(For this election cycle, one-third of mandates were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order while the other two-thirds were distributed at the discretion of sponsoring parties or coalitions.
)[7] The DS formed an unstable coalition government after the election with the rival Democratic Party of Serbia (Demokratska stranka Srbije, DSS) and G17 Plus, and Simonović served as a supporter of the administration.
The DS–DSS alliance broke down in early 2008, and the DS contested that year's parliamentary election at the head of the For a European Serbia coalition.
The list won eighteen seats, finishing in a virtual tie with that of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (Srpska radikalna stranka, SRS).
[12] He welcomed a private-public partnership between Philip Morris International Inc. and the Serbian non-profit Economic Expert Community Association in the same period, to aid unemployed residents of Niš in starting their own small businesses.
[14] In January 2009, Simonović argued that Niš and south Serbia generally had received inadequate compensation for the privatization of Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS).
[15] This notwithstanding, he signed a strategic document with NIS the following year, committing the company to a policy of corporate social responsibility in supporting the city's efforts to provide a higher quality of living to its residents.
[16] Simonović signed an agreement with the mayors of Sofia, Bulgaria, and Skopje, Republic of Macedonia in March 2010 for joint activity in the Euroregion EuroBalkans regional association.
[18] Serbia's electoral system was reformed in 2011, such that all mandates in elections held under proportional representation were awarded to candidates on successful lists in numerical order.
[19][20] The Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) won a plurality victory in the election and formed a new administration with the SPS and the United Regions of Serbia (Ujedinjeni regioni Srbije, URS).