Montenegrins both with the students and with Vučić

Deputies of the ruling majority in Montenegro they have different opinions about the protests and resignations in Serbia. The opposition believes that the perseverance of Serbian students should be followed by their colleagues in Montenegro, he says Deutsche says.

As expected, support for President Aleksandar Vučić comes from the parliamentary benches of the ruling parties of the former Democratic Front, which normally support the regime in Serbia.

Deputy of the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Vladislav Bojović claims that under the guise of, as he called them, the so-called student protests in Serbia, as well as the "shameless abuse" of the great tragedy in Novi Sad, the government in Serbia "is exposed to an organized attack and attack by certain structures that they operate from the background".

Bojović strongly supports the leadership of Serbia "at a time when it is exposed to the latest attempt at destabilization directed by the remnants of the 'deep state', convincingly defeated in the recent elections in the USA".

The leader of Bojović's party, Milan Knežević, and the President of the Municipality of Nikšić, Marko Kovačević from the New Serbian Democracy, were among the first to sign a petition "supporting the right to life" of President Vučić, thus joining ministers, ambassadors and public figures from Serbia who warn of "growing dehumanization and satanization". his character and work.

On the other hand, Miodrag Laković, an MP from the ruling Europe Now Movement (PES), told DW that Serbian citizens, led by students, have demonstrated their strong potential to use democratic pressure to influence institutions to work more openly, efficiently, and within the limits of their constitutional powers.

"The resignation of Prime Minister Miloš Vučević can be understood as a forced maneuvering move, with which the authorities at this moment want to cushion the potential even greater strengthening of the protests and the presentation of new and more radical demands", assesses Laković for DW and adds that "it is obvious that there is a significant mood for radical institutional and political changes, and whether and to what level of government this will happen at this moment, no one can predict that."

Laković emphasizes: "It is very significant that the protests are mostly peaceful, despite the huge number of participants, although there were a few worrying incidents." The authorities in Serbia refrain from repressive mechanisms, which is commendable, and it must be admitted that they are not in a subordinate position in terms of international support."

Student protest shows that change is possible

From the opposition benches comes open support for Serbian students and the desire that their perseverance be an example that should be followed by their colleagues in Montenegro.

"All of us who hold public functions, whether we are in government or in the opposition, will have to learn and accept to face the criticisms that the participants and organizers of the protests send to us, understanding that this is their task - to criticize everything that is not good or what was not good, regardless of which individual or political option we are talking about," Nikola Zirojević, MP from the opposition Social Democrats (SD), told DW.

Both the students and the government in Serbia have shown that in politics things are not as simple and one-sided as they seem, analyst Stefan Đukić tells DW.

"The government there, used to leading one type of struggle, to always delegitimize all the opposition it faced in the same way, tried the same modus operandi. And when she saw that it doesn't work, now she rushes from mistake to mistake offering bigger and bigger concessions that don't produce results, but only show enormous weakness in order to stay in power. The student protest showed everyone that it is possible to make changes, but one must be sincere in their intentions," Đukić believes.

Could mass protests spill over to Montenegro?

Informal group of Montenegrin students "Where's Tomorrow?" she organized protests three times demanding the resignation of the head of the security sector after the mass murder in Cetinje on January 1, when 13 people were killed, including two children.

They expect from Prime Minister Milojko Spajić by February 1st - the resignations of the Minister of the Interior Danilo Saranović and the Deputy Prime Minister for Security and Defense Aleksa Bečić, more rigorous permits for the possession of weapons, reform of the police system, the return of civic education as a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools, and improvement relationships and mental health care. Otherwise, they announce, they will call for civil disobedience.

Zirojević supports the students "and their activities, which are followed by a large number of citizens", and adds that he hopes that "following the example, not only of Serbia, but also of most of the EU members, these protests will be further strengthened, both in number and in terms of actions."

According to Đukić, there is no doubt that the form of protest from Serbia at least tried to spill over to Montenegro, but, he adds, the protests are incomparable due to a number of factors.

"While in Serbia we very likely have the direct responsibility of people from the government, and the long-standing autocratic nature of the regime, in Montenegro that responsibility can be exclusively moral, and the authorities are fluid and changeable." It's just that the social climate is now such that there is no real space for mass protests in Montenegro," concludes Đukić.