Sometimes critical, sometimes lenient depending on the circumstances – that has largely been the tone toward Serbia’s president in the international press. But as repression has become more blatant and the use of force against citizens more widespread, Vučić’s image abroad has increasingly deteriorated.
The Financial Times notes that after more than a decade in power, experienced authoritarian leaders almost always face a crossroads: either to increase repression, further entrench their circle of oligarch allies, and suffocate the remnants of independent media, or to yield to opposition demands for reform.
The paper adds that after eight years as president – and before that as prime minister – Vučić still governs through what it calls a form of “managed democracy” rather than outright autocracy.
It concludes that Europe must step up pressure on Vučić to act responsibly and to hold genuinely fair elections, in order to prevent deeper democratic backsliding.
“If they fail to do so and Serbia continues down the authoritarian path, the blame will not fall only on Vučić, but also on his Western backers who look the other way,” the London daily warns.
Europe’s Passivity
The French daily Le Monde wrote yesterday that after nine months of nearly continuous protests and demonstrations, the Serbian government still has not managed to suppress the anti-corruption student movement that has shaken the country ever since the collapse of the canopy at the renovated railway station in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second-largest city, in November 2024.
“In power since 2014, first as prime minister and then as president, Aleksandar Vučić has never seriously considered student demands for a functional judicial system and the rule of law. He has also refused their call for snap parliamentary elections. After months of belittling entirely peaceful demonstrations, on Tuesday, August 12, Vučić embarked on a troubling strategy of intimidation, deploying thugs and hooligans with known ties to powerful organized crime groups in Serbia to provoke demonstrators,” Le Monde reported.
The French paper also highlights Europe’s passivity, noting that Vučić clearly hopes the violence will discredit the Serbian students, particularly in the eyes of the EU and its leaders.
According to Deutsche Welle, the Serbian government is cracking down on protests with extreme severity. Journalist Silke Hane of the news portal Tagesschau argues that President Vučić is now revealing his true face.
“These days, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is showing his true colors. Last week he unleashed masked thugs on what had been a peaceful protest movement. While party loyalists attacked demonstrators with clubs and fireworks, the police stood by and did nothing. Beatings under police protection,” the German outlet reported.
Boiling Point
Another respected English newspaper, The Guardian, reported after Friday’s demonstrations that anti-government protests in Serbia had escalated, with accounts of police brutality and excessive use of force.
“It was the fourth day of unrest in cities across the country, including Belgrade, where police fired tear gas at demonstrators and tried to separate opposing groups of protesters. Dozens of people were injured in violent clashes, while hundreds were detained during the past week, as nine months of largely peaceful anti-corruption and pro-democracy protests reached a boiling point,” the article noted.
Describing the atmosphere after Wednesday’s and Thursday’s demonstrations in multiple Serbian cities, the Associated Press wrote that for the second day in a row, clashes broke out between Serbian anti-government demonstrators and government supporters in what it called a “major escalation” after more than nine months of persistent protests against “autocratic” President Aleksandar Vučić.
During the same week, Reuters also reported that SNS supporters in Novi Sad had thrown flares and firecrackers at demonstrators, while Al Jazeera covered police use of tear gas in Belgrade. Bloomberg stressed that after months of demonstrations, protests in Serbia once again turned violent when Vučić supporters clashed with demonstrators in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš.
M.B; Translated from Serbian by M.J.
