Name? Aleksandar Vučić
Westphalian identity? Serbian
Age? 56
Why is he in the news? Last Saturday, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, announced he will resign after “a couple more weeks” of governing. His resignation comes after over a year of student-led anti-government protests that began when the roof of a railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, killing 15 people. Vučić has previously, repeatedly, denied calls for his resignation, criticising the demonstrations as being led by “foreign agents” trying to destabilise the country. The sudden shift to his announced resignation shows that domestic and international backlash reached a boiling point.
Why do we care? Because while Vučić is stepping back from the Presidency, he is not stepping away from politics. He plans to help his Serbian Progressive Party win the upcoming parliamentary elections. Although he has reached the maximum number of presidential terms, he is still able to run for PM, to which Serbia’s constitution assigns more power. There is yet to be a clear opposition leader who has gathered enough momentum to challenge the president, making Vučić’s return as PM a distinct possibility.
Why should you care? The protests have been the largest in Serbia since the anti-Milošević protests in 2000. They have already succeeded in pressuring numerous resignations, most notably the former Prime Minister Miloš Vučević. Vučić’s sudden announcement marks the demonstrations as some of the most influential in the region’s history.
Who else cares? Russian President Vladimir Putin. Once Vučić resigns, it will be his second ally in the region that has lost their position, after Hungary’s Orbán lost his Parliamentary elections. Putin will be invested in the Serbian elections, and if the winner will be his ally.
Any further comments? Protesters gathered the day after Vučić’s announcement in Kraljevo, a location symbolic to Serbia’s national identity due to a historic battle against the Ottoman Empire in the area, celebrating with the motto “the students are winning”.
