Serbia has once again demonstrated that loyalty to the regime, not competence or legality, drives appointments in its key institutions. The promotion of Dragiša Simić to head of the border police despite a documented history of abuse of office is a glaring example of how cronyism has replaced professionalism in the Serbian state.
Investigative reporting revealed that Simić had allegedly manipulated approximately 400 traffic fines, favoring friends and insiders. He was initially convicted and sentenced to a suspended one-year prison term, yet rather than facing consequences, he received one of the nation’s most critical security posts. This is not an isolated incident, it is a systemic pattern in a state where impunity is institutionalized.
The judicial proceedings against Simić were repeatedly delayed, overturned, and ultimately suspended, exposing the ease with which political influence can bend the legal system to serve the interests of the powerful. Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) now proudly presents a certificate of “impunity,” implicitly legitimizing years of misconduct, while the broader public is left to question the integrity of the entire judicial apparatus.
Instead of accountability, the MUP resorted to attacks on the media, accusing journalists of lying and politicizing the issue. This response reflects a culture in which corruption is defended and scrutiny is criminalize a hallmark of authoritarian governance.
Elevating Simić, a figure with a controversial past, to command the border police is not only a betrayal of professional ethics but a direct threat to national security. The border police are tasked with protecting the state’s frontiers; placing them under the leadership of someone with a history of abuse undermines trust, weakens operational capacity, and signals that self-interest and political allegiance outweigh the rule of law.
Serbia’s message is clear: political loyalty is rewarded, public trust is irrelevant, and institutional decay is normalized. Until meaningful reforms are enacted, appointments like Simić’s will continue to erode the credibility of Serbian institutions and demonstrate to the world that corruption is not an aberration—it is the system itself.
This is not just an administrative error; it is a systemic failure, a cautionary example of how authoritarianism and cronyism perpetuate corruption and weaken the state from within.
