Mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Šapić and marketing expert Nebojsa Krstic they had an argument on the X social network after Krstić called Šapić "to call - just so they know he's alive".
Šapić replied: "You're screwing up again, and later you're going to whine about how you're threatened. Poor thing."
Krstić continued: "Mayor Belgrade, I heard that you are coming to the anti-blockade protest on Saturday. Is that true? Or do you continue to hide in the mouse hole?'
That's where the argument ended, at least for now, because Šapić did not respond, so it remained unknown whether he, together with other supporters of the government, will appear on October 11 at one of the rallies for which Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that this time there will not only be protests against the blockades, but also rallies in support of the Serbs on Kosovo.
So far, Šapić has not appeared at any rally against the blockades, which is formally organized by the Center for Social Stability, and Krstić was seen at the Takovska Street blockade on September 28, when SNS supporters held a protest in front of RTS.
"Krstić is not an authentic person"
Political analyst Dragomir Anđelković explains to "Vreme" what could be the cause of this dispute.
"First of all, it is not a fight between Krstić and Šapić, because Krstić is not an authentic person and is not someone who acts independently. Krstić is a kind of Vučić's exponent, so this boils down to a fight between Vučić and Šapić", says Anđelković.
He adds that it is evident that Šapić is not ready to get too involved in the defense of Vučić's regime.
"Sapić feels that he has been cheated. He joined that team with a certain rating, and later it turned out that he was completely worn out and that Vučić is trying to reduce him to a servant, while Šapić is not a servant in terms of mentality, because he achieved something even before Vučić, unlike Vučić's associates," Anđelković points out.
He assesses that this quarrel is another attempt by Vučić to discipline Šapić through Krstić and to force him to fully follow his policy.
"It is a message to Šapić that he has no place in the regime if he does not do what Vucic wants or if he does not understand what Vucic would like," Anđelković believes.
It indicates that Šapić once responded to Krstić's post, but then stopped.
"The question is whether Šapić is ready to fully respond to Vučić's aggressive behavior through Krstić, or if he just scratched the surface and realized it was dangerous," Anđelković says.
Šapić in the gap between beliefs and interests
Asked why it is so difficult for Šapić to appear at gatherings attended by all other high-ranking officials Serbian Progressive Party, Anđelković says that, first of all, Šapić "certainly does not agree with what Vučić is doing".
"Sapić fell into the trap of a fight between his own beliefs and interests. At one point, due to self-interest, he overstepped his beliefs, and he did not manage to suppress those beliefs like some others, so Šapić is still at odds," says Anđelković.
Another reason why Šapić is not present at the gatherings organized by supporters of the government, Anđelković points out, lies in the fact that Šapić is skilled enough to understand that "Vučić's ship is slowly sinking".
"Since he did not find an adequate place in Vučić's team - he is the mayor of Belgrade who has no real power - Šapić is probably thinking about the next steps," Anđelković says.
He adds that Šapić is aware that he has lost his rating, but also that he could very well regain his rating if he was the first to leave "Vučić's team and hit Vučić".
"Sapić is thinking about what to do, and Vučić sees it and tries with the sole of his foot to make him obey," Anđelković concludes.
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