Political scientist Vujo Ilić, comparing the rally SNS and the student assembly, says that the government aimed to show the organizational power and loyalty of supporters, doc student sees the messages as an attempt to address citizens who have not been politically active until now.
The weekend behind us was marked by two gatherings: a meeting of the Serbian Progressive Party in Belgrade and a gathering of students and citizens in Kraljevo.
Commenting on the student rally "Everything is seen on Vidovdan", Vujo Ilić from the Institute of Philosophy and Social Theory says that it is very little different from last year's, while for the SNS rally, which took place the day before, he considers that it is difficult to explain what it was.
"It was an attempt to show that the ruling party, that is, the ruling coalition, can bring a lot of people to the street. And one in a series of continuous gatherings that are organized for their own sake. So, the goal is to gather people, to bring them from one place to another. This is how people show that they are loyal, that they participate, and on the other hand, the whole mechanism of the organization is rehearsed month after month," Ilić told N1.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, also spoke at that meeting, announcing his resignation to the crowd, but the political scientist points out that during his speech, it was also noticeable that he took sides on a couple of occasions.
"One thing is that he said that this is the last time he is addressing a gathering of this size, which means that there may be more gatherings, just not of such dimensions as he was trying to present, as president. On the other hand, although only a week before, in a conversation with the media, he announced that it will be known which elections will be called and whether he will participate, whether he will be a candidate for prime minister, we still don't know any of that," notes Ilić, adding that by not revealing information, Vučić manipulates citizens.
However, he emphasizes that Vučić is opting for such a mechanism of "uncertainty" because, as he says, for the first time, after many years, the results of the election are potentially uncertain, which is "ground where he does not feel comfortable".
Who do students turn to?
Commenting on the messages that could be heard by the students, Ilić singled out "Students are fighting for you" as the most important, that is, the banner that was forcibly removed from the building near the Branko Bridge.
"Students want to send messages to very broad groups and segments," Ilić believes.
He adds that he doubts that these messages also reach the citizens who attend SNS rallies, but that they reach audiences who may not have gone to the polls until now.
"Putin's style"
The world media also commented on the resignation, which Vučić announces, calling it "Putin's style".
Vujo Ilić explains that it is clearer to the media, who follow the situation in Serbia more closely, that the center of power is in one person and that this power moves from one function to another, depending on what the constitutional restrictions are.
"Making a parallel with the way in which Vladimir Putin, after the constitutional limitation of the presidential mandate, moved to the prime minister's office, and then returned to the presidential office, is an analogy. These are some characteristics of authoritarian regimes or hybrid regimes, the characteristics of a consolidated democracy, and that's why the analogy can make sense," explains political scientist Ilić.
From the meeting in Belgrade, the correspondent of the public service ARD notes Vučić's announcement that the list in the next elections will be called "United Serbia", which is reminiscent of Putin's party, and for which Ilić says that this is only part of the strategy of "giving information bit by bit".
However, as a bigger surprise, it marks the uncertainty as to whether the president's name and surname will be included in the name of the list, which has always been the case so far.
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