)[6] The Radicals joined a coalition government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (Socijalistička partija Srbije, SPS) and the Yugoslav Left (Jugoslovenska Levica, JUL) in March 1998, and Čolić served as a supporter of the administration.
The first (and only) direct election for the Chamber of Republics took place at the same time; Čolić was not a candidate, and his term in that assembly accordingly came to an end.
Čolić was not the SRS's mayoral candidate in Smederevo for this cycle; he was instead elected to the city assembly when the party's list won twelve out of seventy mandates.
[22][23] The results of this election were inconclusive, and the Radicals subsequently held discussions with the Democratic Party of Serbia (Demokratska stranka Srbije, DSS) and the Socialists about forming a new coalition government.
This ultimately did not happen; the Socialists instead joined a coalition government led by the For a European Serbia (Za evropsku Srbiju, ZES) alliance, and the Radicals once again remained in opposition.
[24] [25] The Radicals experienced a serious split in late 2008, with several members joining the more moderate Serbian Progressive Party under the leadership of Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić.
[27] Serbia's electoral laws were reformed again in 2011, such that all parliamentary mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order.
[28] The SNS formed a new coalition government with the SPS and other parties after the vote, and, for the first time in twelve years, Čolić served as a supporter of the administration.
[29] In December 2012, Čolić hit a twelve-year-old child with his car at a pedestrian crossing and was accused of fleeing the scene.