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this would be a much tougher nut to crack
than Afghanistan."
Taking no chances, the Yugoslav government ordered a low-level military alert. Reservists and doctors were told to stay near home and be ready for a quick call-up. The League of Communists—the official name of Yugoslavia's Communist Party—held a special Central Committee session early in the week, and then began a series of local meetings to brief citizens on Tito's health and to emphasize the state's readiness to deal with "any emergency." All government vacations were canceled, and foreign embassies in Belgrade were informed that Yugoslav officials would not be attending diplomatic receptions. Said one government official: "It's not the time for fun, but to be ready."
Tito's illness focused renewed attention on Yugoslavia's succession problem. In 1974, hoping to prevent any one of his country's major ethnic groups from dominating the others, Tito set up a cumbersome body known as the party presidency. It consists of a representative from each of the country's six Republics and two Autonomous Provinces, plus Tito himself. During his life, he remains party chairman. After his death, the eight regional representatives will serve one-year terms as leader of the party. A similar rotation system was set up for the less important state presidency.
If Tito were to die in the near future, or prove unable to carry out his duties because of ill health, his successor as titular party boss would be Stevan Doronjski, 60, a Serb, whose term in the rotation expires in May. The state presidency would be headed by Lazar Kolisevski, 65, a Macedonian. Since Tito over the years has systematically purged the leadership whenever he detected opposition to his policies, Western experts assume that Doronjski, Kolisevski and the rest of the party leadership are Tito loyalist who would resist any Soviet blandishments. This does not preclude the presence of a Soviet "mole," lurking within the party and waiting to stir up trouble when Tito dies.
Experts believe there is a high probability of a power struggle that could lead to one individual replacing the collective leadership. Given the deterioration of East-West detente and Yugoslavia's precarious position between the two camps, it is doubtful that many of its citizens are in a hurry to learn who Tito successor will be. Last week President Carter cabled Tito: "My thoughts and my prayers are with you at this moment." It was undoubtedly a sentiment that most Yugoslavs shared.