Serbia’s Student List wants to sell itself as a political alternative to Aleksandar Vučić. But its position on Kosovo exposes the uncomfortable truth: it is willing to challenge Vučić’s people, not the ideology that drives his policy towards Kosovo.
Jugoslav Gašić, a candidate on the Student List, says his movement will refuse cooperation with the Serbian List, describing it as an extension of Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party. Yet when asked about Kosovo’s status, he repeats the familiar language of Belgrade’s political establishment, calling Kosovo “our southern province” and insisting that his movement will stick to a programme based on Serbia’s Constitution.
Following the Student List’s victory in Serbia’s 25 October parliamentary elections, its delegation visited Gračanica and Deçan. Gašić told Radio Television of Vojvodina’s Pravi ugao programme that the visit was intended to show that the movement would honour its campaign promises on Kosovo.
“We will not abandon what we included in our programme,” he said.
On 11 November, Gašić criticised the policies pursued by Belgrade over the past 14 years, accusing the outgoing authorities of weakening Serbia’s presence in Kosovo. But when confronted with Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s statement that Kosovo’s independence is a reality the new government in Belgrade must face, he offered no change of direction.
“The Constitution of Serbia is also a reality. We will simply shift the focus to the Constitution of Serbia,” he said.
There it is: the same constitutional claim, the same refusal to accept Kosovo’s independence, just delivered by a new generation of politicians. The Student List criticises Vučić for how he has handled Kosovo, but its own position suggests it has no intention of changing the fundamental policy.
Attacking the Serbian List is not the same as breaking with Vučić’s politics.
Gašić described the Serbian List as a clientelist group and accused it of pressuring, blackmailing and conditioning voters.
“The Serbian List was created as an extension of the SNS in Kosovo,” he said, referring to Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party.
Asked whether the Serbian List’s presence in Kosovo’s Assembly and local institutions made communication necessary, Gašić said any contact would take place through the international community.
However, he left open the possibility of local-level cooperation between Serbian List representatives and the new heads of institutions operating under Serbia’s system. He also said the leadership of those institutions would be replaced.
The question is obvious: if the Student List rejects the Serbian List because it serves Vučić, what exactly will change when new people take over the same institutions while Belgrade’s political claims remain untouched?
The same demands, the same narrative, the same refusal to accept reality
Gašić said the delegation met Metropolitan Teodosije in Gračanica and held a roughly three-hour discussion with Father Sava Janjić at the Deçan Monastery. According to him, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church raised concerns about the monastery’s functioning and asked for support.
On the dialogue, Gašić said the Student List wants to engage with the international community to preserve educational and healthcare institutions operating under Serbia’s system, as well as address issues concerning the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Asked about Kurti’s demand that Belgrade stop campaigning against Kosovo’s international recognition, Gašić invoked the Brussels Agreement. He claimed Serbia had fulfilled all its obligations under the first agreement, while Prishtina had done very little. But when asked directly whether Belgrade would end its campaign against Kosovo’s recognition, he offered no clear answer.
Serbia’s political makeover will mean nothing to Kosovo if the policy remains unchanged. The Student List cannot claim to represent a break with Vučić while repeating his position on Kosovo, defending Serbia’s constitutional claim and avoiding the question of recognition. Kosovo has heard these promises before. A new generation repeating an old agenda is not political change — it is the same policy under a different name.
