After Serbian PM resigns, President Aleksandar Vučić says there will be no interim government

Mass protests have been ongoing in Serbia since a railway station collapse that killed 15 last November, and they appear to have no intention of stopping

Source: Wikipedia
By Liz Heflin
4 Min Read

Following the resignation of Prime Minister Milos Vučević, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić says he will invite everyone to consultations on forming a new government or decide on calling new elections. However, there will be no interim government, the president stated.

“In the next 10 days, we will make a decision whether to call new elections or form a new government,” said Aleksandar Vučić, after the Serbian government held an extraordinary session, adding that “there are 45-60 days left for the election campaign, so the election could be held in 75 days.”

“Serbia is in a difficult situation, under enormous external pressure. Our stability and civil peace are at risk,” the president continued, referring to the mass protests that have taken place across the country since the tragedy in Novi Sad, led by university students.

Vučević announced his resignation at an extraordinary press conference on Tuesday, saying that his decision was to end the divisions in society following the Novi Sad tragedy, which he said was orchestrated from abroad, reports Magyar Nemzet

“What has serious consequences for our society is the deep division. I can safely say that everything was planned from abroad, I am absolutely sure of that. Education was attacked with the aim of destroying our country. After everything that happened, the blockades of intersections, roads, bridges, misunderstandings of each other… No matter how much we tried to calm the passions, some dark scenario always came into play. Some invisible hand always created a new incident and further increased the tension in society,” Vučević told press. 

He also announced that the mayor of Novi Sad would also resign from his post.

Historian Gábor Gergely Baráth told Magyar Nemzet explained the specific events led to the prime minister’s resignation.

“On Nov. 1, a tragedy occurred in Novi Sad, as a result of which university students began to protest and blockade the universities, he said, referring to the collapse of the canopy of Novi Sad’s railway station, killing 15 and leading to civilians blaming the government due to poor infrastructure projects and overall government corruption. The protesting university students formulated a four-point demand towards the state. The students were joined by agricultural producers, teachers, graduate students, and citizens,” he said. 

Protests have escalated over the past few months, culminating in an attack on students on Tuesday that left one girl seriously injured, according to Serbian Times. The students say the aggressors came out of the building of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), of which President Aleksandar Vučić co-founded and served as president from 2012 to 2023, while they were placing stickers on trash cans.

Milos Vučević is the current head of SNS and a trusted ally of Vučić.

“Unfortunately, an attack on university students in Novi Sad occurred early Tuesday morning. This was the last straw, as the prime minister announced his resignation that morning,” Baráth said, further explaining that, “he takes responsibility for the events of the past weeks and months, the prime minister is from Novi Sad, where the attack took place, and with this step he wants to reduce tensions and eliminate divisions in society.”

President Vučić has also reportedly said he will grant a presidential pardon to all 13 university students and teachers against whom proceedings have been initiated in recent weeks and months.

However, the protesters have given no sign they intend to stop.  Earlier in January, one post indicated that EU flags were banned, with a message that essentially only Serbia can save itself.

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