The opposition is reuniting. Or maybe it's better to say, consolidates. The Party of Freedom and Justice and the Movement for the Revolution formally joined forces on Tuesday, while the signing of a memorandum on strategic cooperation between the Green-Left Front and the Movement of Free Citizens was announced for Thursday afternoon.
The Serbian opposition made the first serious steps towards some form of cooperation since the inglorious end of the broadest opposition coalition since the coming to power of the Serbian Progressive Party "Serbia Against Violence", for which 24 percent of voters voted in the last parliamentary elections.
"Together against an organized criminal group"
The SSP announced that they are aware that the struggle and challenges in the future require unity and connection on the political scene and that is why they made a decision on "joint action in the fight against the organized criminal group that captured Serbia", and that their new partner, the Movement for Overturn, has been active on the political scene of Serbia for over 10 years.
"Together we participated in the parliamentary and most local elections, together we demanded better election conditions, free media and the end of blackmailing citizens with jobs or some kind of help in order to vote for the regime's parties," the statement reads.
Delayed reaction
Political scientist and editor of "New Serbian Political Thought" Đorđe Vukadinović tells "Vreme" that such alliances are desirable for the opposition, but that it had to be thought about much earlier.
"The consolidation of the opposition is certainly a move in the right direction, but, I would say, a belated move. The NSPM and I have been warning for a long time that coordination in the opposition is necessary so that it does not simply disappear. The disunity and lack of cooperation only benefits Vučić and the regime," says Vukadinović.
Consolidation good, but needs to be continued
Although the former coalition partners will be united in two blocs from tomorrow, the question that arises is whether this is the beginning of efforts to reunite the opposition in Serbia or, on the contrary, such a division will only maintain the already existing divisions.
At the center of that issue will be, first of all, the personal relations between the leaders of the opposition forces, which fell apart together with "Serbia against violence".
Vukadinović states that coordination is necessary in any case.
"Consolidation is good, but it is necessary to continue with it. The opposition needs wider coordination among the parties, even if it can be painful for some of them," he states.
Partnership
In the last year of the crisis in Serbia, the opposition in the conflict between the student and civic movement and the government has been somewhat marginalized, as shown by the high ratings of the future student list in relation to the opposition.
Students repeatedly distanced themselves from opposition parties, while on the other hand, individuals offered cooperation. The closer the elections are (whenever they are), the issue of the relationship between students and the opposition will be increasingly important.
Until then, says Vukadinović, this balance of power can change, but it is important for the opposition to try to establish a partnership with the students.
"The elections have not yet been announced, and until then things will change. The opposition has a lower rating, but the relationship with the potential student list must be a partnership. There must be coordination not only between the opposition parties, but also between them and the students," he concludes.
