SRF News: Why was President Vucic able to assert himself again?
Peter Balzli: On the one hand, Vucic’s politics strike a chord with many Serbs, especially people in the countryside, where the state media is widely believed.
On the other hand, the parliamentary elections in Serbia were not fair. Electoral lists were manipulated, opposition candidates were intimidated, and a significant portion of the ruling party’s propaganda during the election campaign was financed by taxpayers’ money. This is all very far from what we would commonly call democratic elections.
The opposition hoped to at least win in Belgrade. Do you already know more about the results from the capital?
No, there are no results from Belgrade yet. Belgrade is the last city to be counted because the most votes were cast there.
However, a few minutes ago the opposition reiterated that it hopes to win the capital for itself. Their slogan is: “Change has begun.” The opposition hopes to triumph in Belgrade now and to gain additional cities in the local elections in the spring – as the beginning of the turnaround in Serbia.
Having seen how unfair the election campaign was, one may have doubts as to whether the opposition’s desired scenario is even realistic.