The policies of the new US president are a version of destructive and authoritarian national capitalism - even with elements of racism - that reaches out to those dissatisfied with the so-called liberal hegemony and the power structures that sustain it. Therefore, it is not difficult to determine where such political enthusiasm in Serbia comes from when it comes to Trump. Serbs like to think of themselves as a collective victim of the same system, or at least the government in Serbia tries to project such an image to the electorate.
Cognitive scientists and psychologists have devised many tests and gathered much evidence to show that the human brain very often sees what it wants to see, what it is used to seeing, or what fits into previously adopted interpretive schemes. In vain you will explain to most people that you should not make sudden movements when encountering a snake, because it is a normal reaction to danger; The name of the football referee Sorensen who badly damaged us in the game against Spain forty years ago has become a collective symbol of sporting injustice, but few know the name of the referee who disallowed a goal for Portugal just four years ago thanks to which we qualified for the World Cup because it against the deep conviction that judges always judge against us.
There is hardly a more rooted political belief than the attitude that foreign governments and world powers who want to rule the world are working against Serbia, and we justly stand in their way and defiantly do not give in. He is also accompanied by the belief that, when geopolitical conditions change, Serbia will once again be the leader in the neighborhood and show others who is who and who is right.
Fortunately, it seems that one obstacle to the prosperity of Serbia was removed last Tuesday in the elections in SAD, he won Donald tramp. Even if you read Serbian tabloids, listen to analysts on Sputnik and television with national frequencies, or simply read posters and billboards on the street or numerous accounts on social networks, this is a role model and a great Serbian friend, a greater Serb than many Serbs.
THE PEOPLE'S GENIUS
The anonymous Serbian national genius went, as always, a step further and sang a Chetnik/Ustasha song from Dinara to the lyrics "What's going on in Florida / Donald's locks on the head". Serbia got a wind at its back with the re-election of Trump as president of the USA and now others should worry. Even Vučić was immediately heard from. Serbia and America will be great again.
The national genius also made sure to count what Trump would do, just to build a rampart towards Mexico and start dealing with Europe and who should worry about everything. Kosovo will return to its motherland, there will no longer be a border on the Drina, the Croats will burst from suffering, Ratka will return from the war, Montenegro will be removed from NATO, Serbia will return to its sea, let Bosnia say goodbye to the state , and Trump and Putin will become two fraternal emperors. That's why, "Oh, Donald, lick your locks/ Serbia, raise your flags". Although the popular imagination has gone too far, it somewhat, somewhat caricaturally, reflects the Serbian geopolitical fantasy. If you don't believe it, look at the way in which the Declaration on Serbian Unity, adopted by the Serbian Parliament and adopted by the National Assembly, flirts with these topics in much more correct language.
Those who are more moderate have lower expectations, but they certainly perceive the arrival of Trump as a major geopolitical shakeup that will change the world and make life easier for Serbia, if not restore the place it deserves in the world map that follows. In addition, the president and the government made an effort to give it a material component. After several unsuccessful and expensive bets on the results of the American elections, this time the Serbian president did not publicly cheer or give donations, but he gave Trump's son-in-law the expensive location of the General Staff building in the center of Belgrade and it is not known what else in order to increase the real estate account of the Trump family.
It is not difficult to confront this fantasy with reality and show how out of touch it is with reality. Trumpism is a well-described phenomenon in literature, who has time to read about it. He is the opposite of what most of his supporters stand for. It is one version of destructive and authoritarian national capitalism, even with elements of racism, that extends its wings to those dissatisfied with the so-called liberal hegemony and the power structures that sustain it. It is less important what he is fighting for than who he is fighting against. That is why the Latinos whom he insults and whose compatriots he wants to deport can vote for him, as well as the women whose right to abortion is revoked and the LGBT population, whom he would once again hide in privacy. All of them are not fighting for Trump, but against a system that puts them in an irreparable position, and which embellishes their position with the story of rights. This is an illusion sold by Trump, but not only by him, but also by many of his colleagues in Europe and around the world. No one is blind to see the crowd of obscenely rich and arrogant people he is gathering, who will do everything to make themselves even richer and more arrogant, but they are on the same side as all the victims of the existing system.
Therefore, it is not difficult to determine where such political enthusiasm in Serbia comes from when it comes to Trump. Serbs like to think of themselves as a collective victim of that same system, or at least the government in Serbia tries to project such an image to the electorate. The real question is what Trumpism interpreted and celebrated in this way will mean for Serbia.
First, briefly about the content of these expectations. Few of those who promote Trumpism seriously believe that any significant changes will occur in the foreseeable future. This is not announced by Trump himself. It is difficult to imagine that there will be a change in any of the American policies concerning Serbia in the foreseeable future. This did not happen in the last mandate either, except, let's remember, towards the end of the mandate when he carried out the cowboy act of bringing the Serbian president and the then prime minister of Kosovo to sign the Washington Agreement in order to show that he is the one who can solve difficult historical problems better than kilavas. European bureaucrats. Little is left of that agreement, Israel and Kosovo recognized each other, the office of the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) was opened in Belgrade with great fanfare, about which we did not hear much later, the Open Balkans project was launched, which has died today, which was supposed to be a counterpart to the Berlin process, and envoy Grenell had a good time in Belgrade night clubs with the Serbian finance minister, where he continued to do private business. The exchange of territories of Serbia and Kosovo in exchange for mutual recognition was also negotiated, but this is hardly the dream of an anonymous Serbian poet about the solution of the Kosovo issue.
PRODUCTION OF AN ALWAYS NEW ILLUSION
Other issues from the poet's agenda, if we exclude relations with Russia, were almost not addressed by Trump. Trump's position with regard to the issues on the agenda can hardly be called friendlier to Serbia in any way, if one does not count his disinclination towards interventions, at least where it does not pay off for him and the USA. No one can be sure whether, if there is an interest, he will intervene, what will actually happen and in which direction the situation will develop, especially considering the presence and influence of Elon Musk. It is true that many politicians and analysts in Kosovo are worried about the results of the American elections, but it is more about the slowing down of the existing process and the possible return of the topic of territory exchange to the table, than they are worried about really representing the Serbian side. And really, it's hard to say who would benefit and what results such interference and attempts to solve difficult problems would have.
What is probably true is that the Serbian and American presidents and their administrations will understand each other better and have simpler communication than the Serbian president and the current administration, even if they are people and politicians of a similar format and style. However, it cannot be said that the Serbian president did not get along well with the previous administration on many issues, especially the issues of lithium mining and arms exports, and that it was reluctant to support President Vučić directly or indirectly. Now the vocabulary and tone will probably change, the results will be similar.
Perhaps the national genius will not be happy with the results of Trump's policy, and many analysts and politicians have already lowered their expectations, but the government in Serbia has reason to look forward to Trump's return to power. Not because major national problems will be solved and Serbia, like America, will become great again, but because it will once again be able to mobilize great national aspirations and manipulate them, and along the way it will also be possible to finish some business with the American administration. and support is provided where possible.
For the government in Serbia, its media and tycoons, this is a confirmation of the correctness of the chosen path and a sign that once again countless flags will be unfurled everywhere. We continue on, it doesn't matter that canopies are collapsing and people are dying, that it is being dug up, displaced and polluted, that there is no one to treat us, that more than forty percent of the students are functionally illiterate, that some have everything and others nothing. It is important to always produce new illusions, which continue on rooted stories, because that is how the human brain works. And there are plenty of volunteers and mercenaries for this work, cultural warriors.
For the citizens of Serbia, Trump's victory will mean the continuation of brainwashing, faster, stronger, better. For those who do not want to live this kind of life, with this kind of government and in this kind of state, it will mean that the work of change will be even more difficult and arduous.
The common political style of the two presidents and the illusions they produce consists of a simple recipe: authoritarian rule and shameless enrichment topped with a cultural war against ideological imperialism and the realization of great national goals. Everything else is a technical problem. Therefore, the biggest asset of Trump's victory in Serbia will be the legitimization of the authoritarian style of government.
The author is a member of parliament from the ZLF
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