The candidate of the united pro-democratic opposition for mayor of the capital of Serbia, Vladimir Obradović, was born in 1977 in Belgrade and holds a doctorate in technical sciences. In addition to the Faculty of Organizational Sciences in Belgrade, where he is a regular professor, he also teaches at two faculties abroad. He has more than 200 published scientific and professional papers, is the editor of several prestigious scientific journals and has participated in more than 80 different projects in the country and abroad. This international expert in the field of management with a special focus on projects and the public sector, since 2022 is the vice president of the International Project Management Association (IPMA), which forms a network of associations from about 70 countries around the world.
"The people of Belgrade are not satisfied with the arrogant mayor," says Vladimir Obradović for "Vreme". "Belgrade needs a mayor who will always be with his citizens, for better or for worse; a mayor who will not call his fellow citizens toxic, regardless of possible disagreements about certain city problems. The unification of the opposition gathered around the idea of 'Serbia against violence' instilled optimism in the citizens of Belgrade, as well as in the whole of Serbia, that changes are possible. For me, it is a great honor that eight parties and movements proposed me by consensus to be a candidate for mayor and the first in the team that will bring freedom to the citizens of Belgrade. My professional management orientation, experience and expertise, decency and, if you will, normality in synergy with the united opposition bring a sure victory in Belgrade. My personal motivation is my children. I have three children and I don't want them to leave Serbia. On the contrary, I want them to stay here and that in the future I can see my grandchildren regularly, and not listen to them stuttering in Serbian from Canada or New Zealand via Skype or Zum.
I think that my sincere desire and ability to restore the spirit of a European metropolis to this city was one of the decisive factors for my candidacy."
"VREME": How do you rate progressive governance in Belgrade? What do they leave to the citizens? Is it possible and how can it be repaired?
VLADIMIR OBRADOVIĆ: If I had to describe the progressive government in three words, those words would be: violence, populism and concrete. Violence is diverse - between people and against the city. I will not talk specifically about the violence that happens between people, I think that it is clear to the readers what kind of violence surrounds us every day. Violence against the city is reflected in the demolition of old buildings and cultural assets. The plan of Aleksandar Šapić and the Serbian Progressive Party is to demolish the Old Sava Bridge, the Belgrade Fair, the fountain and Nikola Pašić Square. Teacher Zarić risked his life to save the Sava Bridge from being blown up in 1944. That bridge is a symbol of the resistance of the citizens of Belgrade. Now they want to tear it down. This is also violence against the authentic spirit of Belgrade.
A large part of the measures adopted by the SNS government are colored by populism. Decisions are made - both at the republican level and in the city - without a plan, analysis and, unfortunately, solely on the basis of the will of one man. Due to the "whims" of Aleksandar Šapić, populist measures were adopted that brought Belgrade to the brink of collapse. Unfortunately, there is no one around Šapic who could stop him from doing so, because the highest positions in the city are mostly unprofessional people without adequate competencies for the work they perform. Belgrade does not deserve that. After the elections, we will have expert people in the city government who will lead Belgrade in a transparent manner and develop it according to the model of the most developed cities in Western Europe.
Where do you detect the key problems of Belgrade and how will you solve those problems?
From Siniša Mali, through Goran Vesić and now Aleksandar Šapić, the ruination of Belgrade and the open disrespect of the people of Belgrade continues. All of us who live in Belgrade see that some of the biggest problems are traffic, parking, uncontrolled construction... Traffic jams are an everyday occurrence, not a single tram or trolleybus has been bought in ten years. Buses of dubious quality were bought, which often catch fire or lose control, leading to accidents. Public transport is no longer safe. Belgrade does not have a main bus station because the progressives are not able to build it in the ten years they are in power. Belgrade does not have a main railway station. Belgrade does not have a metro. We will finish these projects as a matter of priority. There is money for these purposes, but professional and not corrupt management is needed.
During the government of the progressives in Belgrade, construction was done without permits, illegal legalization was carried out, and individuals acquired huge sums of money through corruption. They poured concrete over the entire city, destroying the greenery. Let's just remember how many trees were cut down on Kalemegdan because of the plan to build a gondola. Everything they did they had to fix several times. Let's remember the cube on Republic Square and the fountain on Slavija. The deadlines are too long and, as a rule, they are broken - Skadarlija was reconstructed in 900 days, the reconstruction of four boulevards is practically not finished yet.
The high prices of basic foodstuffs are also a problem, and this is especially felt by pensioners and vulnerable social groups. That is why, in cooperation with the new republican government, which will consist of the parties gathered on the "Serbia against violence" list, we will return the stolen pensions to the pensioners, and in Belgrade we will give them the 13th pension that was abolished by the progressive government. We will provide free public transportation for students, war participants, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.
In a large number of Belgrade municipalities, people still do not have sewage, nor adequate health care. I intend to deal specifically with Belgrade's suburbs because Belgrade is not just a "circle of two". In the future, I see Belgrade as a self-sustaining, economically strong city with a high level of concern for people and environmental protection.
How familiar are you with the financial situation in the city?
As a city councilor, I have limited access to information about the spending of funds from the city budget, but the fact that the budget was rebalanced twice this year indicates that Belgrade has a problem with planning. Spending the money of the citizens of Belgrade is not transparent. Well, we still don't know how much the monument to Stefan Nemanja cost. Just look at the example of the failed reform of the public transport ticket collection system. We do not have any official report on the financial result of that project.
Data has become public that 1,7 million fewer tickets were sold in the last three months than in the same period last year. That's a drop of more than 30 percent in revenue. In addition, since there are no more GPS devices in buses, it is impossible to control the movement of private transporters. Citizens complain about irregular transportation and that private companies have reduced the number of departures, and according to my information, they charge the city for expenses as if they were driving according to a regular schedule. Streets, sidewalks, parks are crumbling due to lack of maintenance. Wherever you scratch the surface, there is sleaze and corruption. As a member of the Temporary Authority of the City of Belgrade, I will demand to get an insight into how citizens' funds are spent and I will inform the public about this.
What is your attitude towards Belgrade on the water? And what will you say to the voters when they say that the progressives have built numerous new facilities, for example the "Prokop" railway station?
The problem with Belgrade on the water, in my opinion, is not a problem of aesthetics, I don't like this neighborhood, but some people find Belgrade on the water beautiful. Belgrade's problem lies in the absence of the rule of law in that territory. Starting with the demolition in Savamala when the citizens were tied up in the middle of the night, the police did not react, and the then mayor Sinisa Mali said that it was not his responsibility until Lex specialisa which suspended the legal system of the Republic of Serbia in that territory and created fertile ground for systemic corruption. I promise that those deals and corrupt practices will be investigated, but I am not the man you will hear from a priori "destroy" anything that was in accordance with the law, even if it was bad. For more than ten years of the SNS government in Belgrade, there were certainly things that were done well. What has been done well - unfortunately, those things are few - we will continue to improve as a new city government. And what is not, such as the idea of demolishing the Belgrade Fair, we will stop it and I, as mayor, will advocate that Belgrade does not issue the necessary permits. Belgraders do not want Belgrade to be left without one of its main symbols. As for Prokop, I must say that it is a privately owned station building. It is not owned by the city, nor the Railways of Serbia, nor the Republic of Serbia, but private companies. And there is no railway, only buildings, therefore, something very similar to Potemkin villages.
There's also a subway, right?
The progressive government, by selling metro tickets, was actually selling fog. There is still no metro. Belgrade needs the metro and it is a project that I will not give up as mayor. For the metro, there is a project that was done by experts and not by politicians, which is more than twice as cheap and for which financing was provided by European development banks. At one time, everyone voted for that project in the City Assembly. After coming to power, SNS gave up on this project, according to which the first route would have been opened in 2022, and now we would already be riding the metro. Instead, they adopted a project that is not aimed at the interests of the citizens of Belgrade. All the experts said that this project of theirs is bad: it does not cover the parts of the city where the largest number of people live, and the hub of the first two lines is located in Belgrade on the water, where there are no people, instead of on Republic Square, as was foreseen in the previously adopted plan. The metro must run along a route where people live, not connect two empty meadows.
How do you see free textbooks, kindergartens, swimming pools, English language learning, but also city transport in which almost no one pays a ticket anymore? Concretely - what do these moves of Aleksandar Šapić stand for?
Populism and smearing the eyes of the public in order to cover up affairs and the absence of results. What did Šapić do? He peeled off stickers from buses, stuck WHITE stickers on communal militia, removed garbage cans from parks so they wouldn't be full, solved floods with signs... He didn't solve the issue of the Sava embankment or rafts, nor did he build a single school. When we look back at Šapić's mandate, we can see that nothing serious was done to improve the quality of life of the citizens of Belgrade. On the contrary, every day is getting worse. Simply, he does not have the vision or ability to organize Belgrade. All of Šapić's affairs, from illegal construction, to an undeclared villa in Trieste, to the recorded conversations of his chief of staff about tender rigging, indicate that the former mayor has no credibility to lead this city.
You appear on the list of the united pro-European opposition. How will cooperation take place in the following period, before and after the elections? Do you see room for possible agreements with right-wing parties?
It is too early to talk about the period after the elections. All our attention is now focused on winning the elections. As far as Belgrade is concerned, all partners who sincerely want to see Vučić and Šapić's back and contribute to making our city a better place to live are acceptable to me.
The Green-Left Front withdrew its candidate for mayor, but also won the largest number of councilor seats in the City Assembly. What will your cooperation with Dobric Veselinović be based on - both during the campaign and after it?
Dobrica Veselinović is my friend and colleague. I think we have complementary knowledge and skills that we can use as a team to develop the city in the future. I see a lot of support in Dobrica and Mila Popović, but a team of three people is not enough to run the city. Nikola Jovanović, Miloš Pavlović and Đorđe Miketić will also be there. The city is a system that requires good planning, organization and staffing. We need to attract the best experts from the private sector. The doors of the city administration will be open for our experts from the diaspora who want to return to Belgrade. I expect professionalism, tireless work and dedication from all my associates, because there is a big backlog in the development of this city that we have to catch up on.
Having learned from past negative experiences with demonizing and slandering opposition candidates, what kind of government campaign do you expect? And are you ready for everything that follows?
One can never be ready enough to be "dragged through the mud". Before running for office, I talked with my family because we all know what political campaigns in Serbia look like, but I got their support and that's the most important thing for me. Sometimes my stomach turns when I read the "yellow press", but my stomach turns even more when I see how Šapić leads the city. I told myself: I will run and I will win. I want the citizens of Belgrade to wake up in a free Belgrade on December 18.
