The 2007 Eurovision Song Contest winner Marija �erifović has asked her country's president Boris Tadić for protection against the Head of Entertainment of the national broadcaster RTS, Aleksandar Tijanić, after she wasn't invited to the allocation draw of the two semi-finals for this year's contest in Belgrade held on Monday.

The singer claims that the president should talk to Tijanić as he is "his man", ie a supporter of the moderate, left-wing, pro-EU Tadić. She is suing Tijanić for not inviting her.

At a press conference, Marija appeared with members of Tadić's opposition, the right-wing extremists the Serbian Radical Party. She is supporting their candidate Tomislav Nikolić in the ongoing elections, the run-off of which takes place this Sunday. Marija has also performed at the radicals' pre-election campaigns, where badges were worn depicting their leader Vojislav Šešelj, currently imprisoned in the Hague on trial for war crimes.

Serbia's 2004 Eurovision Song Contest runner-up �eljko Joksimović took part in Monday's draw instead of Marija.