It's all sorts of things. Serbia passed this year. It cannot go on in the same way, but when will there be a change?
Strategy Vučić's of the flourishing regime was reduced to the slaughter of citizens. That is why the head of the state and the whole Chacilenda he is constantly bidding on the date of the election - maybe in May, and maybe in December or some other month, including Limburg when the monkeys get their hair cut.
There is a "cunning plan" in this dribbling of the public. Under one - Vučić hopes to raise the weakened progressive rating with a "miraculous" economic or political success in a period of stagnation. Second, and much more important for him, is trust in quarrels and cracks within the block of students and rebellious society. Then he would be on his own as he was until recently with the opposition pre-election coalitions.
How does that calculation stand in this situation?
CALIBRATING THE PRESIDENT OF SERBIA
The energy crisis due to American sanctions on NIS exposed Serbia's international position. Vučić's bragging, in which he presents himself as a foreign policy grandmaster, burst like a soap bubble. The stark reality is simple - no one wants to deal with him if they don't have to. They don't trust him at all Brussels and Washington, so too in Moscow. That is why it is perceived as part of the problem, not a solution. In 2026, there will be pictures and meetings with different world leaders, but mostly without real content. The extent to which Vučić was a regional factor is evidenced by the case of Mila Dodik, who completely bypassed him when negotiating with the Americans.
In turn, the President of Serbia led an anti-European policy towards the European Union. I guess he reckons that in this way he will iron out relations with Trump and Putin to some extent, since they don't think anything good of Brussels either. So, in the coming year, Vučić's "sovereignist" and "outlaw" policies of drawing attention to himself can be expected.
On the international level, no one will pay attention to that pounding in the weak chest, but can it bring him something internally? Difficult. The older generations remember the isolation well, and the younger ones have seen the world to fall for that kind of rancid demagoguery from the nineties.
Vučić is not doing better with the economy either. It is difficult to perceive what kind of breakthrough he could achieve in that field. The tragic fall of the canopy in Novi Sad he dealt a blow to the cult of construction. The public now sees her as a symbol of corruption. Where it leads is clear from the forced withdrawal of Jared Kushner - the most famous son-in-law on the planet - from the General Staff affair.
Subsidized businesses from abroad are no better. Vučić is concerned about the future employment of three hundred workers in Niš, while at the same time two thousand people have lost their jobs. In this situation EXPO is similar to a company that throws a party on "I'll come to you" in order to hide bankruptcy.
DUTY COUNSELORS
But what about the student movement, so inclusive and heterogeneous? No coalition in the opposition has survived for so long with such intensity of work. Could the approaching election poison the relationships within these young people? Especially since part of the anti-regime political bazaar calls them out for not disclosing the Student List, its program, lack of coordination with the leaders of the opposition parties, and so on in the same direction.
Complaints addressed to students usually begin with the subject in question's statement that he "doesn't court anyone" and that now that they have "entered politics" they have to swallow double portions of criticism. The youth movement remained immune to these and similar name-callings during this year, and there is no indication that this will not be the case in the future. The reason? There is no leadership that can be corrupted or replaced, none of the activists expects a position in the future government and, thirdly, they managed to expand the base of activity through the assemblies.
But, more than anything, the students are protected by the achieved results. They passed through the people with flags and he was moved to recognize them as his own. All this does not mean that in 2026, students will not be surrounded by various soul-searchers, some of them even well-intentioned. And why not when it is student movement loudly announced the change of political generations in Serbia.
Among the members of the opposition parties, there are certainly many quality people that Serbia needs. Unfortunately, their activity during the long thirteen years did not produce any major results. It is true that the regime demonized and criminalized them as much as it could, but it is also true that they themselves got stuck in the swamp of alienation. The elections in December 2023 were the last chance for the current lineup of opposition champions. They did not take advantage of it due to personal grudges, arrogance and the curse of small differences. Even more devastating is that none of them felt the need to take responsibility for bad judgments and even worse decisions. Passive-aggressive towards students, with no initiatives other than declarative ones and with a lack of fresh blood and ideas, the opposition threatens to continue to deal with itself in 2026. Anything contrary to that is a pure bonus for her and the citizens.
BEGINNING BEGINNING
More and more isolated in Europe, the regime is rapidly sliding into even deeper repression, authoritarianism and the overthrow of the constitutional and legal order. By buying time in an attempt to consolidate, Vučić will alienate more and more social layers from himself, with the exception of "loyalists" and others who live from crime and systemic corruption. It is already now Social Media with satellites an empty shell and that implosion cannot be stopped.
In 2025, the students won in the social field and in 2026 they have a big challenge to verify it on the political level. As the elections get closer, their energies will increase. Until now, they have more or less managed to keep internal disagreements within the framework of the plenum, and it is quite realistic that they will remain there, especially due to the pressure of responsibility that other segments of society were not allowed to assume. If this is not the case, both students and citizens have whitewashed in vain.
In this context, the announcement of the student list and its program will be a very important event. Certainly, it will cause criticism and objections from part of the public, but they will not be of essential importance. Simple - critics mostly operate in closed and self-sufficient circles without much influence on wider public opinion. In addition, the students and their list constitute the only real challenge to the Vučić regime. That's why self-proclaimed purists have a simple choice - they can support status quo or changes. There is no third.
Serbia is from 2025. became unmanageable for the progressive regime. Otherwise, they would not have resorted so much to non-institutional and violent methods. Therefore, regardless of Vučić's announcements and fiddling with dates, 2026 will indeed be an election year. If there is no declaration at the polling stations, no stone will be left unturned from the legal order and civil liberties.
The next year will not be easy - there are many challenges and problems. However, it is also a unique opportunity for a big change for the benefit of the entire nation. It will not be an idyll and the end of history, but the beginning of the normalization of Serbia.
In that name - Happy New Year!
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