The left-green platform “možemo!”, headed by the new mayor of Zagreb, who recorded an almost landslide victory in the mayoral race, could have a serious chance in the next parliamentary elections. Although I don’t see similar processes happening in serbia, that doesn’t mean they’re not possible, especially in urban centres, primarily Belgrade.
Viewed from the perspective of Zagreb, there are still no political changes in the region, and I honestly don’t see the possibility of that happening any time soon. And there are at least two reasons for that. Firstly, there is no serious political resistance movement against Vučić’s government in Serbia, which is also confirmed by research showing that his SNS party wins several times as many votes as the opposition. Secondly, Croatia, Hungary, North Macedonia and Montenegro differ from one another greatly, and they don’t offer any common recipe for political change. It is true that the opposition won elections in Budapest and Zagreb, although HDZ [the Croatian Democratic Union] hasn’t held power in Zagreb since the year 2000. The May elections resulted in a convincing victory for the left-green “Možemo!” [We Can!] platform, headed by new mayor Tomislav Tomašević, who recorded an almost landslide victory in the mayoral race. If Tomašević succeeds in getting Zagreb out of debt, the “Možemo!” platform could have a serious chance in the next parliamentary elections.
As I stated initially, I don’t see similar processes happening in Serbia, but that doesn’t mean they’re not possible, especially in urban centres, primarily Belgrade. However, one thing is for certain: this can’t be done by the politicians who’ve been “revolving” in public for years, but rather requires some new, uncompromised figures.
Quite simply, I don’t believe that 5, 7 or 10 per cent of voters in your country don’t want a political option that isn’t corrupt, that doesn’t have the past and wars as its main themes, but rather proposes ways to improve daily life
Can the recipes for success implemented by opposition forces in our neighbourhood be applied in Serbia or not, and why? Tomislav Tomašević is friends with some people from the political movement Ne Davimo Beograd [Don’t Let Belgrade D(r)own], and as far as I know some Zagreb activists even participated in Belgrade protests a couple of years ago. There is one recipe: in order for political change to occur, there must be something that differs from everything that’s been offered to date. Likewise, success here didn’t come overnight, because Tomašević’s “Zagreb is ours!” platform was founded in 2017 and has been active through the Zagreb City Assembly for a full four years. There were four councillors, but they work excellently and exposed the corruption of Mayor Milan Bandić, as well as his alliance with the HDZ. What I want to say is that this is not an instantaneous success, but rather the result of a lot of serious work. And they are now awaited by an even tougher job.
I don’t know if the possibility exists for a new left to appear on the opposition scene in Serbia, but I certainly know that this would be good for Serbia. Pluralism is good. Quite simply, I don’t believe that 5, 7 or 10 per cent of voters in your country don’t want a political option that isn’t corrupt, that doesn’t have the past and wars as its main themes, but rather proposes ways to improve daily life, depoliticise the judiciary or, at the local level, build housing for young people, install cycle paths and reduce pollution. If such a team unites and is ready to move among voters, going door to door, nothing can be ruled out.
