In the movie "Tito and I", the family of little Zoran gathers around the table, when he is invited to the marshal's birthday. Teča says ironically that it is not the turn to go empty-handed, and the grandmother asks: "What can a man give him as a gift that he doesn't already have?"
So somehow one can wonder at the news that the president Aleksandar Vučić, the most photographed man in the world, starts his own podcast. What else can he say without already saying it a hundred times?
Vučić breaks the screen time record set last year, when he "turned" 400 times in the wake of the decisive elections. Conferences, television shows, videos on Instagram have now been added to live broadcasts of meetings and tours of Serbia, where the president doesn't even get to take a bite without a camera.
And now a podcast? Sorry, "podcast" with the logo in the colors and design of the Serbian Progressive Party.
What is normal here?
Vučić announced that there will be talks about sports, culture, art, religion, history, as well as things "for which it is worth stopping and listening to another person", about their successes, failures, beliefs and everything that shaped them.
Not to anger Vučić's namesake Gajšek, but almost like Agape!
The first guest will be basketball coach Miroslav Muta Nikolić, famous for the sentence he uttered for the first time after the European title for FR Yugoslavia in 1997. "I have no idea why we are rejoicing," said Sheretski, showing the medal, "well, this is all normal."
He repeated that sentence a hundred times afterwards, and there is a good chance that he will repeat it in the podcast with the president who is still studying to become a basketball coach.
How much is enough?
For years, the public in Serbia has, without their own consent, been part of a propaganda experiment where it is unclear how much of it is created by Vučić and how much by his expensive Israeli PR magicians.
Namely, since the party doesn't exist, since its members mostly embarrass themselves with statements and since it is in the too mature phase of the cult of personality, Vučić only offers himself. Constantly, from all channels, for all occasions and at all times of the day.
I say experiment, because one would think that the citizens should not be bothered so much that Vučić himself accepted the joke and in one of the campaigns on Pink came out of the refrigerator. It turns out that dozing off is not a problem in today's age of hyperproduction - whoever takes drugs with Vučić gets his dose; who is annoying, change the channel or pick up the phone.
Perhaps the key lies in those semi-interested people who follow politics at the mime level and through the messages sent by their godfather through Viber. And they have to hook Vučić somewhere, now in the podcast. So if they find him cute...
Maybe be a podcaster.
Thus, the podcast, in which he will talk about people and their destinies, about culture, sports and other things, is an opportunity for Vučić to talk to some people in the campaign that people know from other episodes. A chance for something to go viral.
Unlike classic "speeches", here it is exciting to see if the president can - remain silent.
He, who keeps his mouth shut wherever he appears and whatever it is, should now be the host of the conversation - and let's remember how he scolds decent journalists when they ask a question for more than five seconds.
After all, everyone has a podcast these days, so why shouldn't the president! Unlike the abnormal amount of television time until now, this with the podcast is still normal. Maybe soon, deprived of government and other obligations, he will be able to fully devote himself to the podcast.
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