Analysts say the Serbian government, led by President Aleksandar Vučić, has historically relied on right-wing and nationalist parties to indirectly support it, even when these parties campaigned as opposition. After each electoral cycle in the past 14 years, these parties either withdrew support from genuine opposition groups or acted as neutral “vote absorbers,” effectively strengthening Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Fragmentation of the right
Political expert Dejan Bursać noted that the right-wing camp in Serbia has been highly fragmented, with parties such as Dveri, Zavetnici, and coalitions like NADA unable to unite. While these parties could independently surpass the electoral threshold, fragmentation allowed the regime to maintain dominance, sometimes through covert cooperation or manipulation of opposition factions.
Bursać stressed that right-wing voters now actively seek a true opposition, and parties that appear to serve the regime more than challenging it risk losing credibility permanently. “The main question in the next elections will be: are you for the regime or against it? Those who try to navigate in-between will not fare well,” he said.
Public perception and manipulation
Political analyst Dragimir Anđelković explained that both pro-European and nationalist citizens often suspect that various parties, EU-oriented or not, secretly collaborate with the SNS. Such maneuvers could include undermining student-led opposition lists or influencing public opinion on sensitive issues such as Kosovo or historical narratives.
Anđelković concluded that these manipulations are not about ideology—left vs. right—but are the result of the ruling party’s mafia-like tactics, using paid or compromised allies to maintain control. He argued that the student movement represents the clearest opposition by fielding candidates without extreme affiliations and focusing on constitutional reform, fairness, and transparent elections.
