On Wednesday, June 15, former Serbian Prime Minister and now newly elected President Aleksandar Vučić appointed 41-year-old financial consultant Ana Brnabic as the next prime minister, writes a European edition EUobserver.
Serbia rarely makes international headlines these days, but last week was an exception. New Prime Minister Brnabic made headlines as the first openly lesbian head of government, prompting debate about how much Serbia had changed since Yugoslavia's bloody breakup in the 1990s.
The appointment came as a surprise to the rest of the world, but not so much in Serbia: Brnabić had already held a position in Vučić's cabinet, where she was Minister of Public and Local Administration and had some success in modernizing Serbia's heavy bureaucracy.
Brnabic is clearly non-partisan and was brought to the government as an expert. With a Western education, mind and a clearly pro-European vector of thinking, she has always projected an aura of calm efficiency. Her name was even raised as a possible successor to Vučić for several weeks, although most people believed that she would take the place of Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic.
When she first entered the Cabinet last August, Brnabic aroused mild curiosity, not outrage. She never hid her sexual orientation, but she liked to emphasize that she was not an activist.
"I don't want to be labeled as a 'gay minister,'" she said in a recent interview.
She took part in last year's parade in Belgrade, but explicitly stated that LGBT rights are not part of her portfolio.
“I am not here [in government] as a supporter of the LGBT community,” she said.
This is why Brnabic was met with relatively little resistance, apart from some grumblings from ultra-conservatives in Srpska Orthodox Church and far right parties.
The LGBT community in Serbia was divided on this issue: most thought it was a big step forward, others saw it as a friendly PR stunt to cover up the fact that Serbian society and politics are still homophobic.
They pointed out that the annual pride parades still require a strong police presence, and that gay and trans people are often physically attacked, with the perpetrators almost never punished.
Much more controversial is Brnabic's role in Vučić's increasingly authoritarian style of government.
Some critics said her promotion was meant to mask the presidential crackdown on the opposition and the free press from the West. Her critics point out that she was not elected but appointed by a new president who did not consult with his own party or coalition partners. Brnabić reportedly found out that she got the job through the media.
There are other downsides as well. For example, Brnabic's lack of political experience will make it difficult for her to oversee many Serbian ministers (there are 19 in the cabinet).
The fact that she does not have much support in Vučić's Serbian Progressive Party also makes her politically vulnerable and highly dependent on the president's support.
Progressives have been disappointed that the new prime minister has not come from the ranks, and some are already sharpening their knives.
This internal pressure seems to have forced Vučić to take a few steps back.
On Friday, just two days after he announced Brnabic's appointment, he declared that she "would only deal with economic matters and politics would be decided by Dacic," downgrading her profile even before she took office.
He also said Saturday that Brnabic may not get enough votes to confirm his parliament, in which the progressives have a clear majority.
Does this mean that Brnabic may not eventually become Serbia's first gay prime minister?
In fact, most likely, she will become one.
Most analysts agree that Vučić deliberately outmaneuvered the resistance within his party, which has hitherto catered to his every whim.
Some say he is using the situation to tighten his grip on progressive forces and purge rebellious people, while others say he is planning another round of early parliamentary elections.
If anything, he seems to enjoy campaigning more than dealing with government issues. Serbia has held elections four times in the last five years, all of them for no good reason, but for putting Vučić in the spotlight.
Meanwhile, Brnabic's future in Serbian politics looks bleak so far. She, alas, lacks legitimacy and popularity.
(Aleksandar Vučić, Aleksandar Vučić) was born on March 5, 1970 in Belgrade, the eldest son of Anjelko Vučić and Angelina Milovanov.
Angelko's father is an economist by profession, originally from the village of Cipulic, near Bugojno in Bosnia and Herzegovina, his entire family was slaughtered by the Ustashe and only his pregnant mother, Dragica, the grandmother of Aleksandar Vučić, managed to escape. Mother Angelina (Milovanov) from Bechey, also an economist by profession, but worked as a journalist.
The cross glory of the Vučići is St. Nicholas, and that of the Milovanovs is St. Stephen.
Alexander was an excellent student at school, studied at high school"Branko Radicevic" and Zemun Gymnasium. He won the city and republican Olympiads in history, the champion of Belgrade in chess among youths. He graduated from the Faculty of Law in Belgrade in record time and with excellent grades, studied English in England in Brighton (at the same time he worked as a salesman in London). As one of the best students of the course, he received a scholarship from the Young Scientists Support Fund. Worked for Channel C in Pale, Republika Srpska in 1992-93, where he prepared and hosted news on English language, as Alexander Vucic himself recalls, he interviewed Radovan Karadzic and played chess with Ratko Mladic. In 1993, he joined the Serbian Radical Party, was elected to the National Assembly of Serbia, two years later, at the age of 24, he became the general secretary of the party.
Despite his aggressive rhetoric, Vučić never took part in the fighting in the former Yugoslavia.
In 1996, after the victory of the radicals in the local elections in Zemun, he became the director of the Sports and Business Center "Pinky".
On March 24, 1998, Aleksandar Vučić became Minister of Information in Mirko Marjanović's National Unity Government, which included the Socialist Party of Serbia, Serbian radical party and the Yugoslav Left. During his ministerial term, he signed the Law on Public Information, which introduced heavy fines for journalists, and also closed a number of newspapers and television and radio stations during the NATO bombings.
Aleksandar Vucic was included in the list of officials who are banned from entering the European Union and the United States.
After the signing of the Kumanov agreement, which ended hostilities with NATO, on June 14, 1999, all ministers from the ranks of the Serbian Radical Party resigned.
Vucic was elected to the Federal Assembly of the FRY three times: in February 1998, in May 2000 and in the federal elections on September 24, 2000. In May 2000, the Federal Government of the FRY appointed Aleksandar Vučić a member of the Council of the Federal Public Institution RTV Yugoslavia. In February 2001, Vučić surrendered his parliamentary mandate.
Aleksandar Vučić was the General Secretary of the Serbian Radical Party, Chairman of the New Belgrade Community Committee, Member of Parliament and Deputy Chairman of the SRS faction in the National Assembly of Serbia, Member of the Administrative Committee and the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, and Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Kosovo and Metohija and the Committee on Culture and information.
In the 2004 Belgrade mayoral election, Aleksandar Vučić won 29% of the vote in the first round and 48.4% in the second.
On May 28, 2008, the Serbian Radical Party, together with the coalition Democratic Party of Serbia - New Serbia and the coalition of the Socialist Party of Serbia - the Party of United Pensioners of Serbia - United Serbia signed a general coalition agreement, in which an agreement was reached on the formation of a majority in the Assembly of Belgrade, and Vučić was proposed for mayor of Belgrade. However, the coalition around the Socialist Party of Serbia at the republican level agreed on a coalition with the Democratic Party and formed a coalition government, under pressure from Boris Tadic, the socialists abandoned the coalition with the radicals at the Belgrade level, and Vučić failed to become the mayor of the capital.
On September 15 of the same year, after a serious dispute between the leaders of the SRS Vojislav Seselj and Tomislav Nikolic, which ended in a split in the party, Vučić resigned from party posts and announced his temporary resignation from political activity(which lasted two and a half weeks).
In early October, Aleksandar Vučić announced that Tomislav Nikolic had joined the process of creating the Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska napredna stranka).
At the organizational congress of the SNA on October 21, Vučić was elected deputy chairman of the party.
After the victory of Tomislav Nikolic in the presidential elections on May 20, 2012 and his resignation from the post of chairman of the SNA on May 24, 2012, Aleksandar Vučić was appointed to the post of acting. Chairman, at an extraordinary election congress on September 29, 2012, Vučić was unanimously elected Chairman of the Serbian Progressive Party.
After the formation of the coalition government Serbian Progressive Party - Socialist Party of Serbia - United Regions of Serbia in July 2012, Aleksandar Vucic became Deputy Prime Minister in charge of defense, security and the fight against corruption and crime, as well as Minister of Defense, the President also appointed him Secretary of the Council for national security.
During the reconstruction of the government, Vučić resigned as Minister of Defense "in order to devote himself fully to the fight against corruption and crime."
In the April 2, 2017 elections, Vučić was elected President of Serbia in the first round with 55% of the vote (2,012,788 votes). On May 30, he resigned as prime minister and assumed office as president on May 31.
(Photo 2009)
Alexander Vučić married journalist Ksenia Yankovic in 1997, whom he met in 1995, in December 1997 they had a son, Danilo, and in 2002, a daughter, Milica, who, by the way, studies at a Russian school.
At the end of 2013, Alexander and Ksenia divorced, on December 14, 2013, Alexander Vučić married Tamara Djukanovic, an employee of the Serbian Foreign Ministry. From this marriage, on the night of June 9-10 (the exact time has not yet been reported), they had a son.
Aleksandar Vučić plays basketball and football, is a fan of Crvena Zvezda, collects wine, he keeps several hundred bottles in his father's house in Jaince.
As Vucic himself said on this occasion: “I believe that in Serbia there are no more than a hundred people who understand wine better than me. It's a hobby that I can talk about for hours, as wine is a divine drink, more important than food." The Serbian Deputy Prime Minister also admits that he likes to bet on the results of football and basketball matches.
Knows English, French and Russian.
Early parliamentary elections are scheduled for March 16 in Serbia. The initiator of the early elections is the government, in fact the leading force of the ruling coalition is the centre-right Serbian Progressive Party.
Everyone is sure that its leader, Deputy Prime Minister of the current technical government (the Cabinet of Ministers resigned on January 26) Alexander Vučić wants to take advantage of the moment when he is supported by almost 45% of the country's citizens, and after the elections take over all the levers of power. Vučić is now the most popular politician in Serbia. It is also known that he plans to take the post of prime minister.
However, the beginning of this election campaign will long remain in the memory of many Serbs for very different reasons. Someone will remember the picture of how Alexander Vucic saved a child from snowdrifts, someone witty parodies in in social networks about this, and some will be watching the political processes with concern due to the fact that for the first time in Serbia, measures were taken to introduce censorship on the Internet.
The very first days of the election campaign coincided with difficult climatic conditions in the region of Vojvodina in northern Serbia. Due to the snowfall, the main highway leading to Hungary was cut off, and several thousand people were stuck in columns of cars on the road, in snowdrifts, unable to get out on their own. Rescue services were able to provide real assistance only after 16 hours. A transport helicopter of the armed forces was used to evacuate the sick and children. But the shocking news of Serbian state television was dramatic footage: First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, in severe frost and with a stormy, heavy wind without a hat, scarf and gloves, takes a crying boy out of a snowdrift in his arms. In the footage of the helicopter, he looks extremely worried and says the phrase: "It is not known whether we will be able to save all the people."
True, Alexander Vucic carried the child only about ten meters, and then handed him over to his team, each member of which fought for the right to intercept the boy - this is how this heroic episode looked like. The boy was not small - over ten years old, and not everyone understands why he had to be carried. Later, information was leaked that the boy was Albanian - he was taken out of a bus stuck on the road, which was heading from the Austrian capital to Kosovo. The new Serbian leader then stated that the nationality of the child was not important to him, it was important to save the children. No one has yet explained how a Serbian TV crew got to the scene near the town of Feketić, 250 kilometers from Belgrade. It is stated that she was there by accident. The road was completely closed.
The always critical Belgrade columnist Teofil Pancic, in an interview for our radio, called this episode with the "rescue" of an Albanian child the rise of a new leader of Serbia. He is sure that most of the Serbian public, at least those who sit in front of television screens, saw in this a heroic deed of a selfless, young leader. "This 'young leader' reminds me of the early days of Slobodan Milosevic's rise," says Teofil Pancic. "The way the public perceives it is that he puts himself in danger, breaking through snowdrifts, saving children, whoever they are and wherever they come from. This is a blind worship of an idol, in which there are many elements of unhealthy kitsch."
Yes, the reaction to the rescue operation of Aleksandar Vučić was mixed in Serbia. There were many people who admired him. But within hours of the episode starring Vučić appearing on television, the Serbian internet community proclaimed that Saturday, February 1, "Day of mockery." First, the same documentary footage from state television was posted on YouTube, but with satirical subtitles. In them (according to the subtitles), the Deputy Prime Minister is talking to a military man, demanding to get a child for him, but not heavier than 20 kilograms. Afterwards, we see our hero stumbling through the snowdrifts with a boy in his arms, crying and asking the invader to let him go.
"It reminds me of the times during Tito's lifetime, when we had a law protecting the identity of Yugoslav president for life," the columnist adds.
On the day of the censorship of the Internet, the head of the Internet team of the Serbian Progressive Party, Aleksandar Vučić, when asked how they manage to remove materials so quickly, replied: "The mind reigns, and the mass of people helps." As far as is known, this strongest this moment the party in Serbia has 500 people in its Internet team, most of whom are engaged in the formation of public opinion through their comments on various portals, primarily on the Serbian media portals. The other day, as many as 20 pages of clear instructions to party supporters on how to do this were leaked to the press.
At the end of last year, information appeared that Serbia allegedly purchased latest programs, giving the ability to control public networks. Few believed in this. But now reliable information has arrived: materials related to Deputy Prime Minister Vučić have been removed from the Internet at the request of Serbian Television, through a Bulgarian company that protects his copyrights. The Association of Independent Electronic Media of Serbia protested, arguing that the copyright of television was not infringed - according to the laws of Serbia, free distribution of public information is allowed up-to-date information. In addition, the authors of the parodies did not hide the fact that the main material was taken from Serbian television, arguing that the law does not prohibit its use in political satire.
The most famous cartoonist in Serbia, Predrag Koraksic - Koraks - recalls in this regard that last winter, when there were no elections, Vucic sat quietly in Belgrade and did not try to save anyone in similar circumstances. The "rescue operation" looked very funny, he says, and therefore it is not surprising that such a huge number of comments appeared immediately after the report. "The occasion turned out to be very suitable for the creativity of talented spontaneous comedians, of whom there are really many in Serbia. We saw dozens of witty works, and in fact there was something to laugh at," Corax smiles.
True, sometimes you can laugh out loud at these photo montages on the Internet, the flow of which still does not stop. Vučić is most often depicted as Superman, as well as Rimbaud, Jesus, the Horseman of the Apocalypse. As a protection against the wind, he advertises Labello lip balm. And in another parody photo, Vucic is standing with an Oscar in his hands - for the best leading role in the film "Feketich - a blizzard", behind him is the town of Feketich in greenery and flowers.
So far, Predrag Koraksić himself has put on display only one cartoon - he did not want to exploit the topic too hastily, given that many excellent satirical ideas have already been published. However this case with Aleksander Vucic is of definite interest to him: “Vucic imitates Vladimir Putin, who also constantly appears as some kind of Superman who is capable of anything,” says Corax. idea to draw a caricature of the two of them, dressed as Superman, competing to see who is more successful."
During the Milosevic regime, Corax survived the closure of six newspapers and magazines for which he worked. Often there was censorship. Engaging in political caricature in those days was quite dangerous. An attempt was even made against him to bring charges of hostile actions against the state. Today, he does not fear that his work will be censored. “Censorship is not so dangerous, it is much more dangerous to identify yourself with people in power and try to suck up to them,” he says. Vučić has a team constantly circling around trying to get under his overcoat. An incredible number of suckers, and they are all multiplying!"
The "Day of mockery" proclaimed on the Serbian Internet on February 1 continues.
We continue the series of conversations on the socio-political situation in Serbia on the eve of the next presidential election. Today our interlocutor - , Director of the Center for Geostrategic Studies(Belgrade). Assistant editor-in-chief speaking « » .
The next presidential elections in Serbia are scheduled for April 2 this year. The election campaign turned out to be very short - a month.
However, this does not apply to the current Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who indirectly leads his « campaign » months.
Although public opinion was convinced that Tomislav Nikolic would go for a second term, since Vucic repeatedly stated that he was allegedly not interested in the presidency, the facts, however, indicated otherwise.
Tomislav Nikolic, from the very beginning of his career in the Progressive Party, took the path of least resistance, which led to Aleksandar Vucic taking control of the party. On the other hand, Vučić has been indirectly campaigning against Nikolic and his wife for a long time through the yellow press, accusing them of corruption, nepotism, enrichment, non-compliance with laws, and the like. Because of all this, the authority of Nikolic fell very low, and his political strength turned out to be extremely weak, and this trend only intensified.
Given that Nikolic's victory would have been unlikely, Vucic remained the only real candidate for a guaranteed victory.
When Nikolic realized that there would be no support for him from the party, i.e. he will not go second from the party, then the president made several ambiguous statements in the media, but, in the end, it all ended with the fact that he withdrew his candidacy and supported Vucic. Rumors spread in the Serbian media and Serbian public opinion that as a "compensation" the outgoing president asked for the post of ambassador in Moscow and a substantial compensation. Tomislav Nikolic is known in Serbian public opinion as a weak politician, always ready to back down for his own interests.
Vučić won the support of not only the Serbian Progressive Party, but also most of the other parties in the coalition, of which the Socialist Party of Serbia is the most significant.
In fact, the upcoming elections will not change anything, except that they will be the last « great » victory of the Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vučić. It is difficult to say whether there is a choice.
The Serbian political scene has been operating under excessive Western influence for years, and another aggravating circumstance is that the credibility has been spent, and there is not a single party left that has not compromised itself.
What then is the reason for Vucic's success?
The great success of Alexander Vucic is that he took advantage of all the weaknesses of politicians. In a very short time, he was able to take control of almost the entire patriotic scene: both those parties that were in opposition, such as the Radicals, as well as a number of marginal parties / movements, such as Zavetniki, 1389, DSS, Third Serbia, national liberation Our movement, etc.
At the same time, Vucic, through the skillful use of various kinds of pressure, achieved great influence on the parties included in the coalition (SPS, NS, SNP, etc.), which he openly says former partner by the coalition Velimir Ilic.
Let's organize the candidates.
Of the 11 confirmed candidates for the Serbian presidency, 4 candidates are the systemic opposition (Vojislav Seselj, Nenad Canak, Aleksandar Popovic and Miroslav Parovic), who, in fact, are candidates from the authorities.
The opposition failed to consolidate and offer fewer candidates. The remaining five opposition candidates (except for one whose goal is simply to mock the political system) can be divided into those who strive for European integration (Sasha Jankovic, Vuk Jeremic, Sasha Radulovic), and those for whom real sovereignty is important (Bosko Obradovic, Milan Stamatovic).
According to many studies, it is assumed that Sasha Yankovic has the best chance of positioning himself as a candidate from the pro-Western part of the opposition.
As for the candidates who advocate the policy of protecting state and national interests, Boško Obradovic is ahead in this group. He has a party that has never been part of the ruling coalition. Considering that such a policy is, to put it mildly, not in favor with the West, candidates who really intend to put their words into action have little chance.
A peculiar phenomenon of these elections was the candidate Luka Maksimovich, who, as a result of a well-thought-out marketing campaign, gained popularity among disappointed and undecided voters, as well as young people. Its popularity is based on witty performance and playful slogans that make fun of the existing political system and politicians.
And his participation in the campaign can lead to the activation of the electorate, which, ultimately, will lead to an increase in the percentage of turnout in the elections...
Yes. This is an example of the competent work of political technologists.
But jokes are jokes, but patriotic rhetoric is still an iron trump card in Serbia ...
The patriotic idea in Serbia has been compromised, but, obviously, its potential has not yet been exhausted. That is why both the candidates from the authorities and the candidates from the opposition staked on it. The authorities use pre-election rhetoric due to the fact that pre-election promises have not been fulfilled, moreover, in many segments, something diametrically opposed to what was promised was carried out. But people need to say something. So the candidate from the authorities Aleksandar Vučić, instead of Weber criticizing the laziness of his own people, again returned to the topic of Kosovo and Metohija, « fraternal Russia » and « strong Serbia » .
What are the main claims of the people to the ruling party?
The biggest claims are: the policy towards Kosovo and Metohija; neglect of the problems of the Serbs living in the republics of the former Yugoslavia; nepotism in the party; corruption; criminalization of society; censorship; subordinate attitude to Brussels and the Washington administration.
On the other hand, most of the national elite, which advocates the protection of state and national interests, demonstrates their readiness to make small concessions, in fact selling their political authority “for lentil soup”.
Example?
The best example is DSS. Once - during the time of Kostunica - the Democratic Stranka (party) of Serbia was considered one of the largest, and now the success for the DSS will be the acquisition of 1% of the vote by its candidate.
By what criterion can one distinguish "oppositionists" who perform a certain technical function from the real opposition?
A clear line between the "opposition" candidates from the authorities and the real opposition is visible in the attitude of the media towards them. Those. the point is not even in the argumentation of criticism, but in the tone that the soldiers of the media allow themselves in relation to this or that current politician.
It must be borne in mind that the "opposition" candidates from the government do not propose changes in current policy.
Let's say candidate Vuk Jeremic also has a policy European integration, military neutrality, keeping Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia, attracting foreign investors, as well as cooperation with both the West and the East. However, in the current political activity (as well as the current government) has shown that deeds diverge from words.
Just like the candidate for power, he showed a willingness to change his Political Views because of career development - to the point that he is ready to position himself in the eyes of the public as a "Russian candidate". Although, of course, there is no reason for that.
What to expect from the upcoming elections?
As for the elections themselves, it must be recalled that five years ago, the victory of Nikolic in the second round of the presidential elections led to a change in power - after the defeat of the leader of the Democratic Party, Ivica Dacic left the coalition with this party and entered into a coalition with the Serbian Progressive Party. I think that now there will be no such chance, most likely, the candidate from the ruling coalition will pass in the first round. (It is less likely that in the second. However, this will depend on the Western directors of the action).
With a victory in the upcoming elections, Alexander Vučić will move from the prime minister's chair to the presidential one. What will it take political implications considering the parliamentary form of government in Serbia?
Politically, given that in Serbia the political power is concentrated in the hands of the prime minister and the president has no special powers, this transition will look like a loss of political power. At the same time, it is likely that Vučić will exert influence on the government through his staff, and will agree with the future prime minister on this issue. Given that Aleksandar Vučić gained the support of the SPS and Ivica Dacic withdrew his candidacy in favor of Vučić, it is realistic to assume that Dacic expects to be appointed prime minister.
After the presidential elections, on the basis of the achieved results, the formation of new opposition structures will begin. What problems can arise here?
The big problem is the fact that the current government has managed to destroy the existing parties and compromise most of the opposition. Meanwhile, on the other hand, Vučić acted like a litmus test, revealing in reality what both political structures and individual politicians are.
The Serbian political scene is waiting for a renewal, which implies the departure of the old - compromised parties, and the creation of new structures that would be less dependent on the foreign factor.
A foreign car rammed the motorcade of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday, September 2. According to the Politika newspaper, there were no casualties as a result of the incident. The Bentley drove into the first of three presidential cars.
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