The future of Serbia is called Vulin

There is much that is missing from the political scene of Serbia, but not bizarre figures. The most prominent place among them certainly belongs to Alexander Vulin. It's enough to casually look at him in a black paramilitary uniform or in an attitude similar to the posture of a bouncer from an obscure night club to make one feel uneasy. It's even worse when he speaks: Vulin's half-hearted statements dedicated to Aleksandar Vučić are worthy of expressions of love for Kim Jong-un in North Korea, and sarcasm directed at political opponents correspond to statements from Stalin's Kremlin.

Anywhere except in today's Serbia, the appearance and speeches of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the leader of the Micron Socialist Movement would be first class mockery. Here the laughter stops in the throat and all hope fades away. The reason is simple: Vulin represents the personal test-pilot of political balloons of the President of Serbia. And as time goes on, what yesterday seemed like a particularly scandalous insert from a reality show, today becomes official policy. If you haven't been worried about it, it's time to start.

Of course, we are talking about Vulin's "Serbian world". What that is, he made an effort to explain personally: "For me, the 'Serbian world' is a single state, unification, but peacefully, without a single shot being fired."

There is nothing - ideal for subduing the most mundane nationalist urges before an election year. And since Vulin's and Vučić's previous "unification" of Serbs into one state ended with their disappearance from many areas where they lived for centuries, the "Serbian world" now comes as an announcement of rematch. He could mostly show his useful value in drunken Serbo-Croatia, rampage on social networks and satirical shows if there was not a very specific and sinister goal hidden in the background. Kakav, Vulin explains again: "First of all, we must become united in the political sense, we must turn to Belgrade and those decisions that decide on our existence must be made in Belgrade."

The translation into normal language reads - all Serbian political organizations of Serbs in the region will be branches with limited accountability of the current regime in Serbia. They should not think for themselves about their specific problems and build good relations with other peoples, but rather submissively serve the daily political interests of the "president of all Serbs", as Vulin calls Vučić.

That theory has already been put into practice in Montenegro and has put the government of Zdravko Krivokapić in an extremely difficult position. But the "Serbian world" is not only the homeland of Andrija Mandić; its most visible noblemen include Milorad Dodik and Željka Cvijanović, Goran Rakić and Milan Radojičić... The only thing missing is Milorad Pupovac - he is a "traitor to the Serbian world". Why? Because he refused to replace his consistent commitment to strengthening the position of Serbs in Croatia with the most mundane pumping of Vučić's rating in Serbia.

It is clear every day that the "Serbian world" is leading to the growth of chauvinism and the further collapse of interstate relations in the region, as well as numerous problems for Serbs outside of Serbia. In this context, Vulin is the best friend of every extremist in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo... They now have black and white for claims that the government in Serbia intended for its compatriots to play the role of a "fifth column" in neighboring countries and how Franjo Tuđman knew what he was talking about when he declared them a "disturbing factor". This is how the famous paradox of the "Serbian world" of Aleksandar Vulin is reached: the more national tensions in the region grow, the louder he will trumpet that the only solution is the unification of all "Serbs wherever they live". And so until unconsciousness...

Why does Vučić need this? Part of the answer lies in his model of government whose very core is a constant witch hunt. In this direction, the tightening of relations in the region is perfect for diverting attention from the essential problems of the country, but also for propagandistic highlighting of the "results" of the work of the president of the state. Here, thanks to him, Serbia is stronger than ever, it finally has a powerful army capable of protecting the Serbs from some new "Lightning" and "Storm", no one thinks of humiliating them and the like, all in the same direction.

There is no doubt that chest beating is heroic music to the ears of a good part of the electorate in the authoritarian and a one-party state. However, the consequences of such a policy can be disastrous. In the first place, they increase the aversion to Serbia in the countries of the region and more or less openly unite them against it. And the second and even more important is that Croatia and Slovenia are members of the European Union and together with Montenegro and Macedonia are members of NATO, so that local hatreds acquire a wider significance.

Vučić would not be what he is without being aware of the alleged. But he also knows that the interest of Brussels and Washington in what they call the Western Balkans is declining. If it's good for us, it's good for them too. Quite simply, it has come to the point that Serbia and the European Union no longer have anything to offer each other in exchange. This will not give Vučić much of a break domestically, but it will isolate him internationally. Figuratively speaking, they will place him somewhere in the back rows like back in Paris in 2018, during the commemoration of the centenary of the end of the First World War.

The way he is, the president of Serbia can hardly bear such a thing. Therefore, the question arises whether the launch of Vulin's balloon into the stratosphere under the name "Serbian world" is an attempt to draw attention to oneself. Roughly, if they ignore him and beat him occasionally, he can always reach for the radical legacy, so let Brussels see what will happen to the stability of the region. And if nothing else happens, at least they will make Putin, Xi, Erdogan, Orban and the rest of their "brothers" happy.

To what extent this hint of further rocking of the regional boat with the "Serbian world" has a foothold in reality is difficult to say. After all, Serbia is not Hungary, and neither is Vučić in the position of Orban. This is proven by the huge differences in his behavior within the country and abroad.

But that there is a specific connection between Vulin's "Serbian world" and Vučić's personal sensitivity, as evidenced by the match between Partizan and Proleter in Novi Sad. Namely, after insulting the President of Serbia from the stands, an astonishingly disproportionate reaction of the regime's media followed. "Informer" called such derogatory chanting "Operation Vučić the fag" behind which is "the wrath of foreign embassies, the mafia and thieves".

It didn't stop there thanks to another drop of Vulin above the clouds. Elem, on TV Pink he showed gruesome photos of the victims suspected of belonging to Veljko Belivuk's clan in order to convince the public that his followers were insulting the President of Serbia. And that this became the only and official truth, the tabloids promptly confirmed by publishing the same pictures on the front pages and continuing in the footsteps of the Minister of the Interior...

Proving that none of this corresponds to the truth and common sense is a fruitless task in today's Serbia. However, if the half-hearted proclamation of Partizan fans as Belivuk's friends is accepted for granted, why not the "Serbian world" as well? After all, Vulin spoke about its realization "as a task for today's generation of politicians" at his party meeting in front of Vučić, head and shoulders above him. The President of Serbia had no objection.

Because of all the above, it is necessary to listen carefully to the words of Aleksandar Vulin. The future of Serbia bears his name.