Aleksandar Vucic is accustomed to the spotlight. As Serbia’s all-powerful president, loyal media outlets followed his every move for years. His TikTok outbursts led the evening news. But on October 25 he lost the election to the Student List, and since then, a lot has changed.
Vucic complained at a press conference, before fewer microphones than usual, that the winners were practising “revolutionary terror.” He threatened: “If they continue to terrorize those who think differently – beatings, destruction and all the rest – and the state authorities do nothing, we will be forced to organize ourselves.”
Vucic regards the immediate resignation of the general director of the Serbian state broadcaster RTS as an example of this “terror.” Senior RTS editors have also been dismissed.
On Monday, a small group of protesters invaded the Informer TV station. Thousands of complaints have been lodged against Informer over the years for its demonization of Vucic critics. Now, journalists’ associations are calling for its license to be revoked.
Tabloid media outlets loyal to Vucic have already changed their tone. Unlike Informer, they no longer refer to the Student List as “terrorists” and “mercenaries.”
Old accusations against Vucic
The List, which emerged from the student revolt, is made up of professors, activists and artists. In the election on October 25, it won 53% of the vote, leaving Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) trailing with just 39%.
Since then, things have moved fast. In many cities, citizens peacefully removed portraits of Vucic from municipal buildings. The public prosecutor’s office for organized crime has launched investigations, including into electoral fraud. A special commission is examining the work of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade, which critics say did Vucic’s bidding, and persecuted his opponents.
The accusations against him are old ones: that he and his system kept the media under tight control; that state contracts were only awarded to companies loyal to the regime; and that Vucic, his party, and the Serbian state had links to organized crime.
The catalyst for the revolt was the collapse, two years ago, of the concrete canopy on the newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad. Sixteen people died. The accident is believed to have happened as a result of poor workmanship and corruption in the awarding and execution of the renovation contract.
Those who were celebrating in the streets a few days ago are already growing impatient. The new parliament has not yet been convened, and the SNS still controls many levers of power.
“A society that was oppressed for so long by a party that acted like a feudal lord now, understandably, expects justice,” Dejan Bursac from the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at Belgrade University told DW. “In this power vacuum, people are getting impatient.”
Vucic and leading officials promise to be a strong opposition, and expect to make a quick comeback once “this lot” have ruined the country. But the majority of critics are calling for Vucic to be investigated and charged. “The SNS people are acting as if they had lost a local election somewhere in democratic Scandinavia, not as if they were part of a deeply corrupt and criminal regime,” said Bursac.
How much damage can the old government do to the new one?
It’s very common in Serbia for politicians to switch allegiance from one camp to another. They go where the power is. Even Vucic has admitted that many of his former comrades-in-arms are turning their backs on him. “We are going to see cases of people resigning or staying in the shadows, even putting themselves forward as informants for the next government,” said Zlatko Minic from Transparency Serbia, an organization that monitors the work of governments.
The million-dollar question is: How much damage can the old government do to the new one? “There’s still time for many officials to award contracts and create financial obligations for the agencies they run without necessarily committing a criminal offense,” Minic warned.
However, those familiar with the situation said that for some time now the Student List has had contacts with officials in the police and administration opposed to Vucic’s style of government. The winners of the election may now be able to prevent certain actions. On Wednesday, the List again demanded the resignations of leading officials in the police and judiciary. Whistleblowers were also asked to come forward if the outgoing government should try to “destroy documents.”
In a symbolic move, Student List representatives held their first press conference in Pioneers Park in front of the parliament building. Vucic’s followers fenced off the park in 2025, turning it into a pro-government encampment. According to investigative journalists, it also became a base for thugs and criminals who attacked anti-government demonstrators. The morning after the Student List’s election win, its supporters went out with binbags and cleaned up the park.
No change in foreign policy
The victorious Student List unites left- and right-wingers, pro-European and pro-Russian forces. It is focussed on making changes in domestic politics, and wants to advance European Union accession talks by implementing real reforms. The List opposes sanctions on Russia and the recognition of Kosovo — positions that almost the entire population of Serbia agrees with.
“Our plan is to stabilize and develop the country, not to destabilize it with some abrupt change of course on foreign policy,” Oliver Toskovic, a psychology professor and future member of parliament, told DW.
Toskovic said that, unlike under Vucic, the EU will not be misused as a “cover.” Serbia’s EU accession process recently stalled, with Vucic accusing “the West” of inciting a “color revolution” in Serbia.
“We are very dependent on Russia for energy. This is really a mistake of the previous government,” Toskovic said. “But for that reason, sanctions right now would destabilize the country. And that would not be good for us or for the EU.” How energy policy will develop under a Student List government is still unclear.
Where Vucic would frequently take aim at Kosovo, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading representatives of the new List have promised better relationships with Serbia’s neighbors and a reduction in tensions. On Kosovo, Ilija Srdanovic, the Student List’s lead candidate, has said the party is open to dialog with the government in the Kosovar capital, Pristina. He has already spoken by phone with the prime minister of Croatia.
The electoral process is not yet over. On Sunday, November 1, the vote will be repeated in some 50 polling stations because there were irregularities first time around. Once these votes are counted, parliament can be convened. The formation of a government is expected to be quick, but for now the names of the prospective members have not been disclosed.
This article has been translated from German.
