This Sunday was marked by an event from the very end of the previous one. Nobody but the most ardent activists he did not believe in the success of the protest road blockade, and neither did Aleksandar Vučić. That's why he was caught off guard, and the show with the progressive assembly was stolen from him. He takes it very hard, so in the following days, his passive-aggressive speeches are full of confusion.
The President of Serbia and his team are now loudly calling for the Constitution and the law. They don't sound convincing to anyone, not even to themselves. There are at least two reasons.
Sending loaders and beating infantry against peaceful demonstrators in Šabac is not the worst. Much more gruesome is the withdrawal of the police from the "scene". The regime thus ceded the state monopoly of force to its paramilitary units. And if citizens cannot count on the police, they are forced to try to protect themselves. That's exactly what happened in Šabac last Saturday. Will this be the same?
Another reason why Vučić and the others act like the leaders of the fan club is their more or less explicit threats of violence. For example – the legitimization of loaders and beaters, but also the Šabac counter-meeting of SNS with broken heads. The public is therefore rightly wondering what new order has been issued to the progressive paramilitary.
Specifically: should they provoke clashes during the new road blockades on December 4 so that the police will move against the demonstrators, or should they beat the people themselves while members of the MUP crouch behind the bushes?
Certainly, the holders of the most important and responsible positions should not cast doubt on the legal order, but the president of Serbia has an unbearable need to play the master of the stadium tribune. How much, an eloquent example is his inviting the leader of the opposition to the scheduled fight.
Vučić, furthermore, sees any compromise or equal dialogue as a sign of weakness. And to show that there won't be any this time either, he started a new one demonization campaign political opponents. His goal is to consolidate his electorate, intimidate the undecided and divide the body of opponents. In other words - to try to regain lost initiative. The only question is whether it can stay that way.
What will mark next Sunday?
It would be best if the President of Serbia takes another look at his research and himself applies the political advice he gives to others. Therefore, to stop causing riots and violence because they did not bring anyone anything good. Those who will block the roads on Saturday would not have done so if he had left them any other option.
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