, the odds of Serbia being welcomed into the European Union and moving beyond the bloody wars of the 1990s will improve considerably.

That may prove to be difficult. Mr. Tadic's first try failed, and now his rivals, some closely linked to former strongman Slobodan Milosevic, declare they will form a government of their own.

Kosovo is a political flash point because Serbs consider it the cradle of their Orthodox religious faith and an integral part of their nation. The fate of that region, long dominated by ethnic Albanians, must be settled at the bargaining table. Serbs, Kosovars and their major-power allies cannot afford a return to the virulent nationalism that fueled the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s, resulting in more than 140,000 deaths and billions of dollars in property damage in the heart of modern Europe.

Mr. Tadic aptly termed the proposed nationalist-socialist coalition "a short trip on the Titanic." Europe, and the U.S., can help by sending clear signals that a Western-leaning Serbia will be welcomed as an economic and cultural partner, while a Serbia that dwells in the past will only continue to stand in its own way.