The early election of the Serbian parliament is not about President Vucic. But he was the dominant person in the election campaign. The president is increasingly tailoring Serbia to his own interests.
Aleksandar Vucic is in campaign mode. He can be seen constantly on television, on social media, in the newspapers. Instead of his Serbian Progressive Party, the ballot papers in the parliamentary election say “List Aleksandar Vucic – Serbia must not stand still”.
Although Vucic is of course not officially up for election as president. So it’s no wonder that many citizens believe that there won’t be a parliamentary election this Sunday.
“An atmosphere like a referendum”
According to the non-governmental organization CRTA, one in four citizens in Serbia believes that presidential elections will take place on Sunday. And another 60 percent believe that Vucic is the top candidate for the parliamentary election. The Serbian Progressive Party has not yet officially communicated who it would appoint as prime minister if it won the election.
“It’s an atmosphere like a referendum,” says CRTA director Rasa Nedeljkov, summing up the mood before the election. Either you are for Vucic or against him.
Gradual cementing of power
Vucic has been politically active since the 1990s. At times he was part of the government under Slobodan Milosevic, who was later accused of war crimes.
Vucic later founded the Serbian Progressive Party and purified himself of nationalism and radical views. He became Prime Minister in 2014 and President in 2017.
And for several years now he has been increasingly tailoring Serbia to his own interests, observes Vedran Dzihic from the Austrian Institute for International Politics.
Vucic always had the urge for power. “He then saw relatively quickly that there was a lot of freedom in Serbian politics and that he could expand his power.”
He gradually restricted the freedom of the media, colored the institutions and cemented the power of the Serbian Progressive Party. “From the small communities, the cities to the state and the government.”
Frustrated opposition
Vucic now equates himself with the state. Anyone who is against him is against Serbia. In terms of foreign policy, he represents a seesaw policy – between the EU, China and Russia.
For example, Serbia is the only EU candidate country that does not support the European sanctions against Russia. In Brussels, Vucic regularly promises progress in the dialogue with Kosovo, which seceded from Serbia in 2008. In order to immediately wipe away any domestic commitments.
The opposition, which has little to counter Vucic’s media power, is frustrated that the EU is not applying more pressure. “We don’t see anything bad happening to Vucic and his regime if they are unconstructive in dialogue or refuse to coordinate our foreign policy with the European Union,” complains Borko Stefanovic from the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP). “Nobody questions his methods. The only thing people in Serbia hear are hymns of praise for him.”
Stability at all costs
Political scientist Dzihic does not believe that the European line is based on ignorance – but that the EU knows exactly who it is supporting in Belgrade.
However, the EU has not yet intervened for fear of Serbia turning towards Russia. Their course is a “stabilocratic one,” said Dzihic.
So stability at all costs. The EU pumped money into Serbia for this – and thus compromised democracy. Because the critical, democratic forces have definitely been taken out of their sails. “But the dilemma is that this greater stability has not returned.”
Kosovo, for example, only recently avoided another war. So far, there are no signs that Brussels is changing course towards Vucic.
Silke Hahne, ARD Vienna, tagesschau, December 15, 2023 3:42 p.m