Student protests in Serbia lead to resignation of Prime Minister Vučević

Brussels – At a press conference called in Belgrade this morning, Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević announced his resignation, attempting to quell the wave of protests shaking the country for nearly three months. However, the demands of the population, led by the strong student mobilization, go far beyond that, and Vučević’s step back is unlikely to be enough to restore order.

Serbia has been paralyzed since the collapse of a bus shelter at the Novi Sad train station on Nov. 1, 2024, killing 15 people and seriously injuring two. The incident opened a can of worms about rampant corruption in the Balkan country, with thousands of people spilling into the streets shouting ‘Corruption kills.’ The escalating tensions between protesters and Serbian authorities led – on Monday, Jan. 24 – to a general civil disobedience strike and a roadblock, by students and farmers, of two major arteries into central Belgrade.

Vučević, who was at the center of the storm because he was mayor of Novi Sad at the time of the renovation of the train station while defending the work of his government, admitted that Serbia “seems to have come to a standstill” after the tragic incident, which opened “deep divisions” in the country. Vučević reportedly decided to resign after, last night, in Novi Sad itself, some students were attacked by a violent group, causing the serious injury of a woman. According to the state media, the ambush was a sort of retaliation against the students, guilty of vandalizing an office of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) with anti-government graffiti and stickers. The nationalist party that has been in power for twelve years is an expression of Premier Vučević and President Aleksandar Vučić.

“I expect the perpetrators of the attack to be arrested,” the resigning premier said in condemning the attack by the violent wing of SNS sympathizers. However, providing no evidence, he then revived accusations of foreign interference in the spread of the protests. Vučević also pointed his finger at the opposition, which he said was guilty of wanting to profit politically from the Novi Sad incident.

From Brussels, the European Commission is closely watching developments in the Balkan country, which has been a candidate for EU membership for 11 years. “We are concerned about the incidents against protesters, for which we expect swift investigations by the Serbian authorities,” EU executive spokesman for Enlargement, Guillaume Mercier, said today, citing the attack on students in Novi Sad. “We recall that under EU law, authorities must protect participants in demonstrations from armed or violent groups,” he added.

Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland [Photo via Imagoeconomica]

In response to Belgrade’s vague accusations against Western countries – with President Vučić denouncing from the Davos forum the interference of “foreign agents, from several Western countries” to stir protests – the European Commission responded sharply: “The spread of disinformation and hostile political rhetoric, including against the EU and its citizens, has no place in the EU’s integration path.”

Albeit cautiously, Brussels sides with the protestors, reminding them that “citizen participation plays a key role in the development of a healthy society, including promoting transparency and accountability, values we expect all candidate countries to embrace.” In addition to full transparency in public projects — starting with the publication of all of the documentation on the renovation of the Novi Sad train station — students and protesters are calling for the withdrawal of false accusations against those arrested during the protests and the filing of criminal charges against those responsible for the violence committed on protesters, in several cases people proved affiliated with Vučić’s SNS. The student collectives leading the protests also demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Vučević and the mayor of Novi Sad.

 Now that they have obtained the premier’s step back and that Vučić ordered the release of some important documents on the Novi Sad station, students and protesters are unlikely to stop. The president has thirty days to decide whether to appoint a new executive or call snap elections, which could break the SNS hegemony over the country’s political life. The public squares are waiting for him.