In a big interview for the weekly magazine "Vreme", which is on newsstands from this Thursday, the candidate for mayor Vladimir Obradović and the first on the list, Dobrica Veselinović, promise that they will first deal with corruption in the city and thus increase the capital's budget.
Obradović reminds that last year the opposition in Belgrade had more votes than the government. "The fact that they came to have a thin majority through various tricks and altering the electoral will is another matter."
"But I am convinced that this time we will win the elections with a significant margin and no one will be allowed to question that difference," says Obradović.
When asked whether the colorful opposition will be able to create a functional city government, the first on the list, Dobrica Veselinović, retorts: "You know what, compared to what this city government is like, I think that every government that comes after it is the embodiment of great functionality and a step forward for betterment of citizens. We have seen a terrifying level of corruption, fraud, nepotism..."
"There is nothing left" behind Naprednjak
Obradović announces that as mayor he would keep free textbooks, kindergartens and the like: "Free textbooks existed even before the SNS came to power, then they abolished it and now they are returning it." It took them ten years to admit that these measures were good. Percentage-wise, it's not a big part of the budget, and it certainly won't be abandoned."
He says that during the ten years of the SNS rule in Belgrade, ten billion euros were spent from the budget. "And what was left behind them?" Do we have a new bridge, a new tunnel, a significant infrastructure project in Belgrade?"
"Nothing was left behind, even worse than that, because what they found in good condition, such as trams, public transport, they completely destroyed." Streets that were in solid condition are now full of potholes, everything is falling apart. Therefore, by stopping corruption and senseless projects, the City will begin to recover and regain its old face," he concludes.
The whole big interview read with Obradović and Veselinović in the new issue of "Vremena", which is on newsstands from Thursday (December 14)
Read daily news, analysis, commentary and interviews at www.vreme.com
