In a state that is an international pariah, crippled by hyperinflation, joblessness, war costs and political chaos, the government might seem doomed to lose an election.
Not in Serbia.Almost nobody doubts that the Socialist Party, the renamed Communists who still monopolize power, will win the biggest share of seats in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Some independent polls have indicated that the Socialists may lose some of their seats, which could leave the new parliament even more fractious than the one that President Slobodan Milosevic dissolved in October and further cloud prospects for peace in former Yugoslav republics.
But polling in Yugoslavia is inexact and the situation is volatile.
About 7 million people are registered to vote to fill 250 seats in parliament. More than 80 parties are running, but most are fringe groups with little chance of success.
The larger opposition parties appear too fractured and befuddled to exploit the Socialists' weaknesses, which are legion: monthly inflation of 30,000 percent, two-thirds of the work force idle, shortages of everything except rhetoric.
Milosevic, who is not up for re-election, retains a strong grip on state-run media and vast presidential powers that make him virtually unassailable. But opponents cling to their hopes.
"If you want to have a future, then you have to force Socialists into the past," Vuk Draskovic, leader of the main opposition coalition, thundered at a recent campaign rally. "Dec. 19 must be their last day if Serbia is to have any more days."
He promised to stop warfare in the former Yugoslav republics of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia.