The meeting of the initiative committee for the establishment of "Movements for the people and the state", which president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić has been announcing for almost three years, was held on Sunday, March 23.
In addition to Vučić, the board also includes several members of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts (SANU), several full-time professors, the president of the Matica Albaniana in Serbia and others, TV Pink reported today, and Culture Minister Nikola Selaković confirmed it.
Among the founders of the movement are regular members of SANU - hematologist Bela Balint and composer Svetislav Božić, seven with the title of professor doctor, such as endocrinologist Đur Macut, full professor of the Faculty of Law in Belgrade Branko Rakić, surgeon and full professor of the Faculty of Medicine in Niš Goran Stanojević, neurologist and full professor of Medical Sciences in Kragujevac Svetlana Miletić Drakulić, Beta agency reports.
Professors Nenad Arsović, Dejan Đurđević, Boris Bratina, as well as the president of Matica Albaniana in Serbia Demo Beriša and the general secretary of the Association of Banks of Serbia Marina Papadakis are also in the movement.
Waiting for the "Movement for the People and the State"
Vučić has been announcing the establishment of some kind of movement for years. For the first time, he let loose about the new movement in the summer of 2022, when he spoke about how in spicy times a wider movement is needed that will defend national interests and accelerate Serbia's already rapid economic progress.
Two and a half years later, Vučuć marked the meeting of the Serbian Progressive Party held in Jagodina as the beginning of the process of creating the movement he has been talking about for a long time.
As "Vreme" wrote after that meeting, informal boss Social Media- and announced that he will not be at the head of the movement, because, as he explained, he no longer wants to be the president of anything, but that he should think about the future and those who will come after him.
He said at the beginning of January 2025 that the movement was founded on the same idea announced two years ago, and that they were working on it, in order to now arrive at "how it should look differently". The same goes for the fact that the Serbian Progressive Party would be the strategic carrier of the movement, which, according to Vučić, would be joined by people who were not in parties until now.
An attempt to rebrand SNS
Analysts estimated that the establishment of the "Movement for the People and the State" was actually an attempt to rebrand the Serbian Progressive Party, which during more than a decade of rule became burdened by numerous scandals and controversies.
Nadežda Milenković, creative director and author of Peščanik, reminded "Danas" that the radicals had already rebranded themselves once.
"Radicals have already rebranded themselves as progressives, so let's see how long they have lasted. The question is what could they do now? A civil alliance? I have no doubt that they will try, but I doubt that they will succeed. They can't even camouflage themselves, let alone rebrand," she pointed out.
For political scientist Mladen Mrdalj, the rebranding of SNS is a double-edged sword.
"For it to be convincing, the difference compared to the previous SNS must be clearly marked. Without this, the rebranding can only succeed with the most desperate followers of Aleksandar Vučić himself, because they will interpret the rebranding as the president's departure from 'bad staff around the beloved president'. However, if the same staff remain around him, the effect will not last long, it may even be counterproductive," explained Mrdalj.
He added that, on the other hand, the rebranding may be aimed more at submerging the SPS and all others in a single front, in order to prevent possible soloing and subsequent bargaining with the SNS after the next elections.
Sources: Vreme/Beta/Danas
