"President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić he called for a debate in front of all the cameras, the representatives of the student-blockader movement", reads the information from the Presidency of Serbia. The call is insincere, but worth analyzing. In the four minutes that Vučić's address lasts, presented as an extension of the hand of reconciliation, he still managed to inject enough poison for the students to tell him: "Call the elections! We have nothing else to talk about."
So let's look at the most poisonous parts of Vučić's address.
Who masked what?
"Demonstrations have been going on all over our country for nine months. Part of the people want change. At first they masked it with demands for justice, and then they openly started talking about political changes and the demand for elections, even though they previously rejected them."
It's nice that Vučić finally admits that the demonstrations have been going on for nine months and that some people want changes. However, no one was hiding anything. The authentic desire of the students in the blockade at first were the initial four demands, which were demands for justice. From November to May, students hoped that this government would fulfill their demands. When they realized that this was not going to happen, they demanded elections.
Nothing was masked there, on the contrary: their naivety at the time and sincere belief that their first four demands would be fulfilled was visible to the naked eye.
Who listened to whom?
"For all the bad things I think about their demands, I think it's important that we hear them. I think it's very important that we listen to each other. I think it's crucial that we renew the dialogue, and I've tried to hear them."
He had the opportunity to hear them countless times during these nine months. But the more interesting question is which dialogue Vučić is restoring. He had his last TV debate in May 2012, when his opponent was Dragan Đilas, then mayor of Belgrade. The debate took place immediately before the presidential elections, in which SNS candidate Tomislav Nikolić won. So, the last debate was held by Vučić while he was still in the opposition.
If by dialogue he means that painful "dialogue between the government and the opposition" during the winter and spring of 2021 organized by Milan Antonijević, it is our turn to tell the students and then the forgetful ones what it looked like: they met and tried to be minimally polite.
Government representatives obstructed those meetings as much as they could, and as soon as they left the meeting, they would hold press conferences where they talked about the opposition the way Informer talks about students and rebellious citizens today. Vladimir Orlić, then the head of the parliamentary club of the SNS, and today the head of the Security and Information Agency, took the lead in this.
Where would Vučić talk?
"I propose and offer a conversation and debate on all our televisions, on all our portals, with their legitimate representatives whom they choose. When I say they, I mean: whoever the representatives of the student blockade movement choose, whether professors, whether politicians, whether students..."
First, as long as he uses the term "blockades", he conveys an unwillingness to dialogue. That expression, although neutral, Vučić and his team have colored in these nine months with a negative meaning and it is offensive today.
Second, on which televisions and portals does he offer the debate? On all those that broadcast illegally obtained materials on two occasions, for which 12 people are in custody, and who knows how long they will remain there, under the charge of subverting the constitutional order. Six young people are out of the country because of those "all televisions".
Who is ready for what?
"I'm ready against... No, I'm sorry. That confirms my mistakes. I'm ready to enter into a dialogue, a public debate with three or four who think differently."
It's too late for this, nine months too late. This call for debate is coming now, and the crisis that Vučić would like to solve with it started with blows, violence against the students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts. Even now, a defeated man who does not know how to admit defeat does not succeed in pausing his hatred even for four minutes.
What he wants is lost on him. He's still dreaming of what he talked about in December: the Cobras coming out and blowing them apart in six seconds. Only now he dreams of doing it in front of the cameras.
Who should show their face?
"It is time to show the faces of each of us, but it is much more important to show the programs, visions, I want to make a fight of visions. (…) Thank you for this, this is my offer, more than fair."
No, it's not a fair offer. This is a trap. That would be the one: "here are how many roads I built, and how many roads you built". True, it can also be answered with a counter-question: how many of you had your canopy fall and killed people, and how many of us. But that would be moving away from the essence: this government is killing its citizens through corruption. No program, not a highway, not a housing loan, not a credit card, not even a higher minimum wage, will wash away that blood.
The only dialogue that Vučić deserves after all is the one that takes place at the polling stations. And the only thing he should be grateful for is that the citizens are asking for it. Just that. He owes us much more.
