Deliblato Sandstone it burned for more than a month, and maybe the fire is still going on. During that time, the head of state and the entire Ćaciland toured Serbia: he said what he always says, promised the same as he promised before, boasted as only he knows how to boast...
In that volume Vučić's celebrating himself had no room for bad news. And it was primarily a fire that was consuming the Deliblata Sandstone day after day. Only when the Russian "Ilyushin" started extinguishing it, and the helicopters arrived from the European Union, Vučić appeared close to the fire (see texts on pages 16 and 21).
Why didn't he arrive earlier? So how would it look on regime television if he stood in front of the cameras and said: "I am powerless in front of the fire"? This is unthinkable in progressive Serbia. That's why Vučić came to Deliblatska peščara only when the firemen had contained the fire, which is - of course - another victory for him.
"We are a superpower in firefighting," he said deadpan to the cameras after the fiery devastation.
What would have happened if we hadn't? The whole country would burn?
Distorted mirror
The statement about Serbia as a firefighting "superpower" fits perfectly into Vučić's current propaganda.
In short, the country is progressing every day in every aspect, the people have never been better with the fact that the "diamond times" are yet to come, the government is giving and will continue to give, the "blockaders" are in the mouse hole, the progressives are stronger than fate...
True, there are some small problems, such as arrogant local officials, but nothing to worry about, Vučić will bring them into order and, like a kind feudal lord, solve each one's personal problems individually - as soon as he finds some time.
Does the president of Serbia fall asleep repeating his own campaign words to himself when he goes to bed every night? Does he really believe that by appearing in the media every day, beyond all limits of taste and need, he will lead the majority of Serbian citizens to forget what is happening in front of their eyes (see articles on page 24 and 28)?
He doesn't seem to be sure of what he's saying. Because if it was, the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade would not have started intimidating citizens who publish "untruths" about Deliblatska Peščara on social networks. It is a poor attempt to bury criticism due to poor organization and other failures when extinguishing the month-long fire. It perfectly coincides with the Stalinist "Sound Cannon" affair. Specifically: through judicial persecution and media targeting, to force citizens to view their lives exclusively through the regime's mirror, which gives a distorted image beyond recognition.
BIG FIREBALLS, AND IT'S NOT A MOVIE ABOUT JERRY LEE LEWIS
Vučić would not be what he is if he did not attribute the fires in Deliblatska peščara and other places to external enemies. In the specific case, it is about the Albanians in Kosovo. They - says the head of state - fired a "fireball with a parachute" at central Serbia in order to cause new forest fires.
The meaning is clear - to redirect citizens' indignation due to the ineffectiveness of the firefighting "superpower" on the Albanians. For the most loyal audience of DJ Vučićević and other regime media, there is nothing to prove - said Vučić and that's it.
"Fireballs" have another goal. And that is for Vučić to - irresponsibly and propagandistically - restore the status of the "great protector of the Serbs" in Kosovo. Recently, in the same direction, he declared that he would divert the flow of the Ibar in retaliation because Pristina started demolishing Serbian houses on Lake Gazivode. Then he forgot what he said...
Can such statements like the "fireball" and the diversion of the river help the Serbs in Kosovo? Not in the least. Their scope is exclusively to add fuel to the fire of Albanian nationalists. After all, it is only a continuation of the regime's policy that began with the conflict in Banjska in September 2023. Its motto is: "Vučić's campaign in Serbia is important, and the Serbs in Kosovo, as it happens."
LIFE AND DAYS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA
The fire in Deliblatska peščara highlighted all the dysfunctionality of the regime. While hectares and hectares of forest were burning, on the other side of the country people were celebrating, singing, cheering for the president...
That unbearable weight of emptiness of the established regime is not from yesterday. It became the most visible after the fall of the canopy and the death of sixteen people, and to this day no one's responsibility for that tragedy has been established, nor is it known when it will be.
There are also drug scandals, at least two of which - Jovanjica and the village of Konjuh - bear the regime's imprints of corruption, crime and trading in influence. The construction of Expo in Surčin is proceeding like any wild construction and investor terrorism. Independent and professional journalists are persecuted, citizens are silenced, policemen drink with mobsters, the National Assembly is a mockery, the Government is lost in one of the tents, education is on its knees, higher education is declared a terrorist camp, writers and directors are beaten by the regime's thugs, the government raises the bar of vulgarity and the normalization of the abnormal every day, citizens are threatened with heart attacks when they enter a trade, numerous institutions and state services are millimeters away from collapse... And so on in the same direction, until infinity.
WHERE DOES DEFEATISM LEAD?
Vučić responds to this reality of Serbia with demagoguery, using political and other illusions, and strengthening his authoritarian cult of personality. So how is he doing?
That way. There are also opponents of his government who are convinced that he consolidated thanks to the campaign in which he harnessed all state resources. They complain about the absence of large-scale protests, the youth and inexperience of students, unfair election conditions...
If the campaign brought anything to Vučić, it was the wavering of self-confidence of this part of society.
It is true - there are fewer protests, but everything has already been said. And since the resolution of the deep crisis is only possible through elections, only then can mass gatherings take on a new meaning.
As for the youth and inexperience of the students, it is clear that they knew how to make mistakes, and will continue to do so in the future. However, unlike their critics and skeptics who are close to them, they managed to gather the broadest sections of the people and create a referendum atmosphere on the progressive government. Is it a little?
The upcoming elections, like so many previous ones, will be neither fair nor honest. They may even turn out to be the worst of the past fourteen years (see page 30). However, expecting normal electoral conditions from this regime is the same as trusting in his voluntary resignation. The government, which literally turned a deaf ear to every request of the citizens, falls exclusively before a more numerous, determined and powerful political opponent. And there are enough of them now.
Defeatism regarding changes is actually sharing the same attitude with Vučić. He says that the people represent an amorphous mass without self-awareness, memory, empathy, courage, solidarity, dignity and the ability to shape their own destiny. It's not like that, nor can it be.
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