Branko Ružić, vice president of the Main Board of the Socialist Party of Serbia, is currently a privileged man. He was a minister in several governments that were actually led by Aleksandar Vučić, and his party is still part of the ruling coalition. But now everyone knows Ružić as a "dissident" who can appear even at the big protest on March 15.
Recently, he often criticizes the Serbian Progressive Party and Vučić. Rumors are circulating that the SPS is preparing to defect. To that, Ružić only says that society needs therapy and would like students to be part of the political solution. At the beginning of the interview for "Vreme", we ask him how it feels to walk the streets without anyone breaking his balls on his head.
"It's a nice feeling. Although I don't want anyone's balls to hit their heads. Even if it happens, for whatever reason, I try to understand that. But I don't think we need that as a society," says Ružić.
WEATHER: Why did you give sugar to party leader Ivica Dačić on the 20th? He complained that it was 15. March and, as one of the reasons, he mentioned your going to the protest.
BRANKO RUŽIĆ: My president has that health problem and is managing it well. It is possible that his blood sugar spikes in tense situations. I wish him good health. I'm not sure that my going to the street was one of the causes - I talked to Dacic that day as well.
Does he say"Leave it alone., Branko, chats? "
He doesn't say, although he has a different attitude. Although it sounds exotic to many, we are a democratically organized party. With us, everyone has the right to an opinion, but party bodies make a decision, so it is up to us to apply it in accordance with the assessment of political action.
Then where are those other strong democrats to express their opinion? The impression is that only you are jumping out.
I wouldn't say I jump. I've had a constant since I've been in politics, and that's a long time. Everyone has their own way of doing politics, mine is like this. I do not dispute that others fight for the political goals of the party they belong to in other ways.
Are you and Dacic playing good and bad cops??
No. I would like to dispel that urban legend, because many people think that we have a secret agreement and act strategically. It is also difficult to convince our coalition partner that such a thing does not exist, but I responsibly claim that there is no agreement, nor would I make such deals because it would be dishonest. Everything I say I say because I have the need to bring it to the public.
Behind closed doors in SPS, is there more support for your critical attitude or for Dacic's silence?
We had a session of the presidency at the end of January, before the meeting in Jagodina. This is where we outlined the policy for the short and medium term. There are no such divisions as the public would like, no currents and currents. Dacic is the president of the party elected at the congress. Anyone can express an opinion, but most do not. The final grade is given by the SPS membership.
Is it true that on the local socialists are complaining about the marriage of convenience with the progressives?
It's not a marriage of convenience. I remind you that in the difficult moments after October 2008, the SPS played a significant role in terms of the legitimacy it drew from the citizens. And when we supported the minority Government of Vojislav Koštunica and when we formed the government with our political archenemies from the Democratic Party in XNUMX and opened a European perspective, which was a risky decision - but the right one.
So in 2012 there was no calculation either, but we conducted ourselves in a state-building manner. Then a large part of the citizens opted for Tomislav Nikolić, so we formed a government with the Serbian Progressive Party. The only account is left to the citizens, and the interest is only the interest of Serbia. We try to contribute to the development of society with our staff, and we accept responsibility to the extent that we are present in the government.
Let me repeat the question. - whether people are dissatisfied with the coalition according to the depth of the party?
There is a lot of dissatisfaction. It is not natural for someone to underestimate your quality, status as a coalition partner.
Who is that? "neko"?
It is known. The majority partner has its own agenda. We were in that position in the nineties, so we cooperated with the Serbian Radical Party. Granted, we didn't treat them this way, but we didn't really pay much attention to what they wanted either. Today, there are dissatisfactions with the functioning of local coalitions. It is also time to do an elementary thing, which has never been done since 2012. So, let's sign a coalition agreement with SNS.
It seems that, when you say "neko", you avoid saying one name, as if Voldemort were from "Harry Potter"?
It's not about the name. I am talking about the majority partner, that is SNS.
The two of us talked eight years ago. Then I saw you., obviously premature, asked if Dacic is a blackmailed man and if you are the next leader of the party. Has anything changed there??
Dacic is not a blackmailed man, but an excellent tactician who has proven his ability on the political stage all these years. He has been at the head of the party, with us and thanks to all of us, essentially since 2003, when he became the president of the Main Board. As far as our electoral actions are concerned, we have a communist structure. All changes, programmatic and personal, are made when the time is right, at the congress.
Do you have ambitions to head the SPS??
We will see that in 2026. That is, when the elections within the party will be announced. It is not a question of personal ambition, but of the moment in which the society and the country find themselves. I'm not going to talk about Dacic, myself or someone else, that's what SPS members will say then.
We have already mentioned urban legends about your current position. One of the stories says that an investigation is being prepared against you for possible embezzlement in the Ministry of Education, so that by stepping forward, you seek protection from the public. Do you know anything about that??
I don't know. I will always respect the institutions and cooperate with them. If that's true, I don't know why nobody knocked on my door. I was part of the Government on four occasions, worked professionally in the interest of Serbia and was a team player in the Government. I made the results, but it is immodest for me to state them. I did not ask for any ministerial position - everything was the result of coalition agreements and the need to fill vacant positions, and I accepted that as a party soldier. So, if there are announcements of some investigations, great, I have no problem with that.
You are one of the few who left office on their own in a country where many people can't even peel themselves off their armchairs with a spatula. What a feeling?
My feeling is irrelevant. At that time, I was guided only by the feelings of parents who tragically lost their children in "Ribnikar". The moral vertical of the personality and home upbringing dictated such a rational move. Just like a suit, an armchair does not make a man. Those who are too attached to the armchair are slowly losing touch with reality, so we are entering such crisis times as now.
Your successor in the Ministry of Education is Slavica Đukić Dejanović, probably not alone, decided not to pay teachers' salaries if they are illegally on strike. You, on the other hand, said that the law should not be obeyed like a drunkard.
I believe that one should feel the social moment, and not extinguish the fire with gasoline. The question is why our institutions are not functioning. But I do not justify when, especially in elementary schools, it goes outside the scope of the legally prescribed strike. Because we are dealing with the youngest population and the Constitution, which prescribes compulsory primary education. Then again, I don't see that abolishing and reducing wages will help.
You say you are a leftist., and President Vučić says that this is a protest "the rich". What do you think about that??
If I am not mistaken, the President of the Republic used to say that there are many millionaires in his party. Then I don't know what it would mean if this is a rebellion of the rich. I can't treat students like tycoons and rich people, that would be ridiculous. On the street on March 15, I met family people walking normally with their children, with smiles on their faces, young people hugging each other. I don't recognize that protest of the rich. On the other hand, it is not forbidden to be rich if you have earned money honestly.
Isn't this a class issue after all? We have the wider middle class on the streets while the poor are being driven to the rallies of the ruling party.
You can look at it that way, but it is primarily a question of the technology of government. Unfortunately, there are also cases where people from lower social categories are brought to rallies. Those who have been on the streets for months are expressing their rebellion against this form of government. Overall, one cannot speak of a class struggle. This is a fight of a different nature. The most curative thing would be to find a solution as soon as possible, because a sick society clearly needs therapy.
What kind of therapy??
I admire the students, their lucidity and anticipation of things that could happen - like March 15. Then they warned against excessive escalation, which was possible because some others wanted it. But the energy of the students should be articulated in political outlines. This is a popular rebellion, but if you want to change something in the institutions, then you have to do it in an institutional way.
I expect a new government to be formed, so it would be logical for the students to delegate a group of people who would discuss the election conditions, the media, the state of the judiciary, to talk about it with the relevant ministries. That through this dialogue the situation could be reconciled and election conditions would be reached that would be acceptable to everyone.
The second step would be for students to engage politically. I am not saying that they have to be on electoral lists, but they themselves said that they do not recognize politicians, neither the government nor the opposition. This leaves an empty space that needs to be filled in order to be translated into the institutions of the system. That is the only way for change to be healing.
How do you speak?, it seems to me that there is nothing from the transitional government. The opposition and a good part of the citizens think that this is the only way to have free elections.
I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's not crucial. Transitional government sounds a bit like when in communism a commission is formed because of some problem. Who sits in that transitional government? What is he doing? Not to offend any of the experts, but political problems must be solved by politicians.
If there were enough wisdom, the next mandate holder would be someone with autonomy from the one who gives him the mandate.
To Vučić?
On the president, in this case Vučić. That representative would have to have a clear goal and mandate - to publicly say that it is his task to solve the political crisis in the ways I have described. That the Government should not be cumbersome, that there should be no quota due to coalition partners and that it should be reduced to basic ministries. That would mean that the Government would be "transitional".
It is more likely, from the perspective of the one giving the mandate, that the Government will still be in full capacity and duration. But then I don't know how to reach a solution, although that doesn't rule out the possibility of dialogue either.
Your party colleague Tončev suggests that Lepo Vučić be the mandate holder. Now, he can hardly be both president and prime minister at the same time.
He cannot, in that case he would have to resign as president. But this idea of colleague Tončev is not unrealistic. He nicely said that all the criticisms are aimed at the President of the Republic, that he is dealing with matters for which he is not competent, so by moving to the head of the Government, that individual would be competent for what he is called out for now.
Is it 15?. In March, sonic weapons were used on the street?
I'm no expert, but it's obvious that something was used. When the crowd splits up a few hundred meters away - it cannot be a performance. And I hear privately that people had problems. It cannot then be said that there was nothing.
Ivica Dacic was still correct in his confusion, because he admitted the mistake and the first clumsy statement. This led to the conclusion that sixteen devices of the LRAD type were acquired. It is known when they were acquired, although they are not registered in the law as a police tool.
Why was Dacic embarrassed then?? First there is no, but it has, but in the warehouse, yet there is on the street, but like a megaphone.
Maybe he didn't know right away. But he contributed to the discovery that the LRAD existed and said it was a failed investment. If so, then I guess an investigation will follow who acquired the sound devices, probably under a confidentiality clause, and why they were acquired. If we hadn't heard that specifically from the Minister of the Interior, we might still be going around in circles.
The bottom line is - something was used on the street, and there are many theories as to how, what and from where. It would be honorable to conduct an objective and credible investigation.
In our journalistic research, we found that they are, parallel to that noise, men in black fired cannon shots at the crowd from Pionirski Park, as well as from a construction site in Ulica Kralja Milana. Who are these people and who do they serve??
The people in black are certainly not students. I get the impression that Pionirski Park has been given the status of extraterritoriality. You can't walk there with your dog or alone. I have already suggested that the people in the park should be surveyed whether they know the address of their faculty, to name five male and female colleagues, five professors and five exams. Whoever passes the test, fine. But the physiognomies there do not look like average students to me.
Why are they engaged, why tractors and huge obstacles... Are they defense belts? But I don't know who and from what. The most important thing is that what could have happened did not happen on March 15. The composure of the most responsible in the MUP, as well as the anticipation and communication of the students, is to be commended.
At the end, until mostly gravediggers to rebel against the manners of the authorities?
For me, it is true that you support others, and you love Partizan. And yet, I've never liked politics in the stadium, but it's always there. When the crisis in Yugoslavia started, we started to Serb, and the Croats started to fight for independence. Then Milošević was glorified and then criticized in the stands, so Koštunica and Tadić came to the fore. It seems that a critical review of the situation in society and in stadiums is natural.
But I would not say that the division goes along the Grobari-Delia line. In fact, self-aware people feel what is not good in society. And now the situation is really not phenomenal or maybe I just don't have rose colored glasses. Now, here we are, we beat Austria in football, so before the end of the game, a message was sent that shows the attitude towards the state of society. And there were fans of both Zvezda and Partizan. Therefore, it is about Serbia - it is a message to those who should be wiser in this situation.
