GENERAL ELECTIONS IN SERBIA

Abstract

This article deals with the general elections (presidential, parliamentary and partly local) held in Serbia on April 3, 2022 The main motive for the snap National Assembly elections was the intention to get the Parliament legitimized, since the existent body with no opposition discredited the country and its head applying for admission into the EU. The outcome of the elections – another win of President Alexandar Vučić and his ruling Serbian Progressive Party – was not a secret from the start for either observers or participants. The only thing to argue about was the score. However, the developments in Ukraine have made their own adjustments to the calculations of both the authorities and their opponents, and the results of voting along with their perception by winners and losers. The article also addresses the reasons for the persistent invincibility of the ruling «progressists», the long-term failures of the pro-Western «democratic» opposition and the unexpected success of the pro-Russian right-wing nationalist blocs, which previously miserably dragged out on the political margins. The mood of the Serbian electorate in relation to the party structure is also the object of special consideration. The logic of political behavior and the relationship between the external and internal political balancing of the President of Serbia are analyzed. An explanation of his seemingly strange post-election move is suggested: taking a time-out in the formation of the government, he took a step towards the defeated «democrats». It is concluded that A. Vučić is aiming at structuring the government in a way that will preserve both his central role in Serbian politics and free hand in further adaptation on the international arena, which in any case will not be single valued and straightforward. The general vector of the drift will be determined by the balance of forces in the confrontation between the West and the East at present at its climax.

Keywords

• parliamentary elections
• presidential elections
• serbia
• a. vucic
• russia
• eu
• china