Journalist on Serbia election: “I don’t think this parliament will last long”

taz: Ms. Stepanović, the student list won an absolute majority, while the previous opposition parties did not receive enough votes to enter parliament. What does that mean?

Biljana Stepanović: Parliament now resembles a classic two-party system, which is new for us. In addition to the student list, only the progressive party SNS under Vučić and lists of national minorities are represented. I don't think this Parliament will last long. Here there are two sides facing each other that are not only incompatible politically but also in their values.

taz: How do you explain this contrast?

Biljana Stepanović is a Serbian journalist and media entrepreneur.

Stepanović: The SNS is deeply intertwined with organized crime. The student list is the opposite. There will also be presidential elections, and the SNS has no good candidates for them. I wouldn't be surprised if there are new elections in the spring in which the SNS might not even run. A priority of the student list is to make the media more independent. Then many people would be able to see which scandals the SNS has kept quiet about for years.

taz: Aleksandar Vučić has announced that he will go into opposition. What can be expected from him?

Stepanović: What we saw in the 1990s, when he was an opposition member of the Radical Party. He doesn't shy away from means or words. Even before admitting defeat, he announced that he would not spare his opponents and spread the worst about them. We must expect the dirtiest campaign. The only question that remains is whether he will even speak in parliament. This is also why I believe the situation is untenable.

taz: The opposition parties hardly played a role in the election campaign. What does that mean?

Stepanović: The Democratic Party acted the wisest. She left parliament because it no longer served any purpose. There were no debates. Then she joined the students and provided them with all the resources. Two or three other parties followed shortly before the election. The others competed, although in the end it was actually a referendum: SNS or the student list. All other parties failed because of the threshold clause. For pluralism, Serbia needs strong parties, especially democratic ones. I expect a new opposition.

taz: There are also student protests in other European countries. Also in neighboring Albania. What can you learn from Serbia?

Stepanović: This protest showed that you can achieve something peacefully, with perseverance and intelligence. The students didn't set anything on fire, didn't destroy anything, and even cleaned up their own trash at rallies. They endured beatings and arrests and did not fight back. This was a struggle in the Gandhian tradition. I don't want to give anyone advice, but the establishments in Europe hardly understand these young people. That was Vučić's problem: he didn't understand them and fought them with old methods. This is also a lesson for the EU. She played a role in the story of the Serbian path to Europe, even though Serbia has always moved away from European values.

Stepanović: The students promised a government of experts. That was a main motive for electing them: the SNS installed loyalists without any qualifications in ministries and state-owned companies. It didn't matter who was sitting there. Vučić made the decision anyway. Now the rule of law, performance and decency must return. The student list has the majority and can form a government without compromise.