The Monarchist Alliance – Movement for the Kingdom of Serbia has raised concerns over government spending, claiming that the maintenance costs of state villas inhabited by Prime Minister Ana Brnabić and former President Tomislav Nikolić, along with the financing of the Office of the National Council for Cooperation with Russia and China, exceed the funds previously allocated for the upkeep of the entire Royal Palace complex on Dedinje.
In a public statement, the Monarchists noted that the 2026 budget proposal eliminates funding for the Royal Palace complex, a site protected as a cultural monument of special significance, despite legal obligations for its maintenance.
Meanwhile, the budget allocates 45 million dinars for Nikolić’s office, the activities of which, according to the Monarchists, remain largely opaque to the public.
Dušan Radosavljević, co-chair of the Monarchists and a lawmaker from the NADA coalition, highlighted that when the operational costs of the villas occupied by Brnabić and Nikolić and their staff are included, the total expenditure surpasses the amount required for maintaining the entire Royal Palace complex.
“Ana Brnabić and Tomislav Nikolić, living with their entourage and staff in appropriated villas, cost the nation more than the whole Dedinje Palace complex. If saving funds was the reason for cutting the Palace’s budget, the state should have started here first,” Radosavljević said.
He also emphasized the historical injustice faced by the Karađorđević family, who live as tenants in their ancestral home confiscated after World War II and never returned through restitution processes. Radosavljević criticized the government for allowing the Royal Palace complex to deteriorate while diverting significant resources to individual officials.
This revelation fuels ongoing debates in Serbia over transparency, government spending, and priorities in maintaining cultural heritage versus political privileges.
