This Friday is not an ordinary Friday for Jana, Sanja, Sofija, Kaca, Sale, Dusan and Vasa. On Friday, they are going home for the elections. These young people decided to pause their studying (and partying) for the weekend so as not to miss the chance to exercise their voting rights, and perhaps start to change the Serbian political scene. For good luck, they chose an anthem for the trip — the popular Scorpions’ song “Wind of Change” as these “children of tomorrow dream away in the wind of change”. 

Young adults dream of change as the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has ruled the country since 2012. One of its strategies to remain in power is frequent elections. Instead of having a regular parliamentary election every four years, Serbs voted for MPs in 2014, 2016, 2020, 2022 and will go to the polls yet again on December 17. The reason is not the government’s instability or lack of legitimacy, but an opportunity to secure a new and fresh mandate. 

Until now, elections were an easy win for the SNS and its (now unofficial) leader, President Aleksandar Vucic, because there wasn’t a solid opposition, and many (including students) didn’t bother to vote as they didn’t really have anyone to vote for. However, this December 17 might be the beginning of the change that the new generations want to see — a change from the SNS, Vucic and all the other faces that have been dominating Serbian politics for over a decade. 

The first three lists on the ballot for the parliamentary elections are for the SNS, its partner the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Some names on these lists have been known for over three decades and most of them bring back memories about the bad days of war, international isolation and poverty. 

However, there will be 15 more lists, some offering a far-right and pro-Kremlin course and others leaning toward the West, on the ballot papers when slightly over 6.5mn people get the chance to vote on Sunday.  

It is unlikely that the election will oust the SNS from power, not least because the opposition remains fragmented, but if sufficient numbers opt to back other parties this could be the beginning of the end for the party’s long stint in power. 

Voting for a change

Jana, Sanja, Sofija, Kaca, Sale, Dusan and Vasa have different political preferences but one thing in common: none of them will vote for the SNS. They tell bne IntelliNews they don’t even know anyone from age groups close to theirs that support the ruling party. 

Jana, 19, a student at a technical faculty in Belgrade, says she is not very happy with the options on the ballot but she plans to vote for a party that offers a better plan for joining the European Union (EU). “The EU is still the best place to live. I would like to go to an EU country for postgraduate study and would never want to work for a non-EU company. My vote will go for this. The SNS says this is its top goal but doesn’t do anything to prove it, especially not by staying in power so long,” Jana tells bne IntelliNews as she gets ready to vote for the first time.

Kaca’s preferences are similar but she underlines human rights and discrimination and that’s why her choice is Cedomir Jovanovic, founder of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), who has returned to politics after a short break. 

“I know that many won’t vote for him. I’m even scared it will be only me outside of his family, but he is my choice and I agree with everything he advocates. So, for me, it is enough that he is on the list,” said Kaca, a 23-year-old English language student in Nis. 

Sanja, 19, a law student in Nis, says she plans to back the 11 political parties and movements that are running together under the name “Serbia against violence”. It is a mixture of environmental movements, trade unions and parties that have been opposition to the SNS for years.  

“It is not that I’m crazy about them but they are, at least, united and could have the capacity to do something afterwards. Everyone else looks like a bite of dust compared to the SNS. I'm afraid that if we vote for the even smaller options, that are not bad, we will all lose again and the SNS will shine as the winner,” she tells bne IntelliNews. 

Her colleague from the faculty, Dusan, has the same plan. “I truly like some people on that list and I deeply support the ideas that the working population in Serbia is humiliated and that the system is destroyed and that Vucic has to go! There are options now on the ballot and whoever says there are not is a coward or sold their soul to Vucic for a small amount of money,” he says, becoming passionate while talking to bne IntelliNews about the elections. 

Dusan doesn’t see foreign policy as a top priority at the moment but rather internal affairs — addressing corruption, nepotism, crime, abuse of the environment and public property. 

Rightwing alternatives 

Sofija, 22, who is studying studies IT in Belgrade, has a similar opinion, but unlike Dusan she plans to vote for a rightwing party (though not one of the far-right, pro-Kremlin parties that have emerged on the political scene). She will cast her vote for the “Dr Milos Jovanovic — Hope for Serbia, Nacional Democratic Alternative (NADA)” election list (nada means hope in Serbian). This is a coalition of rightwing parties comprising the New Democratic Party of Serbia (NDSS) and Movement For the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia (POKS) plus 25 smaller political parties and movements. This is Sofija’s choice because she admires and respects NDSS leader Jovanovic. 

“He is the smartest public person currently. Well educated, eloquent and proud of what he is even though he lived abroad. He did what a true patriot does — went abroad, gained best practice and knowledge and came back to implement them for their country’s benefits,” she tells bne IntelliNews.  

NADA calls itself “the only sincere patriotic and nationalistic but democratic alternative to the current government”. 

NADA would be an option for Vasa, not because of Jovanovic but because of the other leader — Vojislav Mihailovic, grandson of General Draza Mihailovic, a leader of the Chetnik Movement during WWII. 

“We know nothing about the Chetniks and Mihailovic. Winners write history and the communists didn’t only write fake stories about the Partisans’ good sides, they wrote bad things about Chetniks who fought hard against the Nazis too. We owe respect to the memory of these people and that’s why I would vote for NADA. I also believe they could help us improve our position in the West even though they don’t agree with everything the Western countries want from us. But, such a strong position … could only be good for us,” Vasa, 22, an IT student, concludes.

Meanwhile, Sale, from the faculty of economy in Belgrade, doesn’t want to reveal his plans for Sunday. 

“I’m going to vote, of course, it is my right. But, it is my right to keep it a secret as voting is a private action. The new trend of taking pictures of ballot papers and getting $10 for that and not even knowing who you pick or why, that’s the worst humiliation that human beings experience. It has to stop,” Sale says.

Students speak out 

Students started speaking out against the current regime in the spring when they joined the “Serbia against violence” protests and went out on the streets holding banners with the text: “Vucic, leave!” 

This would not be the first time that students are initiating political change in Serbia. Student protests against the wars in ex-Yugoslavia and against Milosevic’s dictatorship lasted for almost a decade. The epic ones were the three-month long 1996-97 student-led protests that made Milosevic accept results of local elections that he initially rejected. The streets were flooded by youngsters, supported by every other freedom-seeker — including elderly people who were banging kitchen pots from their windows as a sign of support. 

Just like in the 1990s, students aren’t the only ones who want change. Only a month before the election, a group of intellectuals and prominent citizens launched a manifesto called ProGlas (meaning ForVote). The aim of the initiative is to encourage citizens to go and vote and catch the “wind of change”. Since November 7, around 180,000 people signed the manifesto. The group does not openly support any candidate but it criticises the current state of the country. It is unlikely that members and supporters of the SNS are among these 180,000. That number is still significantly smaller than the 700,000 SNS members, but indicates clearly what the Scorpions described in their hit: “the wind of change blows straight into the face of time, Like a storm wind that will ring the freedom bell for peace of mind.”

Resistant to change

Even though the “wind of change” is blowing more strongly than a couple of years ago, it is unlikely that any other list will have more mandates than the SNS. Besides the bulky membership, members’ family members, friends and acquaintances (that likely gained some benefits during the SNS’ time in power) will add to the vote count. 

And of course, Vucic’s favourite group — pensioners. According to the Pension and Disability Insurance Fund, at the end of July, 1.65mn retirees lived in Serbia. Many of them support Vucic, and they always vote. The relationship between Vucic and Serbia’s pensioners is based on stability — they believe he is the only one that can maintain things as they are (not good but could be worse) and he knows they will never betray him and stay at home. 

Vucic started a new trend in Serbian politics with his relationship with the elderly. He simply shows them respect. During the transition years, children and younger adults were the priorities while seniors were marginalised with the excuse that they had already lived their lives. That’s not a message they get from Vucic.   

Vucic is not running for a seat in the parliament and he is not even president of the SNS anymore, but the list has his name still and he campaigns for the SNS actively. The slogan of the list is “Serbia must not stop”.

Opposition still divided 

On the opposition side, several groups have similar criticisms of Vucic’s rule but have still failed to unite. Consequently, they are running on three different lists. The biggest is “Serbia against violence”. 

Former president Boris Tadic has a separate grouping alongside Sasa Radulovic and his party It is Enough (DJB). DJB lost a lot of supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic when it participated in spreading misinformation and disinformation about the virus and vaccination. Tadic lost support after he lost the presidential race in 2012. Since then, he has been struggling to remain in the political arena. 

Due to internal conflicts in the People’s Party (NS), formed by former minister of foreign affairs Vuk Jeremic, this party is running in the elections in a separate list. 

Despite being fragmented, all of them still have the chance to pass the threshold to get into the parliament, where they might play an important role in the formation of a new government.

Dacic’s dream 

Just like Vucic, current minister of foreign affairs and Milosevic’s successor as leader of the SPS, Ivica Dacic, is a career politician. Dacic never managed to reach the same level of popularity as Vucic. However, he has consistently been a junior coalition partner to successive ruling parties.

Before 2012, he was junior partner in the DS government, strongly supporting Tadic. When former SNS leader Tomislav Nikolic won the presidential election, he offered Dacic the PM seat. All the promises and happy days with the DS and Tadic disappeared. With just about 10% of the vote, Dacic became prime minister in 2012. Vucic was his first deputy prime minister. That coalition never ended even though the SNS took over the prime minister position from 2014, and the SNS didn’t really need the SPS to form a government.  However, Dacic’s dream of becoming prime minister again lives on. His party’s slogan for the upcoming elections is “Election List Ivica Dacic — Prime Minister of Serbia”. 

The SPS is an old party with stable support but it is still not anywhere near the SNS. Still it could again play kingmaker. In the unlikely event that opposition parties together collect enough votes, they may just be able to win over Dacic to form a coalition government — possibly the maths Dacic did before announcing his campaign slogan. 

In total, 18 lists will compete for votes on December 17. Among them are also long-established far-right parties as well as parties representing national minorities. 

Together with parliamentary elections, partial local elections and regional elections for the parliament of Vojvodina will be held on December 17. 

The biggest challenge for SNS and Vucic will be keeping control of the capital Belgrade. About 2mn people live in Belgrade and have the largest incomes and best education in the country. Just like the students interviewed by bne IntelliNews, many of Belgrade’s residents also want to bring about change in Serbian politics and vote in a new government. 

Ann Smith has been following and writing about transitional justice, war crimes, human rights, security (defence and terrorism), European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations and international relations in the Balkans since 2000. She holds a masters degree in humanitarian international law as well as in journalism/political sciences.