Student list managed to secure the support of a fairly wide range of political parties, local movements, citizen groups and civic initiatives. On Monday at 17 p.m., students gather in front of the Rectorate of the University of Belgrade to walk from there to Republic Election Commission (REK) in Kralja Milana Street, where he will officially hand over signatures of support for the "Student list - Students win".
The organizations that supported the students belong to different political traditions, and do not necessarily agree with each other on numerous other issues. What currently connects them is the assessment that in the upcoming parliamentary elections support should be given to the Student List, which is the only one that has a chance of defeating the regime of Aleksandar Vučić.
From ZLF to SPO
They were among the first major parties that opted for the Student List Democratic Party, Green-Left Front, Go-Change i Free Citizens Movement. DS and ZLF they decided not to come out with their own list, while PSG announced that it would not run its own list and that it supports the student list, with certain conditions related to its final composition and program.
The student list was also supported by the Serbian movement Dveri, the Social Democratic Party of Boris Tadić, Enough is Enough, the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina - Vojvodina, the Movement for the Decentralization of Serbia and the Movement for the Reconstruction of the Kingdom of Serbia. In most of these cases, the decision to support implies that the party will not use the elections for its own candidacy, but will put its organizational capacities in the function of the student list.
Vuk Drašković also stepped forward and said that the Serbian Restoration Movement (SPO) will stand behind the students. At the same time, the leadership decided against the independent participation of the party in the elections, while the majority of the Presidency was in favor of the Student List.
Among the more recent supporters is the People's Freedom Movement. Miroslav Parović's party announced that it supports the Student List, with the announcement that it will direct its contribution to win over voters who previously supported the government.
Support was also given by smaller parties and movements. Among them are the "Love, Faith, Hope" movement, the Montenegrin Party, the Change in Focus Movement, i.e. PUF, Šumadijski block 21 and "Nova - Da se struka pita". The latter movement called on its members and sympathizers to support the Student List and announced that it would not participate in the elections with its own list.
Support from local organizations
A special category is represented by local political organizations and citizen groups.
Among those who publicly sided with the student candidacy are the group of citizens "Dr. Dragan Milić", "Belgrade on the move", "Niš moj grad", Zrenjanin's IZRAZ and "Istina - Tamari's Laws".
In some cases, it was not just about political support, but it was announced that local people, infrastructure and other resources would be made available to the student campaign.
The wider circle consists of local movements gathered in the Free Organization of Serbia (SOS). The organizations BRAVO from Novi Sad, CitizenIn from Inđija, Jedan tim from Lučani, Karlovačka list from Sremski Karlovac, Local front from Kraljevo, Moj Bač, Ne dam Nu dau from Majdanpek, Oslobodimo Vrbas, Pobeda za Mačva, Pokret Podunavlje, PUF from Zrenjanin, Raška Raščanim, Only locally from Bečej, Složno u pebeda from Priboj, Tvrđava gave their support to the Student List. from Smederevo, UZINAT from Gornji Milanovac, Valjevo resistance movement...
This local level is perhaps the most interesting part of the story. The student movement was born outside the classic party system, and now part of that system - but also part of local political organizations that arose independently of the big parties - is making its infrastructure available to it.
This changes the attitude of the student movement towards the existing opposition: students do not take over existing parties, do not join coalitions, but their list begins to gather part of the political infrastructure that these parties and local movements have been building for years.
Support also came from Vojvodina. The Democratic Community of Vojvodina Hungarians announced that it will support the Student List in the upcoming elections. The DZVM explained the decision in terms of the rule of law, the independence of institutions and the responsibility of the authorities, as well as the interests of Vojvodina's Hungarians.
Another new element is the support of the Serbian National Forum from Gračanica. This organization also declared itself in favor of the Student List, thus expanding the circle of support to include a political organization operating among Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.
Support from organizations that are not formally political
In addition to political parties and movements, the Student List also received support from organizations that are not formally political parties. Among them are ProGlas, Misha Bachulov's "Be a Hero" and other civic initiatives.
There is, however, another distinction to be made. The support of ProGlas, a local group of citizens or an individual is not the same as the decision of a political party not to participate in the elections and support another list. Therefore, the number of organizations that support the Student List should not automatically be represented as the number of parties that have supported it.
The same caution is needed when it comes to individuals. The rector of the University of Belgrade, Vladan Đokić, signed his support for the Student List, but this is his personal decision and cannot be interpreted as a formal support of the University of Belgrade. The difference between the support of the institution and the support of its official is important here.
The breadth of the list also raises the question of its political meaning. On one side are the DS, ZLF and PSG, that is, parties that belong to the civil and left-wing part of the opposition spectrum. On the other are Dveri and POKS, which belong to a much more conservative part of the political scene. Among them are SDS, LSV - Vojvodina, PODES, DJB and numerous local movements. Those organizations could hardly be described as part of a single ideological platform.
Still without unity in the opposition
That is why it is more accurate to speak of a broad alliance of support than of a new unified opposition bloc. The common point is not a common political program, but an assessment that the Student List is currently the strongest asset for a change of government.
This is confirmed by the fact that part of the opposition did not support the student list. Freedom and Justice Party, Serbia Center, Solidarity, People's Movement of Serbia, New Face of Serbia, Ecological Uprising, New DSS, People's Party and We - People's Power decided to participate in the elections through their own lists or coalitions. This shows that supporting students has not become the only possible opposition strategy.
At the same time, there are also cases in which certain local committees or party members joined the student list even though their headquarters did not make such a decision. Such cases should be viewed separately from official party support, but they show that the student movement also affects internal relations in existing political organizations.
When all is said and done, Student Lista has assembled a rather heterogeneous network of support. It includes large and small opposition parties, local movements, citizen groups, civil initiatives and individuals. Its political breadth in this sense is indisputable, but this breadth is also a question that will only be opened if the list achieves the result its supporters expect.
That is why the most important fact is that the student movement, which arose outside the party system and insisted on its own political autonomy for a long time, managed to attract a significant part of the existing opposition infrastructure, without formally becoming a part of any of those parties.
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