A parliamentary committee on Friday rejected a proposal that Serbia's respected central bank governor should keep his job, raising the prospect that he could be forced to step down 1-1/2 years before his term ends.
The committee voted by seven to six that Jelasic should go, a surprise result as Radovan Jelasic was thought to have the support of all parties in the coalition government.
The reason for the vote lies in an obscure legal provision borne out of political haggling. Serbia's new constitutional law, passed last year, required the appointment of a new governor after a January 21 election.
The provision, seen as part of bargaining over key posts, was criticised for overruling a previous law giving governors a five-year term as protection from the meddling of governments.
The issue was quietly sidelined after the election as parties bargained for a coalition, finally agreed in mid-May. During the months of uncertainty, the central bank was praised as a pillar of stability for Serbia's nascent financial markets.
Friday's vote was expected to be a routine affair, and the upset pointed to possible rifts within the new government. The news sent the dinar currency half a percent down for about an hour. It later rebounded to trade at 81.69/81.89 to the euro in the interbank market by 1212 GMT.
"If the governor is elected for a five-year term, he should be given a chance to complete the term," Jelasic told reporters on the sidelines of a banking forum.
"If they were to discuss my work, I believe not only could I stay till the end of this term but even get the second term."