A blistering editorial published on Tuesday by the Luxembourgish daily Tageblatt claims that Serbia’s corrupt, authoritarian ruling elite is “long overdue for an ouster.”
The paper predicts that President Aleksandar Vučić and his deeply discredited Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) will face an uphill battle to maintain their grip on power in the country’s upcoming elections.
Massive Defiance at Slavija Square
The prominent European newspaper points out that while a nearly year-long student blockade of universities has wound down, the public’s boiling fury over systemic graft and nepotism remains entirely undiminished. This resentment is directly tied to the catastrophic, preventable November 2024 railway canopy collapse in Novi Sad, which killed 16 people.
Last weekend, an “astonishingly large mass of people” flooded Belgrade at the call of the student movement. Tageblatt notes that the state attempted to disrupt the rally by shutting down train transit into the capital, but citizens defied the transport freeze, packing Slavija Square and its surrounding avenues.
[THE BELGRADE TURNOUT DISCREPANCY]
│
┌────────────────────────┴────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
STATE POLICE ESTIMATE: ARCHIVE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS:
• 34,300 participants • 180,000 to 190,000 participants
• Attempt to artificially minimize the • Calculated via aerial telemetry and
scale of the anti-government rebellion. density mapping (1.7 people per m²).
Tageblatt highlighted that aerial tracking by the independent NGO Archive of Public Meetings estimated the crowd at between 180,000 and 190,000 people, making it the second-largest protest in Serbia’s history since the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević in October 2000.
The Fall of a “Political Chameleon”
The Luxembourgish daily depicts Vučić as an authoritarian “political chameleon” who is highly sensitive to criticism. Facing a mounting political crisis, the Serbian president has attempted to control the narrative from abroad:
Tageblatt on Vučić’s Defense Rhetoric: “Defending himself from China, Vučić complained that ‘billions have been invested in media and parapolitical organizations’ to secure his downfall. He further denied orchestrating state-backed thugs to infiltrate the demonstrations and trigger violence—a classic diversion tactic that is failing to suppress the growing outrage over his mafia-like machinations.”
A Confluence of Crises Blindsides the Regime
The editorial underlines several major domestic and geopolitical developments that are rapidly accelerating the erosion of Vučić’s absolute rule:
[VUCIČ'S MULTI-FRONT CRISIS CORRIDOR]
│
├─► Domestic Scandals ──────► The arrest of Belgrade Police Chief Veselin Milić
│ shatters the regime's law-and-order image.
├─► Regional Pivot ─────────► Manufacturing regional border feuds with neighbors
│ is no longer working to distract the populace.
└─► Geopolitical Blows ─────► The shocking electoral defeat of close ally Viktor Orbán
in Hungary leaves Vučić isolated in Europe.
- The Veselin Milić Arrest: The recent arrest and 30-day detention of Belgrade Police Chief Veselin Milić—long considered an untouchable pillar of the security apparatus—has exposed deep, bloody warfare between rival clans within the ruling regime, severely damaging Vučić’s popularity.
- Declining EU Toleration: Long protected in Brussels by an outdated reputation as a “regional stabilizer and reformer,” the Serbian president now faces open mistrust and alienation from European Union institutions.
- The Loss of Viktor Orbán: Perhaps the most devastating psychological blow to Vučić has been the recent electoral defeat of his closest illiberal ally, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. Tageblatt notes that just like Hungary’s former prime minister, Vučić appears poised to “trip and drown in the very swamp of corruption he created.”
The paper concludes that regardless of whether a rattled Vučić triggers early elections for this summer, autumn, or winter, his completely discredited political party will face an unprecedented battle for survival at the ballot box.
