Vucic eyes clear victory in Serbian elections
Serbians elect a new parliament on Sunday April 24. Aleksandar Vucic is a sure winner in the election; the question is only whether his conservative party will achieve an absolute majority.
Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s prime minister, is omnipresent at the moment. His smile plastered everywhere on placards and in advertising spots. Still, he acts as though this election is completely uninteresting. He’s too busy working for the country from dawn to dusk to even notice it.
Yet one media agency determined that in the weeks running up to Sunday’s elections, more than half of the broadcast time on the national television broadcaster was spent on Vucic, the Serbian Progressive Party he is a part of and its party officials. The socialist party, which is in a coalition with the Serbian Progressive Party, placed second in media coverage and was followed by opposition parties, which were mainly presented in a poor light.
“The Serbian Progressive Party’s strategy was one tailored to the prime minister, a fully personalized campaign,” said philosopher Vladimir Milutinovic. Some in Serbia have said the early elections were called so Vucic extend his time in the prime minister’s office and solidify his party’s position across the country. Without a fresh vote, he could have governed through 2018.
According to analysts, the parliamentary elections now fall on the same day as elections in many communities and cities as well as in the northern province of Vojvodina. This could lead to greater election victories for his party at the local level due to Vucic’s popularity.
“The government has hindered any substantial debate – it has looked for obedient, unsophisticated voters who will cast their vote for those who are already predicated to gain a victory,” Milutinovic wrote on his blog.
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