Why Blind Support for Any List — Even the Students’ — Risks Feeding the Autocracy
Public opinion research by CRTA shows that 44% of respondents would vote for the student list, while only 32% would support the political bloc led by Aleksandar Vučić. This alone confirms a crucial shift: after 13 years of centralized, personalized rule, Serbia is exhausted by Vučić’s political monopoly.
The regime has forced the country into an artificial binary: “with Vučić or against Vučić.” This is a deliberate tactic of an autocratic system that thrives on polarization and fear. For months, Belgrade residents have been confronted with grotesque regime propaganda installations—a parade of loyalists displayed like political ornaments, showing how little respect Vučić’s system has for the dignity of citizens.
‘Ćaciland’: A Propaganda Carnival in the Heart of the Capital
The infamous “Ćaciland,” often described as “the Disneyland of autocracy,” stands as the most absurd symbol of Vučić’s rule. While the president constructs his propaganda amusement parks, a grieving mother, Dijana Hrka, began a hunger strike meters away, demanding justice for her son who died after a station canopy collapse.
Nothing illustrates Serbia’s moral divide better than this:
a mother reduced to protest for basic accountability, while Vučić’s regime builds theme parks to celebrate itself.
Students as a Counterweight to the Regime
After the Novi Sad tragedy and the violent attacks by pro-regime supporters, students became the strongest civic force openly confronting Vučić’s rule. Their blockades, mobilization, and demands exposed what the regime has worked to hide:
systemic corruption, abuse of power, and the collapse of institutions under Vučić’s centralized control.
Their demands grew especially urgent after two scandals that shook the public:
- the reckless and unexplained use of a sonic device against peaceful citizens, and
- Vučić’s shocking entry into the intensive care unit, breaching medical ethics and violating patient privacy for propaganda.
A Fight for Rule of Law in an Unlawful System
All six student demands aim to strengthen legal accountability and democratic governance—everything Vučić’s system resists.
But once they announced a student electoral list, the pressure intensified. The regime’s media machine immediately began its predictable tactics: spins, half-truths, and manufactured scandals designed to destroy public trust.
In a media landscape captured by Vučić, any small student mistake becomes a headline; any regime crime disappears in silence.
Danger of Emotional, Uncritical Support
The students enjoy deep support, but this admiration carries a risk: emotional voting without scrutiny, the same blind loyalty that has sustained Vučić’s dominance.
We still know almost nothing about the student list’s program. Supporting it “no matter what” repeats the very mechanisms of authoritarian politics:
charismatic trust, uncritical loyalty, and a belief in saviors instead of institutions.
This is precisely the political culture that allowed Vučić to build his unchecked power in the first place.
A Movement at a Crossroads
Students inspired unity, empathy, and civic awakening—but recent moves toward nationalist symbolism and support for military displays raise valid questions about direction and coherence.
Vučić has long relied on nationalism and fear to maintain power. The student movement must avoid being drawn into that gravitational field.
To remain a democratic alternative, students must preserve their original foundations: justice, transparency, accountability, and civic unity.
Conclusion: Serbia Needs Change — But Not Another Political Cult
Serbia urgently needs political renewal. The student movement has been the clearest symbol of that hope. But blind support, even for a promising new list, risks reproducing the same authoritarian patterns Vučić has perfected.
The task now is not simply to oppose Vučić, but to break the political culture he created—one based on fear, personality rule, and unquestioned loyalty.
Serbia deserves better:
not another political savior, but a political system that does not need one.
