[7][8] The Serbian government, led by Milošević's Socialist Party of Serbia (Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS), did not initially recognize the victories of Zajedno is several municipalities, leading to extended protests that lasted into early 1997.
[10][11] Zajedno subsequently broke up in Belgrade, and Milutinović became a vocal critic of DS mayor Zoran Đinđić, accusing him of violating joint accords and campaigning against the SPO.
[13] He ran for re-election to the Belgrade assembly in Stari Grad's second constituency in the 2000 Serbian local elections and was defeated by future mayor Nenad Bogdanović, the candidate of the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (Demokratska opozicija Srbije, DOS).
Slobodan Milošević was defeated by DOS candidate Vojislav Koštunica in the 2000 Yugoslavian presidential election, an event that prompted wide-ranging changes in the governments of Serbia and Yugoslavia.
A transitional Serbian government comprising representatives of the SPS, DOS, and SPO was established in October 2000, and Milutinović was included in the administration as transport minister.
[16] Serbia's election laws were subsequently changed such that the entire country was counted as a single electoral district and all mandates were assigned at the discretion of successful parties and coalitions, irrespective of the numerical order of candidates.
The SPO contested the 2003 Serbian parliamentary election in an alliance with New Serbia (Nova Srbija, NS), and Milutinović appeared on their combined list in the fifty-third position.