"It is hidden from the public that the opposition did not have a controller at twenty percent of the polling stations," Vladimir Gajić, the new president of the People's Party, told Vreme. He believes that the opposition cannot defeat the regime even in far better conditions, unless it corrects its own mistakes
Belgrade lawyer Vladimir Gajić was elected president of the People's Party, as he was the only candidate. The former head of the party and its founder, Vuk Jeremić, retired after a poor election result. Gajić has already clarified the cooperation with Dosta je bilo for the next elections and in an interview with "Vreme" he talks about the previous elections and the mistakes of the opposition.
Time: What is it like to be the president of a party that won 0,9 percent of the vote?
Vladimir Gajic: It's not easy, but I have experience as a lawyer that I work best when I'm in a bad position. It is a challenge both in court and in politics. It would be boring if it were different.
Vuk Jeremić founded the party and brought you all together. Now it will remain in the deep background?
Vuk will be retired from party work, he will give lectures in London, do something of his own that he has neglected in recent years, but he will remain our member and is there for us in every sense. Especially in what he knows best, which is foreign policy.
Some young people came to important positions in the party. I would like to act a little more through people from the interior, to make the party a little more popular. The vice-presidents are now Aca Marković from Lajkovac and Goca Čabrić from Varvarin, who had strong double-digit results in the elections.
Jeremić was rumored to be unpopular, that his performance was more suited to a debate at a prestigious university than to Serbian politics. You are different here. Can it change anything?
Possibly. I am far more unconventional, which is perhaps closer to people and perhaps easier to establish contact with ordinary citizens. Our hope is that things will turn for the better. I am older, a different character, and Vuk and I agree politically to a large extent, but it is certainly a different way of communication.
You say that you still believe that Serbia needs the politics of the People's Party, that is, of such a right-wing center. If so, why was it not seen in the elections?
We are victims of a political and media duopoly, between a rock and a hard place. The opposition does not understand that Vučić is the creator of a policy in which, like Milošević in the 1990s, he frames himself as a patriotic option. And then the regime forces the so-called pro-Western opposition in the media as the biggest political enemy and presents them as traitors.
When you go in front of Serbs who are informed as they are, then the choice is quite easy and it is usually two to one in favor of the regime. As with Milošević before 2000, the opposition loses all elections, as it does now, by a difference of about a million votes.
The solution to squaring the circle is for the opposition to reach half a million voters of the SPS and SNS, so that we can reach an equal footing. As long as we pursue this policy, we will lose every election, regardless of the conditions. And I don't expect those mustaches to ever get better. Progressives do not plan to work to their detriment.
You are not delighted that "Serbia against violence" in the international arena thematizes electoral manipulation?
I do not share the view that there was terrible election theft. There is talk of evidence, and unfortunately the evidence is very weak. In Belgrade, the elections were repeated at a total of three polling stations and only a few objections were filed. Also, the pro-Western opposition insisted on elections in December, combined, without insisting on conditions such as checking the voter list.
However, I can assume that there was a whole series of illegal actions before the election. But the opposition did not pay attention to it in time, so it went to the elections, and this resulted in these results.
It is hidden from the public that the opposition did not have a controller at twenty percent of the polling stations. Many people simply did not show up on December 17, even though they were supposed to be at the polling stations. That is the big problem of the opposition that is hiding.
Those are the facts. It is important for the opposition to face them in order not to repeat their mistakes, and one of the mistakes was calling on the people of Belgrade not to vote for the People's Party or the Boris Tadić coalition, so as not to "throw away their vote". This is not an indication of the solidarity of the opposition.
You have already agreed in principle to cooperate with Dosta je bilo. What are you going to do next?
We are trying to introduce a third partner, and that is Dveri in the first place. We have already established cooperation in some local committees. We reckon that those three parties could then talk to some other parties from the center-right, such as New DSS. Our three parties have over six percent in Belgrade, so I think we would be a relevant factor, if it were to happen repeating the Belgrade elections which seems very certain.
The opposition failed to win the elections in Belgrade - in the end it was a draw - because the People's Party did not pass. If we had passed, the victory would have been undoubted. The impression is that we did not pass primarily because of the media, which forced the pro-Western opposition.
Why are you criticizing the two cable TVs so much and not mentioning the ones with national coverage?
I don't expect anything from the regime media anyway. That's off. But we count on those who present themselves as free and professional to be at least elementary professional.
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