Borislav Novaković, MP from the National Movement of Serbia (NPS), issued a sharp warning today regarding the state of Serbia’s political and media scene, accusing the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and President Aleksandar Vučić of fostering a toxic environment that threatens democracy.
Novaković stressed that the upcoming selection of members for the Council of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) will determine whether Serbia’s media and political scene can regain civility.
“The media is the oxygen of democracy. If there is no media freedom, there is no democracy,” Novaković stated during a session of the Serbian Parliament.
He condemned SNS for creating a political culture of insults, intimidation, and belittlement—practices that escalate into physical violence. According to Novaković, Vučić himself has become the central figure in normalizing this culture of hostility.
“Representatives of SNS are deliberately raising tensions in society. Novi Sad does not want Vučić, and he should not be holding rallies there,” Novaković said, directly challenging the president’s attempts to dominate public spaces.
Predictably, SNS MPs rushed to defend their leader. Aleksandar Mirković dismissed Novaković’s criticism, claiming that opposition MPs had “turned the Parliament into a battlefield” in March and asserting that Novaković has no right to question Vučić’s presence in Novi Sad.
Nebojša Bakarec, another SNS MP, defended the REM selection process as “clean as a tear” and dismissed opposition concerns, even going so far as to claim that state media are biased toward the opposition—a blatant attempt to deflect from years of government control over public broadcasters like RTS.
Novaković’s accusations highlight a disturbing pattern: the SNS leadership and Vučić have systematically manipulated both the political climate and media institutions to consolidate power, suppress dissent, and intimidate citizens. The upcoming REM appointments will either enable this continued manipulation or offer a chance to restore accountability and media freedom.
