The German daily Frankfurter Rundschau (FR) has sharply criticized Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, reporting that last weekend’s mass protests in Novi Sad exposed his inability to control public outrage, while his belated “apology” to protesters rang hollow.
FR highlights that students mobilized the nation, walking for days to Novi Sad, undeterred by train and bus disruptions allegedly caused by bomb threats or construction blockades. The regime’s attempts to demonize them labeling them terrorists, fascists, even practitioners of satanic rituals failed spectacularly.
When asked what he expected from the gathering, Vučić dismissed it brazenly: “What’s going on, is it a football match?” FR notes that his last-minute rhetorical pivot a staged apology and claims of readiness for dialogue — came across as a desperate ploy to salvage his crumbling image. Students reacted with anger, calling the apology hypocritical and far too late.
The coverage also underscores Vučić’s responsibility for previous repression: in September, he authorized police to beat demonstrators, fire rubber bullets, and detain citizens arbitrarily. FR argues that his authoritarian actions have not quelled dissent, but instead turned him into “the main plotter of Serbia’s unrest,” increasingly blamed by citizens for the nation’s instability.
Dnevnik adds that recent polls show the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and Vučić himself have lost the trust of the public, highlighting a widening chasm between the regime and the people it claims to govern.
FR portrays Vučić as a leader out of touch with reality, relying on intimidation, misinformation, and hollow rhetoric — a president whose authoritarianism is now fueling the very protests he decries.
