Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said he had spoken with Ilija Srdanović, the lead candidate on Serbia’s Students’ List, following the movement’s victory in the country’s parliamentary elections.
“The message from the citizens of Serbia is very clear: they wanted change,” Plenković said, describing the outcome as a completely new situation for Serbia, where the political landscape has become divided into two main blocs, N1 Zagreb reported.
Plenković said the election winners faced significant responsibilities, expressing hope that improving relations with neighbouring countries would be among their priorities.
“We hope that relations with neighbouring countries will be in their focus,” he said, adding that the process of deciding on the next executive government was apparently still unresolved.
Asked about his expectations for future relations between Croatia and Serbia, Plenković said he hoped they would improve.
He also praised the messages delivered by the Students’ List leadership following the election, describing them as reasonable.
“The fact that Vučić immediately acknowledged defeat suggests that the transition, as far as I can assess, should be peaceful,” Plenković said, while noting that he could not predict how long the process would take.
The Croatian prime minister stressed that Serbia’s internal challenges would have to be addressed by Serbian society itself.
Commenting on the future of the Serbian Progressive Party’s membership in the European People’s Party (EPP), of which Plenković’s Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is also a member, he said he could not say precisely what would happen.
Serbia held parliamentary elections on October 25 following nearly two years of mass student-led and civic protests. The Students’ List — Students Are Winning — emerged victorious, while former Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić acknowledged the defeat of his political camp.
Celebrations took place across Serbia following the announcement of the results, marking a significant moment in the country’s political landscape.
