The ghost of Slobodan Milosevic continues to haunt Serbia, long after he precipitated the collapse of Yugoslavia by espousing Serbian nationalism and ended his life while on trial in The Hague for war crimes.

His Socialist party may be reduced to a pale shadow of its former dominance, but after last Sunday’s parliamentary election it holds the balance of power between hardline nationalists and pro-European Union moderates. Which way the party jumps is likely to determine whether Serbia embraces a future in the EU, or seeks succour from distant Mother Russia.