Alongside the concentration of economic levers of power in the hands of the Serbian progressive party, the propaganda occupation among the most influential media outlets is equally important, as is the unconstitutional usurping of constitutional and legal powers by VučIć and his party. Just a few months of a free judiciary, courts and prosecution would strip bare this “economic paper tiger” completely
Serbia was, unfortunately, a continuous “one-party state” from 1945 and the violent repealing of political pluralism until the reintroduction of the multi-party system in 1990. However, even after that, every ruling party attempted to concentrate all economic levers in its own hands during the period of its mandate in power. When it comes to the economic sphere, the maxim “The State – that’s me/us” has related to every government in Serbia from 1945 until 2021.
This fact is important but not decisive in Serbia having not had normal, democratic, fair and equal conditions for all participants in election races since the 2017 transition of Aleksandar Vučić to the – constitutionally ceremonial but, in his political derivation, autocratically dominant – position of President of the Republic. Alongside the concentration of economic levers of power in the hands of the Serbian Progressive Party, the propaganda occupation among the most influential media outlets is equally important, as is the unconstitutional usurping of constitutional and legal powers by Vučić and his party.
It is tragicomic that the Serbian Progressive Party has, as a percentage of the population, more members than the Communist Party of China, and viewed numerically, in real numbers, more than Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats in Germany, a country that has a population 11 times higher than Serbia’s. Moreover, the SNS has no ideology, it is a “catch all” party of people who join it with the aim of realising their small personal interests. They join the party to gain employment for themselves or their family members, to achieve some of their own small economic interests, because they’ve recognised that without the “green light” of that party is it tough to be able do business, work or earn anything.
Why do they lie and promise Belgraders so much? Because sns has absolute power in belgrade with the support of less than a quarter of the total number of citizens
Belgrade voters will be promised more than everyone else in Serbia. We are already seeing that, even though the elections are not even on the horizon yet. SNS is already conducting its functionary campaign in Belgrade, despite Serbian election laws only permitting the conducting of party propaganda campaigns from the moment elections are announced until the day those elections are held. And we are already seeing Belgraders being “offered”, in exchange for voting for SNS, the construction of a metro rail system, sewers for the settlements on the left bank of the Danube, the developing of several other Belgrade Waterfront-style complexes, the construction of another national stadium, maximum social benefits for pensioners and all vulnerable sections of the population, higher salaries and pensions, the construction of various gondola lifts and even ski centres on the territory of the city of Belgrade. Why do they lie and promise Belgraders so much? Because less than half of all voters participated in the previous elections in Belgrade, and only around 40 per cent of those who turned out voted for SNS, which means that SNS has absolute power in Belgrade with the support of less than a quarter of the total number of citizens!
It is tough to say whether SNS could promise citizens even more than it has already. I think that just a few months of a free judiciary, courts and prosecution would strip bare this “economic paper tiger” completely and destroy the “Potemkin village” of Belgrade.
When it comes to the country’s indebtedness, here one person is asked about everything, here – instead of the Government, as it is written in the Constitution – that is the President of the Republic (who, according to the Constitution, has only eight protocol duties!), and only he really knows the true level of indebtedness of Serbia over the almost decade-long period of his rule. So, one election more or less doesn’t mean much a lot in terms of that additional indebtedness.
