LOCAL PRESS

High level of political relations between Serbia, China (Tanjug/RTS)

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic received a delegation of the Communist Party of China, led by member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the party Zhang Chunxian. Vucic expressed his satisfaction with the visit of the Chinese delegation as another confirmation of strong friendship and a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, which is visible through the frequent exchange of visits at the highest state level. Vucic stressed the importance of China’s principled stance not to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and support of China in international organizations on this issue. Serbia welcomes the strengthening of the role of China in the international arena, especially through the initiative of the President Xi Jinping ‘China’s One Belt, One Road’, said Vucic. He pointed out that the high level of political relations between Serbia and China comes with the rapid development of economic cooperation, both through bilateral relations, but also through the mechanism of China-CEEC, as evidenced by the infrastructure projects implemented by Chinese companies in Serbia. Chunxian congratulated Vucic victory in the presidential election and conveyed greetings of the Chinese President and Premier. The Chinese official thanked Vucic on support of Serbia to China at the international level and the One-China policy.

Djuric: China, Serbia friends forever (RTS)

One China and one, united and undivided Serbia – friends forever, said Serbian progressive Party (SNS) deputy head Marko Djuric, who welcomed last night the delegation of the Communist Party of China, headed by the Politburo member Zhang Chunxian. “China is one of the pillars of Serbia’s foreign policy. A state with enormous economic and human resources, which is actively participating in building our infrastructure with the constructions on the part of the highway of Corridors 10 and 11, investing continuously in the reconstruction of our energy system through the renewal of our thermo-electric plants,” said Djuric. According to him, China is the country that has always supported us in the international community when it comes to key and vital issues of state and national interests regarding Kosovo and Metohija.

Support of OSCE in drafting statute of Community of Serbian municipalities (RTS/Tanjug)

The Head of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Marko Djuric met yesterday with Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Metohija (OMIK) Ambassador Jan Braathu to whom he expressed gratitude for OSCE’s help in organizing presidential election in Kosovo.Noting that the elections were prepared and held according to the highest democratic standards, he also expressed his gratitude to the OSCE team for drafting the Statute of the Community of Serbian municipalities. He stressed that the development of the draft, according to the agreements reached in Brussels, is unambiguously within the jurisdiction of the Management Team, consisting of representatives of the Serbian people, but that professional support to the OSCE is certainly be welcome. Djuric warned about the use of increasingly harsh rhetoric and even open threats to the Serbs in extremist Albanian political circles in Kosovo. This, he said, must be condemned by all stakeholders who care about peace and stability in the province.

Daut Haradinaj continues with threats (RTS/RTK2)

Ramush Haradinaj’s brother and member of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Daut Haradinaj continued with threats saying that Belgrade should know that it will receive the same answer as in 1999 and that it should not play with Ramush Haradinaj. At the session of the Kosovo Assembly Daut Haradinaj said that those who govern in Belgrade should know that they will receive the same answer as in 1999 and that Albanians got freedom with the help of the international community, reported RTK2. “I did not say that there will be ethnic cleansing, this is what Belgrade wants, not Daut Haradinaj and Albanians. They must not play with one man,” said Daut Haradinaj and threatened by repeating 1999. He noted that his statement caused numerous reactions and that he “said it deliberately”, and that the statement was commented and interpreted differently. “Now we know that there are tendencies to destabilize the country. I repeated that no one can play with the Albanian people. If someone aims to destabilize the country, let them do it somewhere else. No one more than me wishes peace in Kosovo,” said Haradinaj.

Greek Defense Minister visits Greek soldiers within KFOR (RTS)

Greek Defense Minister Panos Kamenos visited Greek soldiers within KFOR in Kosovo, commending the role of Greece in maintaining stability in the Balkans. In his address to the Greek soldiers within KFOR, Kamenos underlined the importance of strengthening the role of his country in the region. He also criticized the increasingly aggressive rhetoric of Turkey. Kamenos met no Kosovo officials.

Vucic wins in repeat elections (Beta/RTS/Tanjug)

Aleksandar Vucic has won 71.6 percent – or 2,468 votes – in Tuesday’s repeat presidential elections, the Chairman of the Republic Election Commission (RIK) Vladimir Dimitrijevic announced. The repeat elections were held at eight polling stations, with 9,851 eligible voters.

Repeated elections were held at eight polling stations in several cities, after certain irregularities had been observed there. Vucic addressed journalists on Tuesday evening at the party headquarters and emphasized the fact that, percentagewise, he won much more votes than on 2 April – by 71.66 percent, as he put it. This success is all the more important because of the fact that it has been achieved in an aggressive campaign against him and the SNS, he said. “Nine days during which they challenged our victory, in which our political opponents, for being unable to admit defeat, organized street protests and media campaigns, we managed to win 71.66 percent of votes,” Vucic said.

Elections will be repeated on 17 April in Leskovac and Trstenik since they were annulled over irregularities, RIK announced.

DS demands dismissal of REM members (Beta)

MP of the Democratic Party (DS) Vesna Marjanovic declared that a total of 23 MPs from several parties demanded the dismissal of nine members of the Electronic Media Regulatory Body (REM). REM should be an independent body, but it failed to fulfill any of its function, and civil protests and reactions of citizens serve as related testimony, and the public is also discontent with the REM work, Marjanovic declared. She declared that the REM prime objectives are to contribute to the maintenance, protection and development of freedom of opinion and expression and the protection of public interests in the area of electronic media, adding REM fails to fulfill that. At the onset of the campaign, the REM decided not to do its job- not to monitor possible breach of legislation in equal treatment of presidential candidate in the media. This has “directly affected” the outcome of elections, Marjanovic declared.

The head of the MP group, Sanda Raskovic Ivic, said at a press conference in parliament that Maja Gojkovic had bluntly violated democracy in the country when she decided to suspend the work of the parliament for 40 days, in the middle of a regular session. She was as critical of Gojkovic’s decision to continue the session on 19 April, instead of 18 April, Tuesday, or 20 April, Thursday, when it was possible to ask questions at the beginning of the session, which Raskovic Ivic said was exactly what the authorities wished to avoid.

Leader of Dveri Movement Bosko Obradovic said the pressure on parliament to continue working yielded results and that Gojkovic has come to reason. This however does not mean we should abandon the demands for her dismissal, he said. As for Gojkovic, she does not exist. Maja Gojkovic is a party bot, Obradovic said.

The New Party leader, MP Zoran Zivkovic, said in parliament that he would demand that a request for the dismissal of the parliament speaker be added to the April 19 parliamentary agenda.

Protests continue across Serbia (Beta)

A ninth Protest Against Dictatorship was held in Belgrade on 11 April, gathering citizens who are unhappy with the results of the presidential election. Unlike previous days, citizens convened in front of the Serbian government building and not the parliament. Among those who gathered at the protest rally were mostly young people, but also older citizens and people with children, who later walked through the central city streets.

REGIONAL PRESS

HR Inzko informs AFET about situation in B&H (Hayat)

Addressing the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee (AFET) in Brussels on Tuesday, High Representative Valentin Inzko presented his views on the current political situation in B&H. According to Inzko, divisive policy of party kleptocracies, which use the public sector to maintain power and privilege, are at the base of threats to stability of B&H. He warned that financial motive is the source of the problem and what has grown from it is something far more threatening to stability – fracturing of the country along ethnic lines. “Divisive issues still prevail over forward looking ones, like the EU integration. On all sides, the rule of law is trampled when it does not suit politicians, with judicial decisions ignored and even rejected and direct pressure exerted on individual cases,” Inzko was quoted as saying. At the same time, political forces have been proactive when it comes to backward looking policies – the trend in schools is towards denying the rights of numerically smaller groups to their language, thousands of citizens are leaving, while foreign investment has declined, he assessed.  “My conclusion today is that some politicians believe that the international community is getting ever weaker and that, if they just hang on, they can wait us out and finally become untouchable,” Inzko warned. Therefore, he stressed that the international community, foremost the EU, needs to intensify its efforts in B&H. “Integration will speed up reforms. I am concerned over the fact that some politicians disrespect the rule of law, ignore and even reject court decisions. Citizens in Mostar are deprived of the right to vote for years, while SDA and HDZ B&H showed very little initiative to solve this problem. Authorities of Republika Srpska have undertaken steps against the basics of the Dayton Agreement, by violating decisions of B&H Constitutional Court”. Inzko also noted that the issue of revision of the lawsuit against Serbia revealed that B&H Presidency and other institutions could become hostages. He concluded that Europe has an interest in the strategic reengagement for several reasons, including the mistakes that the EU has made in the past, which contributed to the tragic events in the former Yugoslavia.

US Senator McCain visits B&H (TV1)

US Senator John McCain paid a visit to B&H on Tuesday. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services McCain met with members of B&H Presidency and addressed a press conference in the building of the US Embassy in Sarajevo. McCain stated that he came to B&H to support the country on the path towards the EU and NATO, and express concerns due to Russian influence in the region. He also mentioned the issue of corruption in B&H and noted that this problem, which can be an obstacle on the Euro-Atlantic road, is being solved very slowly. McCain emphasized that he cannot predict sanctions for individuals in B&H, but he expects that all those who violate the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) will be sanctioned. Furthermore, McCain said that he doubts that there will be a war in B&H and added that bigger efforts of regional and all other countries including the US, on greater engagements in B&H, are necessary. Asked by the press whether there could come to new conflicts in the Balkans, McCain stated that there will not be such situation especially when it comes to relations between B&H and Serbia. In this regard, McCain considers that it is positive that newly-elected Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic first visited B&H after the election. McCain reiterated the importance to preserve the DPA. He was also asked by the press whether some other politician could face sanctions similar to those imposed on Republika Srpska (RS) President Milorad Dodik, in the case of possible undermining of the DPA. The US Senator replied that he expects some kind of reaction in the case of undermining of the DPA but that imposing of sanctions by the US is a lengthy process. McCain stressed that once he returns to the US, he will inform his colleagues about B&H, as one of the most important places in the world, where genocide was committed. According to McCain, the US is proud to be supporting B&H and in his opinion, the US should keep on supporting this country. He said that majority of US citizens believe that membership of B&H in the EU will be good and positive and added that he hopes that Membership Action Plan (MAP) will be activated. On the other hand, McCain stated that he was worried due to some reports about certain events in B&H, including the Russian influence and interference. McCain said: “We stand behind and we support B&H and we want for the process of its progress to continue. There are huge difficulties and obstacles, but I can tell you that significant progress has been achieved since signing of the DPA”. Speaking about terrorism, McCain said that the entire world is in danger of this threat and reminded that it has been a long time ago since the arrest of a terrorist in B&H. McCain underlined: “I must say that I am worried about the support to Salafists or extremists and such organizations and people here in B&H. This is causing concerns but in overall, B&H has achieved big progress in fight against terrorism”. During the meeting with members of B&H Presidency, McCain expressed his concern over the high level of corruption in B&H. According to McCain, citizens in B&H deserve higher efforts in solving of this problem. McCain concluded: “I did not tell the Presidency what to do, but I underlined that corruption may be a huge obstacle for membership in these institutions”.

Dodik calls on SDS to vote for dismissal of B&H CoM (RTRS)

RS President and SNSD leader Milorad Dodik stated that SDS acts against the interests of the RS and its agricultural producers by refusing to adopt the law on excise duties. Dodik called on SDS to vote for dismissal of B&H Council of Ministers (CoM) together with SNSD if their (SDS’) claims that last week’s session of the CoM was illegal are true. Dodik made this comment after SDS Presidency disputed on Monday legality of the telephone session at which the CoM adopted the proposal of set of laws that are necessary for continuation of arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Dodik underlined that SNSD is not interested in becoming part of B&H CoM but that it is interested in voting in B&H Parliament for things that will economically strengthen the RS, such as ratification of the agreement on payment of Russian clearing debt. Dodik reminded that the Reform Agenda was made based on the proposal of Chairman of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic (PDP) and that SNSD accepted it after entity competences were taken into account. Dodik also reminded that B&H CoM is signatory of the Letter of Intent for the IMF arrangement. Dodik pointed out that SDS did not prevent adoption of the Reform Agenda at the time Chairman of B&H CoM Denis Zvizdic (SDA) was promoting it even though they were familiar with its content. In this regard, the RS President assessed that SDS’ policy later changed in the direction of causing economic chaos in the RS. He commented on possible protests of the RS’ opposition by announcing organization of counter-rallies, which would be in support of the RS authorities, at the same location and on the same day.

B&H Presidency holds session, no support to Ivanic’s proposal (N1)

B&H Presidency held the 34th regular session in Sarajevo on Tuesday after 80 days of failure to convene. Following the session, Chairman of B&H Presidency Mladen Ivanic told the press that he proposed that B&H Presidency members sign an internal document obliging them to refrain from parallelism and non-institutional action. Ivanic added that this proposal did not obtain the necessary support, but he did not want to specify which B&H Presidency member refused to sign such document. “We will do our job as before, but I think that the level of trust in the Presidency is no longer the same as it used to be. I do not think it will produce some crisis but I also do not believe there will be some ambience for making as positive steps forward as I expected,” Ivanic underlined. On the other hand, the other two B&H Presidency members did not want to provide specific comments on Ivanic’s proposal. Asked by the press whether he was against signing of the document proposed by Ivanic, Croat member of B&H Presidency Dragan Covic briefly replied that he does not know what kind of document that is. Bosniak member of B&H Presidency Bakir Izetbegovic completely refused to share his stance on this matter.

SDA plans to file motion to B&H Constitutional Court to declare the name of the RS unconstitutional (Nezavisne)

According to sources of Nezavise novine, SDA plans to file a motion to B&H Constitutional Court, asking the Court to declare the name of the Republika Srpska (RS) unconstitutional. The motion will allegedly be filed next year, shortly before the general election. The source claims that SDA will base its entire election campaign on this motion, and thus attempt to restore the trust of its voters which was shaken by the failed request for revision of lawsuit against Serbia. The motion will be filed by party leader and B&H Presidency member Bakir Izetbegovic. Allegedly, SDA will use this strategy because it has nothing to offer in the field of economy. The decision to use this strategy was made by the inner circle of party leadership, and it will be announced to other party members shortly before the motion is filed. The daily reached out to SDA and asked for a comment. SDA Vice President Ramiz Salkic refused to comment the information about the alleged motion. The daily reminds that Izetbegovic stated several months ago that there was the idea to contest the name of the RS, but that he does not plan to launch the process “for now“. According to unofficial sources, SDA officials are aware that they cannot abolish the name of the RS because it is mentioned as such in the Dayton Peace Agreement. The daily reminds that SDA already contested the anthem, the coat of arms and the flag of the RS, as well as marking of January 9 as RS Day.

Parliament filibuster continues for 11th day in a row (MIA)

Tuesday’s debate in the Macedonian Parliament on the Committee of Elections and Appointments continued as in the previous 10 days, with lengthy discussions on the controversial Tirana platform and with an effective filibuster of further proceedings. SDSM again demanded that the debate moves forward to the next item of the agenda – the election of a new Parliament Speaker, under article 78 of the rules. VMRO-DPMNE responded that article 80 says that all 50 members of Parliament who asked to speak on the current item must first finish their discussions. At this rate, the debate could last for months, considering that only several representatives completed their remarks. Discussions focused on the Tirana platform, with Surija Rashidi from the Alliance of Albanians, one of the signatories of the platform, saying that it represents the will of ethnic Albanians who live in Macedonia and will need to be implemented. Rashidi asked VMRO-DPMNE representatives to end their filibuster and move out of the way of the formation of a new Government that would implement the demands for full official use of the Albanian language and a number of other changes that include new national emblems. VMRO-DPMNE’s Antonio Miloshoski responded that ethnic Macedonians who supported SDSM did not know that after the elections the party will accept a document like the Tirana platform and were in effect fooled, making it necessary to hold a new general election. Miloshoski said that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, who helped draft the Tirana platform, did so probably guided by the desire to improve his own election odds in Albania, but meanwhile caused major damage to inter-ethnic relations in Macedonia.

Tirana has nothing to do with the platform of the Albanians in Macedonia, says Rama (Meta)

The Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, said that there is no Tirana platform and that official Tirana has nothing to do with the “platform issued by the Albanian’s in Macedonia.”

“There is no platform from Tirana, but a platform by Albanian parties to which provided our help. We had separate meetings with the party leaders of the Albanian parties and we took notes of what they said. They joined forces together on a piece of paper” said Rama. He stressed that the claims that were stated by Gjorge Ivanov and VMRO-DPMNE were untrue and said that during the election campaign in Macedonia he had no meetings with any leader of an Albanian party in Macedonia. Rama was decisive that the Albanians in Macedonia “aren’t fugitives, but an integral part of a country with two entities.”

Althauser: Parliament should organize itself and elect a government (Meta)

The German Ambassador Christine Althauser said that there is a solution for the political crisis in Macedonia, but it is necessary it is going to be implemented. “The solution for the political crisis in Macedonia is on the table. What is needed is a political will to be carried out, the parliament to become operational, to organize itself, to elect a president and then to elect a government that will be able to act by itself. That is the sequence, the timetable, not only for the good of the politics but for the benefit of all, the economy, the society, the citizens” said Althauser at yesterday’s press conference of the Macedonian – German economic association, at which the results from the previous year were presented. Nevertheless, she said that the solution for the crisis regarding the economy will come late. “The early parliamentary elections were held four months ago. All analyses indicate that the crisis reflected negatively on the economy, a decrease of the GDP was evidenced, the fiscal pressure has increased, the insecurity and uncertainty in the private sector have increased, the investments have decreased, and the approval of loans is also negative,” stressed Ambassador Althauser.

Kotzias: Those who refused to negotiate about the name, will now not allow a government to be formed (Meta)

The Greek Foreign Minister, Nikos Kotzias, sent a sharp message to Macedonia that the irredentism towards Greece is blocking the country’s European perspective. Talking about the Greek foreign policy at the Economic Chamber of Macedonia, Kotizas stressed that part of the name dispute are the problematic irredentist tendencies that the country is showcasing with the request of the name Macedonia. “The problem with the name doesn’t come from a quarrel about someone’s baptizing, but it is connected to the irredentism and this irredentism means even disputing the borders of one region and a country with such irredentism cannot be integrated into modern Europe,” said Kotzias. The problem with Macedonia and with other Balkan countries, according to Kotizas, is the lack of culture to compromise, both inside the country and in its foreign policy including a lack of understanding of the essence of democracy and the rule that a minority may become a majority. He noted that those who refused to negotiate with Greece about a crucial solution for the name dispute are the same group that doesn’t want to allow the majority in Macedonian parliament to form a government. “A democracy is not only a democracy of the majority. In Ancient Greece, there was a problem when the majority created a mechanism to remain the constant majority without being an actual majority and this can lead to tyranny of the majority,” said Kotzias. According to him, however, thanks to the confidence-building measures, relations between the two sides have intensified.

Parliament approves ad-hoc parliamentary vetting committee (ATA)

Albanian parliament on Tuesday adopted a draft-decision to set up the ad-hoc committee that will assess the recommended candidates for the vetting bodies that will scan hundreds of judges and prosecutors as part of the judicial reform adopted in July, which is considered key to Albania’s progress on its EU membership path. Speaker of parliament Ilir Meta convened an extraordinary plenary session to vote on the vetting process and establishment of the parliamentary ad-hoc committee which will scan all proposed names for the vetting bodies. Lawmakers voted to name Socialist Party MPs Ulsi Manja and Vasilika Hysi, and Luan Rama from the Socialist Movement for Integration, as members of the parliamentary ad hoc committee. MPs also rejected the candidacy of Shpetim Idrizi, chairman of the Party for Justice Integration and Unity (PDIU), smaller coalition partner.

Rama – There is no crisis, elections will be held (ATA)

Prime Minister Edi Rama said that there is no crisis and the country would not remain without any opposition, during a television interview on Monday. The Premier said that it was the right of the people to decide who would be leading them the next 4 years adding that there was no crisis as the Democratic Party says and that the only way would be to dialogue in order to enhance elections’ legal framework and any guaranteeing mechanism to the opposition so that a Constitution-based country is established. Rama declared that he considered opposition as the spirit of freedom thus how long there is freedom there will be an opposition present.

Referring to SMI’s position PM Rama said that the attempt is seen as providing solution to the crisis not a threat to the SP hence there was no ground to comment on this issue. According to PM Rama every political actor will enter elections despite their expressed standpoints.

“We are at a historic reform process. The judicial reform is vital, we are at a crossroad to decide Albania’s future therefore elections will be held despite what is said,” said Rama. Rama also commented on the proposal of SMI to deliver its minister’s mandates in order to resolve this political impasse adding that it does not help the situation since their joint liability as a coalition is to serve people until the last day. The Premier referred to the calls on dialogue which did not find any response although there had been contacts between the parties appointing the time and place of Rama-Basha meeting but it was never confirmed.

INTERNATIONAL PRESS

Serbia – An Autocracy Blessed by EU and Russia (Intelligencer Post, by Asja Francisti, 10 April 2017)

It has been more than a week since thousands of young people took to the streets of major cities to show their dissatisfaction with the results of presidential elections in Serbia, while European Union officials were quick to rejoice and congratulate the winner, Prime Minister turned president, Aleksandar Vučić, hailing him as the “factor of stability in the Balkans” and assurance of pro-European road. Yet there is nothing European about Prime Minister so consumed by the need for power that he simply decided to control and occupy not one, but two most important seats in Serbian politics. There was nothing European about the electoral campaign, which came down to a one man show and a race that was everyone else’s to lose. The post-electoral week started off with 30.000 people in the streets of Belgrade, and thousands of protesters in Novi Sad, Kragujevac and other major cities across Serbia. Their message is clear – we do not accept the election results, because the elections themselves were illegitimate. Most media outlets either ignored these events, or branded protesters’ as “vandals, hooligans, drug addicts and drunk youth”. It seems like a sad deja vu of famous students’ protests that spanned through the cold winter from November 1996 to February 1997 when similar disappointment in rigged election process drew tens of thousands of citizens and students to the streets. But the saddest difference is that in the 1990s, the world looked at these young people in awe. In 2017, they stand alone, while their autocrat is hailed by Western leaders for democracy, progress and stability he brings to the Balkans. What changed and how did Aleksandar Vučić succeed where his former boss Slobodan Milošević had not?

Who is the most powerful man in Serbia?

Murky past. Aleksandar Vučić was born in 1970. in Belgrade. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Belgrade. For a brief period, he worked as a journalist. His political career took off in the 1990s, where he was a trusted aide and Padawan to Vojislav Šešelj, leader of far-right ultra-nationalist Serbian Radical Party. Vučić gained notoriety as an outspoken proponent of war in Bosnia, at one point stating that “for every killed Serbian soldier, we should kill 100 Muslims”. The height of his 1990s era career was becoming a Minister of Information. Under his lead, the Ministry of Information heavily cracked down on few independent media outlets that opposed the politics of Serbian President Slobodan Milošević’s regime.

Transformation

After the Democratic Revolution in October 2000, Serbian Radical Party, alongside Vučić, turned into opposition. In 2003, party leader Vojislav Šešelj voluntarily surrendered and went to the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in Hague, in order to stand trial for ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Croatia. The torch of the leader passed down to Tomislav Nikolić, with Vučić second in power. Understanding that Serbian Radical Party became obsolete in post-2000 political setting, with members frustrated and feeling leaderless with Nikolić who was simply a stand in for Šešelj, whose trial ended up dragging for over a decade, Vučić felt that he needed to modify and modernize his political positions and goals if he was to remain relevant. That is how Serbian Progressive Party was born in 2008. All of a sudden, Vučić was promoting democratic, liberal values, as well as supporting EU membership.

Enemy’s failures and loyalty of old friends

Serbian Progressive Party owed a lot of its popularity to the shortcomings of then ruling Democratic Party, led by Boris Tadić. Shady privatization process of state owned land, corruption, partocracy and nepotism, as well as political compromises with right wing Democratic Party of Serbia and late Slobodan Milošević’s Socialist Party of Serbia, slowly frustrated and alienated growing number of voters and supporters of the democrats. Faced with growing demands of European Union, especially regarding the status of Kosovo, Boris Tadić found himself cornered between what needs to be done and what voters expected. Aleksandar Vučić knew how to capitalize on that, still officially acting from the sidelines, letting mostly Tomislav Nikolić take the spotlight.

By the time 2012. parliamentary elections kicked in, Democratic Party leader Boris Tadić felt self-confident and wanted to consolidate his power. Serbian Progressive Party won majority of votes, which was to be expected. Serbian Socialist Party, another example of 1990s ghost successfully refurnished for post-2000 era, had the power to form a coalition with Democrats and basically ensure survival of the existing government – and Democrats were positively assured this was going to happen. However, after Tomislav Nikolić won presidential race with Boris Tadić, Socialists turned to the Progressives and the deal was done – 1990s could happen all over again. This time, the lessons were learned, some attitudes were adjusted, everyone’s hands are clean in the eyes of law, but the way they rule shows little difference compared to the dark 1990s.

The Circle is Full

Following Progressives’ rise to power, they effectively finished what the Democrats started. The Progressive party is everywhere – in parliament, government, governmental offices, institutions, universities, medical institutions, bloated public service sector suffocating under the weight of decades of hiring loyal party members. For an average Serbian citizen, earning a job through educational references and hard work is like winning a lottery – it is known to happen, but it happens rarely. On the other hand, membership in the ruling coalition party and loyalty to its leader is what gets people work, promotion and semi-decent salary. Of course, over the years, with public sector overflowing with invented bureaucratic positions meant to satisfy loyal minions’ hunger, even the most miserably paid job (such as a doorman) allegedly requires a membership card.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Serbia was declared a world leader in brain drain. During the last several years, the spark in number of medical professionals going to Germany represented a special dose of bitter irony – given that Serbian medical system has a problem with a deficit of nurses, doctors and specialists, who work for 300-600 euro monthly salaries. Serbian Finance Minister Dušan Vujević offered a solution – “find another country if you are not satisfied with this one”. Those who are too old, unqualified or want to stay – have to either work it out on their own, or play by the rules and try to save the little they have. This turns out to be a growingly impossible task.

One of the most famous electoral promises for the past 17 years in Serbia has been “foreign investments”, which by extension means “more jobs”. Fair enough, yet former governments and the current one seemed so eager to host foreign investors that they rarely negotiated the conditions, resulting in dubious agreements which saw Serbian taxpayers heavily subsidizing private owned businesses. In many of those companies and factories, Serbian citizens ended up being cheap workforce stripped of basic labour rights. The plight of the workers in South Korean factory “Yura” in the town of Leskovac surfaced in the media last year. The workers allegedly had to work 12 hour shifts with diapers on, without toilet or lunch breaks. They accused management of mobbing, physical abuse and sexual harassment, but the official complaints they filed to the authorities were neither addressed or processed. After the story found its way to N1 TV station, the Ministry of Labour swiftly dismissed these claims, citing inspectors who found only “minor irregularities”.

During the electoral campaign, a few weeks ago, 57 year old man, worker in the factory “Goša” in Smederevska Palanka, committed a suicide at workplace. As his friends and colleagues said, he explained in his farewell letter that the motive was depression and desperation caused by extreme poverty. The management of the factory owes the workers between 15 and 20 monthly salaries, and hasn’t paid taxes for their health insurance and pension funds for three years. As the workers, who are currently on strike, stated, they are not sure how much money they are owed, as they are occasionally given 15-20 euros in “varying intervals”. These clear violations of labour laws weren’t noted or sanctioned in any way by the authorities in charge. The factory was owned by Slovakian company “ŽOS Trnava”, but in a matter of days changed the owner. At the moment, the official registry states that it is“Lisnart Holdings Limited” from Cyprus.

And while events like these may sound like something that should force the entire government into early resignation, in Serbia, people proved to be desensitized by the scandals that seem to pile on top of each other.

Scandals

Floods

During late Spring in 2014, massive floods hit Southeastern Europe, including Serbia. One of the towns that sustained the heaviest damage was a small suburban municipality of the capital Belgrade – Obrenovac. Despite red alert issued as early as May 12, Kolubara river level growing by astounding seven meters in the following two days, other rivers in vicinity flooding the fields and roads, the citizens of Obrenovac were in their beds when massive wave hit their town in the morning hours of May 16. 37 people died and more than 500 homes were destroyed. The investigation conducted by the journalists of Center for Investigative Journalism in Serbia, to this day, remains the only investigation conducted about the disaster. One painful, striking conclusion supported by the documents, scientists and the accounts of local survivors is that destruction and casualties could have been prevented with better organization of municipal defense systems and timely evacuation. Miroslav Čučković, the mayor of Obrenovac from the ranks of Progressive Party, remains at this position to this day. At the dawn of 21st century, president Tomislav Nikolić concluded that Serbia was attacked by an “unpredictable water serpent”.

The Helicopter

On 14th of March 2015, a military helicopter carrying seven people, including a newborn baby who needed immediate medical treatment, crashed due to thick fog at the airport Nikola Tesla in Belgrade. This tragedy took place after a few media outlets published a news snippet stating that Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić and a few other officials welcomed the military and medical crew landing at this very location – even before it happened. These news were quickly deleted, leaving public to wonder whether the lives of people were lost due to a failed publicity stunt. Military experts, the public and the media have raised numerous questions about the accident, including why the helicopter was ordered to fly in poor weather and why the crew was directed to land at the civil Nikola Tesla airport in Belgrade amid the fog. None of these questions were ever answered. Defense Minister, Bratislav Gašić, remained on that position until another scandal broke out. He made a tasteless joke in front of dozens of journalists and recording cameras, saying that “he liked the (female) reporters who drop on their knees easily”, referring to a journalist who crouched in order to position her microphone.

The Phantom of Savamala

Last year, Serbian Ombudsman (and this year presidential candidate) Saša Janković, issued a report concluding that Belgrade police deliberately refused to respond to calls from people “who saw around 30 masked men armed with baseball bats and equipped with diggers, tearing down buildings on the riverbank of “Savamala” neighborhood on the night between April 24 and 25, and allegedly beating up local residents.” The neighborhood in question is part of the greater area due to be turned into “Belgrade Waterfront”, with new opera house, shopping center and luxury hotels and apartments. The “Belgrade Waterfront” project is veiled under a shady deal, which, for the most part, remains classified. Nothing screams “failed state”, like a demolition in the middle of urban district near the city center, with the gang of masked men holding witnesses hostage and beating them, and police and judiciary doing nothing about it. After voicing these allegations, Saša Janković, well known for being critical towards many of the government policies (or lack of them), found himself once again as a target of massive smear campaign, conducted by pro-government tabloid “Informer” and an online army of Progressives’ supporters who are allegedly “employed” as living “Internet bots”. This form of bullying is now well established part of political public discourse in Serbia, meant to make journalists and public figures think twice before they criticize the work of the government. Those who don’t think twice, like weekly magazine “NIN”, end up being fined in warp-speed trials in the judicial system where even the simplest of cases tend to drag for decades. After the parliamentary elections in 2016, where Progressives won majority in parliament of Vojvodina province, in a matter of days, the TV station of Public Broadcasting Service of Vojvodina, RTV, saw a swift change of the entire management, as well as reassignment of the editors, journalists and anchors who were known to hold and express views critical of government. In this atmosphere of misery, fear and struggle, Serbia walked into presidential elections campaign.

The Elections

Since 2012, the opposition in Serbia has been virtually non-existent. Democratic Party lost most of its support over refusal to be held accountable for failure to cut ties with 1990s legacy and inability to guide Serbia through transitional years. They effectively finished digging their own grave with discredited leadership and persistently condescending attitude towards disillusioned (ex) voters. The rise of Progressives, after all, was built on foundation of their autocratic tendencies.

Former Ombudsman Saša Janković has never been too specific about his ideological standpoint, with most of his campaign revolving around opposition to Vučić and what was of primary concern to disillusioned citizens – “decency, order, rules, and principles”. This shows how low the bar is set at this point, with Serbian voters still discussing and negotiating the basics with politicians. An unlikely candidate surfaced out of nowhere during this electoral campaign, addressing another group of young people who lost their trust in political process. Luka Maksimović campaigned under his alter ego, a satirized grotesque of average Serbian politician, “Ljubiša Preletačević Beli”. His “surname”, roughly translating as “fly over”, is tongue in cheek to the well-established practice of Serbian politicians to switch from one to another ideologically opposed political party – in accordance with said party’s electoral success. Yet the elections were theirs to lose – Vučić won 54.9 percent of votes, second was Saša Janković with 16.2 percent of votes, followed by Luka Maksimović with 9.4 percent, according to the Belgrade based election watchdog Citizens at Watch (CRTA).

How is this possible, and why are most people not surprised? Serbian Progressive Party takes elections very seriously, and the race went with the opposition candidates’ hands and legs tied. With a few notable exceptions of limited reach, media in Serbia comes down to being more or less open mouthpiece for the government, so the electoral campaign that went against any fair, legal and democratic principle wasn’t exactly, well, news. The research conducted by NGO “Transparency Serbia” showed that Aleksandar Vučić received majority of overall presidential race coverage in daily newspapers. He was portrayed in positive light 98 times, compared to 27 times for Luka Maksimović, 18 times for Saša Janković and 10 times for Vuk Jeremić. The remaining candidates earned less than 20 positive stories. Regarding stories in negative context, Saša Janković received negative coverage 40 times, followed by 31 time for Vuk Jeremić. Jeremić’s wife Nataša Jeremić (well known former news anchor at Radio-television Serbia) was openly slandered by Progressive party’s lawmaker Milenko Jovanov, who accused her of being “a boss of Serbian narco-cartel”. Three quarters of overall TV coverage was also dedicated to Vučić, who capitalized on his Prime Minister function. Similar minute/headline ratio is part of media’s regular offer.

Winning hearts and minds is not a difficult job in Serbia, where the overall political culture remains at arguably low level, roughly stuck somewhere at the beginning of 20th century. Let alone 500 years of being colonized by Ottoman Empire, most of Serbian modern history was plagued by wars, political instability, identity crisis and the infamous Cult of the Leader. Serbian people had little time to build viable democratic system and trust in institutions, thus remaining rather vulnerable to the Syren’s song of autocrats. Whether it was a lifelong president Josip Broz Tito, nationalist turned renegade Slobodan Milošević, democratic revolutionary Zoran Đinđić or slick centrist Boris Tadić – Serbian people love their leaders. Even the Serbian word for government, “vlada” shows deeply ingrained lack of society’s capacity to view politicians as public, replaceable servants, governors or administrators – its literal meaning actually corresponds to the English world “rule”.

Where Progressives fail to win hearts and minds, either because people are not satisfied with their living standard or among minority population with developed political culture, blackmail and bullying proved to be a successful strategy. People who get jobs, privileges and perks thanks to their party membership allegedly need to prove their loyalty. According to the reports, their tasks fall down to tireless phone calls to potential voters, campaigning on the field, gathering lists of “safe votes”, slandering and smearing political opponents in media and online, as well as taking the blame for the ensuing chaos. When the entire institutional system is embedded in partocracy (a persistent legacy of the Communist Party in former Yugoslavia), everyone who takes part in it has a big interest in keeping it alive and running, which is why this form of corruption is so deeply entrenched in Serbian society to this day. And while some people within that system are eager to maintain their privilege and power, in 2017, when the swamp of public budget is almost dried up, most people just fight for scraps, exchanging their vote for assurance that they won’t lose a job that pays 200 euros a month and probably feeds their entire family.

What made Vučić so successful?

Aleksandar Vučić cannot govern – but he knows how to gain and maintain power, which is why his way of governing is perpetuum mobile of campaigning and snap elections.

Pick your battles. And while he repeats so many patterns of his predecessors and gurus from the 1990s, he also learned from their mistakes and vowed never to make them. Aleksandar Vučić knows how to keep Russians and European Union equally pleased. He knows how to do what needs to be done, and knows how to talk his way out of it – circular what-aboutery, emotional appeals and ad-hominem attacks are the staple of his public discourse. To Serbian people, Donald Trump’s condescending attitude and attacks on media, seem like the recipe coming straight out of Vučić’s cookbook. Speaking of media, Vučić refused to engage in something that is supposed to be the fundamental part of democratic electoral process in media – a public presidential debate. In the end, Vučić is well versed in being verbally abusive towards those he perceives inferior, such as female TV show hosts and minor public figures. He is smart enough to let tabloids, online army or party officials smear any respectable, powerful, well-spoken individuals he deems a serious threat, keeping his hands clean and getting to step in as the savior to condemn these attacks.

Know your allies

Vučić knows that Kosovo is his ticket towards good graces of Brussels. He consented to a number of compromises and concessions when he signed a Brussels agreement, but as director of the Forum for Ethnical Relations in Serbia, Dušan Janjić, pointed out in his interview with Deutsche Welle, “the lack of transparency in the international community” regarding this agreement leaves a lot of space for “speculation and different versions of truth”. Vučić knows how to make use of this situation, spinning every new hard concession as an audacious and unexpected unilateral request from Kosovo. The fact is, Kosovo has its own parliament, government, judiciary and law enforcement institutions, as well as an international dial number and obligation of Serbian officials to ask for permission before they organize gathering on the premises under the jurisdiction of Priština. Cooperation with Kosovo isn’t really a choice, so one cannot blame Vučić for sitting at the negotiating table, but one can blame him for hypocrisy and flammable rhetoric which keeps him in power and both Serbian public and Kosovo Serbs in the dark.

Military and strategic co-operation with Russia, such as getting free hand-me-down airplanes that, actually, need to be paid for after all, may not be good for Serbian people and their interests, but it surely keeps Vladimir Putin content. In a similar manner, during the ruling days of Boris Tadić, Serbian oil giant “Oil Industry of Serbia” was sold for arguably low price to Russian “Gazprom neft”. It was a dubious gamble of Boris Tadić, partly motivated by need of Russian political support for the (already lost) cause of Kosovo. As Tadić was becoming increasingly defiant regarding disputed territory, Vučić knew better, and also managed to keep Russian interests safe, thus securing their good graces.

Don’t thread the water

Vučić likes to compare himself to the late Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić. Pro-government tabloids even published a few conspiracy theory reports, stating that Vučić is at risk of assassination. Of course, there is nothing that he ever did that would qualify him for such flattering risk, which greatly differs him from charismatic, decisive liberal democrat Zoran Đinđić who dared to stir up the hornet’s nest of Serbian organized criminal and paid with his life for it. Not only did his successors never dare to come near that nest again, they have never even dared to investigate the political background of the assassination, which to this day remains unresolved.

Can this go on forever?

After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, her former republics used to be a focal battlefield of Western and Russian influence in Europe. In 2017, Slovenia and Croatia are EU members, Serbia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are candidates for membership. Montenegro is currently seeking to join NATO. Western influence prevailed in most of the Balkans, and EU is confident enough to put up with a limited amount of Russian interference. Save for a few minor flare ups and the usual tensions induced for the purposes of domestic political consumption, the situation in the Balkans has been stable. With Brexit, refugee crisis and conflicts in the Middle East as top priorities, EU leaders have little interest in involving themselves in internal affairs of Serbia. Back in the 1990s, opposition and NGO’s critical of Milošević’s regime received generous financial and moral support from the West – in 2017, those wells are dry.

The Balancing Act

Judging by the whispers in the hallways of EU admission offices, EU won’t be receiving new members anytime soon, so there is no need to pressure Serbia into progress at anything faster than a glacial pace. EU has proved to be willing to turn a blind eye to the shortcomings and misgivings of Serbian government in exchange for other compromises and provisions. The scandalous case of Savamala demolitions and subsequent protests of citizens somehow ceased to be the part of a yearly progress report by European Commission, in spite of the fact that rule of law was its focal point. These flagrant abuses, in absolute contradiction with laudable remarks about Serbian legal system, were addressed in one of 325 amendments (a record number so far) filed by different lawmakers of European Parliament. The fact that a yearly report needs more than three hundred amendments shows that EU has little interest in substantial approach towards Serbia’s EU candidacy.

This shabby approach stems both from EU’s lack of interest in admitting new members and need to assure support. In the end, Bulgarian, Romanian or Croatian society and democracy are, to less extent, plagued by many of the similar problems, yet they earned their ticket to EU. Behind the closed doors, as Deutsche Welle reports, EU is slightly more critical of the Serbian government, but their primary concern ahead of General Affairs Council meeting in Belgrade at the end of April remains “negative image of European integrations in Serbia”. It is true that this negative image stems from lack of Serbia’s own government’s transparency regarding less pleasant sides of this process. It is also true that euroscepticism is a staple of far-right politics and pro-Russian lobby in the country. But it would be very wise for Brussels officials to think twice how their gushing support for Vučić reflects on their image among people of the left side of spectrum, who are supposed to be their primary allies. EU enlargement prospects not being part of the aforementioned protocol and little mention of synchronizing foreign policy with that of Brussels (as a prerequisite for admitting new members), further imply that EU does not see Serbia as its member anytime soon. They know that Vučić cannot keep his balancing act forever – but they can live with a status quo for quite some time, while Serbian people, on the other hand, feel like their entire youth is withering away.

EU’s Identity Crisis

This ordeal reveals one more, much deeper problem of EU – its own identity crisis, mutually exclusive realities of being a champion of human rights and democracy and being a political entity in need of securing its influence, relevance and survival. It is one of the things that is eating EU from the inside out – a growing distance between Brussels and people who are starting to feel that they are serving hundreds of bureaucrats who do not work in their best interest. The growing disparity between what EU project is giving and taking from people is present in the example of Serbia. EU unequivocally put EU project ahead of wellbeing of Serbian people. This may prove to be a good short-term strategy for keeping Balkans in control, in the middle of the world where everything else seems be hitting the fen. But long term, Brussels is losing trust and a valuable support of its traditional allies among the Serbian people, thus creating a fertile ground for continuation of its own crisis even before (if ever) Serbia becomes a member of EU.

Protests of Serbian people continued this weekend in Belgrade, with a large gathering of protesters from all over Serbia, joined by labour unions of police and military. Tens of thousands people in the streets, every day of the week, failed to reach headlines on government-controlled major TV stations and in newspapers. Prime Minister/President Vučić, on the other hand, was all the rage when he confidently swooped in to the premises of previously mentioned factory “Goša”, where a worker took his own life, defeated by poverty, misery and injustice. The Saviour was followed by a dozen of cameras, as he was sternly promising to punish the management, immediately give workers 500 euros and pay for their health insurance. Dead worker’s colleagues applauded. In a speech outlined within his regular template, Vučić’s opening remarks were directed at the democrats’ government, which was long gone when the crisis in the factory started unraveling. He went on with a mandatory mention of the unspecified “they” who think ill him, finishing with a rhetorical pirouette – a lament over himself, who now has to solve all these problems, wisely hiding that the government is, truth be told, bailing out a private owned, law-breaking business with Serbian taxpayers’ money. Once more, he confirmed that Serbian people asking for better life or justice should not rely on institutions, law or some distant support from Brussels – their entire lives are the subject of will and mercy of one man. Now that all hands are on deck, the question remains – are Serbian people willing to play the game, or this April, they might be the ones to break the wheel?