His White Eagle paramilitary forces were especially notorious in the war in Croatia

His White Eagle paramilitary forces were especially notorious in the war in Croatia.After the elections of 1997, his party joined a coalition with Mr Milosevic's ruling Socialists - it suited Mr Milosevic to have him inside rather than outside the tent Now, however, he has distanced himself once more. Serbian official media try to present what has happened in Kosovo as a victory; Mr Seselj more plausibly depicts it as a defeat. He can thus portray himself as the man who would lead Serbia out of its darkness and back into the light.If you ask Serbs which politician they support in place of Mr Milosevic, they tend to respond with a weary shrug. None-of-the-above is the most popular politician in the country. But it is remarkable how many people - embittered by everything that has gone so wrong in the past weeks, months and years - are ready to give favourable consideration to Mr Seselj.If any opponents of the Nato bombing need the ultimate proof that their criticism was justified, this could be it. To move from President Milosevic to President Seselj would almost certainly create even greater problems than Serbia already faces.

But Serbs do not necessarily see it that way; Mr Seselj is tough and proud. It is difficult to imagine Western leaders feeling nostalgic for the era of Mr Milosevic. But it just might come to that.THE CONTENDERSVuk Draskovic, the best known opposition leader, is known above all for his changing views. He is currently opposed to Slobodan Milosevic, whose government he served in until recently. He is firmly convinced of his God-given right to lead.Vojislav Seselj, leader of the far-right Serb Radical Party, was Draskovic's best man - then became his worst enemy He is currently half-in and half- out of the gov- ernment He is not technically part of the opposition. But if he decides to turn against Milosevic, his blows could be deadly.Zoran Djindjic is leader of the opposition Democratic Party. He studied in Germany, and has the reputation of being most intellectual of all the opposition leaders.

In the winter of 1996-97, he and Draskovic were officially close. They were two of the leaders of the Zajedno ("Together") coalition The name could hardly have been more misleading. Both men did their best to elbow the other out of the picture.Vuk Obradovic is a former army general who resigned at the beginning of the Yugoslav wars. Despite, or because of, his military background, he is the only one of the four who has never supported Serb nationalist forces He does not currently enjoy mass support. But he is trusted more than Djindjic and Draskovic, both of whom are seen - not without reason - as slippery.. I am back in Pakistan after an interlude of five months.