Any bets that this will lead to a breakthrough?

source: http://www.news24.com/World/News/Leader ... s-20110926

Leaders meet over Bosnia crisis

Sarajevo - Bosnia's political leaders were to meet on Monday in a bid to resolve the most serious post-war crisis in the country that still has no government almost a year after general elections.

After several failed attempts to form a central government in the country divided along ethnic lines into two entities - the Serbs' Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation - the heads of the six main political parties re-launched a dialogue earlier this month.

After their meeting on September 15, the leaders said they had "brought closer" their "principles" regarding key reforms that a central government must carry out for Bosnia to be allowed into the EU.

Sarajevo aspires to file a request for EU candidate status by the end of the year, but inter-ethnic disputes have prevented political leaders from agreeing on the creation of a new central government.

Since the end of its 1992 - 1995 war, Bosnia has consisted of two entities each with their own government - the Muslim-Croat Federation and the Serb-run Republika Srpska. They are linked by weak central institutions, including a central government tasked with implementing the EU-sought reforms.

"I don't want to say that I'm an optimist or a pessimist. I'll go to the meeting and I will discuss" outstanding issues, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik said ahead of the gathering in the northern town of Brcko.

Dodik mooted the possibility of holding separate talks on a government and on Brussels-sought reforms.

"I want to believe that in Brcko we will reach a deal...," Muslim leader Sulejman Tihic said.

Bosnia's general elections were held on October 3 2010, while implementation of EU-required reforms is blocked practically since 2006.

It seems like there is some breakthrough according to the HDZ BiH website. In ZSB, the two HDZ will get 4 ministries and also president of the assembly (I assume that is being the speaker?), the SDP will get 3 ministries while the SDA will get the prime minister position and also one other ministry. So including the PM, there will be 9 ministers.

My question is: Are the ministers chosen from the members elected to the assembly in last year's election? And if so do they have to resign as members and are replaced in the assembly? Because it seems that the state Council of Ministers will end up being people that do not have to continue being parliamentarians. For example, Borjana Kristo could become the Chair, and an MP could take her place in the House of Peoples and then another candidate could take the MPs vacant place.

And if 9 out of the 30 ZSB elected members are ministers, then wouldn't they be too busy to always be in the county legislature for debate etc.?

If someone could fill me in on this that would be great thanks.

Also, besides Kristo for the Chair, which other state ministries would you want the HDZ and HDZ 1990 to have?

And on another topic, why are so few women candidates elected? With the PR open lists, women do not get as many votes even when they are highly ranked. (county and municipal elections)

gnr25: According to what I read HDZ has to appoint a Serb to one of its ministry positions and SDP has to appoint a Croat. I honestly don't know who will be appointed to those positions or if they will use the lists from last year's elections to determine who takes those positions. I tried looking around and I didn't see any names for people slated to take those spots.