The secret was revealed, seven seals were broken - Miloš Vučević is the mandate holder, which means the future prime minister. Aleksandar Vučić announced the appointment on his Instagram account under the name "Future of Serbia". Doesn't both sound a bit much scary – what would the children say?
Vucevic has realized his dream, he will be the first among the irrelevant. If what the Novi Sad bazaar has been saying for years is true, he will certainly not interfere in his work, but Andrej Vučić will do as he pleases. Serbia thus enters a new type of cohabitation - one brother is a child sworn president, second prime minister But, as before, it is known who is older and whose is the last. Possible fraternal quarrels will not go further than a slight poke during family lunch.
The government of Miloš Vučević will live only on paper, just like the past three of Ana Brnabić. This means that her main task is the tireless glorification of Vučić, the demonization of the opposition and the few remaining professional and independent media, and the regular visits of ministers and prime ministers to Sarapa and Jovana Jeremić... In addition to a few secretarial and activities that every manager has in a public company, this it is their scope of work, that's why they became ministers. The real work is done in the presidential cabinet anyway, which is why the porter from Andrić's venc is more influential than the state secretary from Nemanjina 11.
Vučević comes to the position of Prime Minister from the position of Minister of Defense. If it weren't for Vulina, he would be a rare example of a politician in Serbia who, even after holding that position, cannot boast of a jump in ratings. He further deepened and improved the inherited devastation - if he sings to the ears of those who are plugged with their index fingers about the memorial weapons from the storage of the Serbian Army in the hands of Milan Radoičić's group in Banjska, Vučević at least imprisoned Novica Antić and broke the Military Union. Vulin didn't do the latter either, maybe it was bad for him too.
And if anyone expects that the election of the mandate will indicate possible changes in Serbian politics, they are seriously mistaken. Even if Marko Đurić as an "American man" was in Vučević's place, it would not represent anything. All of them are exclusively Vučić's people, otherwise they would not exist in political life. By the way, the head of state must have been giddy with joy watching his potential prime ministers bite each other and trip over each other for months.
When he becomes the first among the unimportant, Vucevic's power will not increase significantly. Maybe he will get a little stronger in relation to the "enemies" from the party, but nothing more than that. The campaign from the December elections also shows how important he is as president of the Serbian Progressive Party. He usually spoke first at rallies, a place reserved for the least important speaker. That is all that is worth saying about the representative Miloš Vučević.
And while the text in front of you is being created, negotiations between the opposition and the government are ongoing. As far as is known for now, things are like this: the opposition's request for the formation of a commission in charge of controlling voter lists is possible, but so that it does not have any executive powers; there may be a change in the treatment of the opposition on the public service, but only after a joint agreement with its leadership. However, unification of Belgrade and local elections cannot. Why? For "legal reasons".
Look, look at the progressive legitimists... Municipal presidents and mayors in 65 towns and cities from the SNS can resign their own government in order to go to the elections at the same time as the Belgrade and parliamentary elections, and now, there is no legal space for reunification. Of course, this is not correct and it is clear on what basis the government entered into the negotiations.
But why are local and Belgrade elections on the same day bothering the progressives, especially since for the past twelve years they have been world champions in linking all imaginable votes? According to one school of thought, the reason is that it would make it difficult for them to migrate seasonally. Belgrade would also be somehow covered, but then Niš, Novi Sad and, probably, Čačak become a problem. Even the progressive commissioners are not able to cover everything in one day.
The opposite school of thought insists that it is a government tactic. It is no secret that the opposition, with its small capacities, can hardly cope with two election cycles in a very short time. And if the SNS wins in the capital - which it is counting on - it will demotivate opponents both in other areas and in Belgrade's municipalities. It is precisely for this reason that the progressives insist on splitting the elections.
Both of these attitudes drink water. But when it comes to negotiations, the last word has not yet been said. It is also possible that Vučić's phone rings with a Belgian area code on the display, and he changes his mind and accepts the demands of the opposition, as he recently gave up on the Belgrade elections even though he previously scheduled them for April 28. Then again, maybe he'll be the first to call, offer something related to Kosovo, the Republika Srpska or the war in Ukraine and that the situation on home soil remains unchanged.
What should the opposition do in this situation?
She has two options, both bad. The first is – at least as things are currently set up – going to the polls under the same conditions as the previous ones. Many believe that such a thing would demoralize and passivate a good part of opposition voters. Because what should a man hope for in a game that has already been lost? In addition, it would further intensify the smell of defeat that has accompanied the opposition for more than a decade.
The second option is even worse. The passive boycott of 2020 passed without visible and measurable results - the number of opposition van parties did not decrease, nor did the election conditions improve.
And how is the matter with the active boycott? One would say - not very well. The opposition has no committees in a large part of Serbia, the public and supporters are not mobilized, citizens are tired of constant protest gatherings, and the big question is how the European Union would react to that boycott. And further – if the mandates taken in the National, Provincial and 65 Local Assemblies on December 17, 2023 were not rejected despite allegations of electoral theft, why should a boycott be declared now? Could citizens and opposition activists in Novi Sad, Niš and other areas understand and accept something like that?
Because of all this and a few other things, auctions with a boycott act on Vučić and his family like scaring a bear with a screen. They brag that they lead in Belgrade by ten percentage points. If the opposition misses these and local elections, that's the joy of the progressives - they don't go to the polls because they know they will get fewer votes than on December 17, the people won't like them and the like. But even in the part of public opinion critical of the government, playing with the boycott is increasingly seen as an attempt to avoid responsibility for another electoral defeat, who knows which one in a row.
Is there any way out for the opposition? She had no choice but to tirelessly advocate for acceptable election conditions and at the same time start a well-thought-out and energetic campaign, not even similar to the previous one. This is the only way they can convince the citizens that they will do their best, and if they succeed, they will expand the number of supporters and animate them in preventing the theft of the popular will. This is important before the election, on the voting day itself and especially - after it.
The honorable defeat is forgiven by the citizens. Cheap calculations, overwork, laziness and cowardice - never.
