Serbia’s populist prime minister, Milos Vucevic, resigned Tuesday in an attempt to calm political tensions stoked by weeks of massive anti-corruption protests sparked by the deadly collapse of a concrete overhang at a recently renovated train station.
The November collapse at the central station in Novi Sad, one of Serbia’s largest cities, killed 15 people and happened months after it reopened, fueling accusations that the construction was unsafe. The tragedy has become a flashpoint for broader dissatisfaction with Serbia’s authoritarian rule and has led to growing public demands for transparency and the rule of law in the graft-plagued country that has carried out a quick series of large infrastructure projects, mostly with Chinese companies.
“It is my appeal for everyone to calm down the passions and return to dialogue,” Vucevic said at a news conference announcing his resignation, which was followed hours later by Novi Sad’s mayor also stepping down.
The protests, including one Tuesday evening in Novi Sad that drew thousands of people, have spread to streets and university campuses throughout the country of roughly 6.6 million people, as citizens from all walks of life, including actors, farmers, lawyers and judges, have thrown their support behind the student movement that has rattled the country’s most powerful figure, President Aleksandar Vucic.
Vucevic’s resignation could lead to an early parliamentary election. The resignation must be confirmed by Serbia’s parliament, which has 30 days to choose a new government or call a snap election.
Pro-government media said Vucic would attend a Cabinet session later Tuesday to decide whether a new prime minister-designate will be appointed or an early election will be called. He was expected to hold a news conference afterward.
Opposition parties said they’d insist on a transitional government that would create conditions for a free and fair election. The populist government led by the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, which was founded by Vucic and is led by Vucevic, has faced accusations of irregularities during past elections.
Vucevic became the prime minister in April 2024 after his party won an election marred by tensions and captured more than five times as many seats as any other party.
“They (ruling party) have been in a free fall since the Novi Sad tragedy,” journalist Slobodan Georgiev said on N1 television, adding that Vucic was seeking a “buffer” with the prime minister’s resignation.
Protests are the biggest challenge yet to the ruling populists
Vucic, who was first elected president in 2017 and counts Hungary’s populist conservative prime minister, Viktor Orbán, as an ally, has managed to stifle past anti-government protests. But the protests since the train station collapse have extended beyond idealistic university students and faculties.
The students’ call for justice has resonated in a country where corruption is widespread and few feel that state institutions are serving the public’s interests.
Branimir Jovancicevic, a professor at the Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade, expressed hope that Vucevic’s resignation is a first step toward further political changes in Serbia, where power is concentrated in the hands of the president.
“If the president thinks that by replacing one, essentially, unimportant figure … will solve the problem … he is deeply mistaken,” Jovancicevic said. ”This must lead to total political changes because autocracy and dictatorship in Serbia, in the heart of Europe, must be stopped.”
On Monday, tens of thousands of people joined students in a 24-hour blockade of a key traffic intersection in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
In an attempt to defuse tensions on Monday, Vucic, Vucevic and the parliament’s speaker, Ana Brnabic called for talks with the students. But student protest leaders have so far rebuffed such invitations, noting that Vucic’s role as president is officially a largely ceremonial one. Instead, they have called for governmental institutions, including the police and judiciary, to do their jobs and enforce the rule of law spelled out by the constitution.
Another student is assaulted
Vucevic said the immediate cause for his quitting was an attack on a female student in Novi Sad early Tuesday by assailants allegedly from the Serbian Progressive Party. He said that “whenever it seems there is hope to return to social dialogue, to talk … it’s like an invisible hand creates a new incident and tensions mount again.”
Echoing statements Vucic has made, the outgoing prime minister also said the protests “undoubtedly” have been organized from abroad “with an aim to directly jeopardize Serbia as a state,” though he offered no evidence.
“I can never justify or understand many of these protests, blockades of lives, of roads and the freedom of movement of other citizens,” Vucevic said.
Students in Novi Sad said they were horrified by the latest assault, which they said was carried out by thugs with baseball bats who attacked two groups of students and chased them in their car. Prosecutors said four people had been detained in the attack.
“We are horrified over the state of our society where such a situation is possible. We have had enough of blood,” the students said in an Instagram post.
During the big rally in Novi Sad later Tuesday, a student told the crowd that “this is not just our struggle, it’s the struggle of all (people) who want justice. The attacks on students must not be repeated.”
Several incidents have marred the street demonstrations in recent weeks, including drivers twice ramming into crowds and injuring two women.
Students and others have been holding daily 15-minute traffic blockades throughout Serbia at 11:52 a.m., which was the time the overhang fell on Nov. 1. The blockades honor the 15 people who were killed, including two children.
Doubts over prosecutions
Serbia’s prosecutors have filed charges tied to the train station collapse against 13 people, including a government minister and several state officials. But former Construction Minister Goran Vesic, who had resigned shortly after the tragedy, has been released from detention, fueling doubts over the investigation’s independence.
The main railway station in Novi Sad was renovated and inaugurated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure deal with Chinese state companies and a fast railway link with neighboring Hungary.
Serbia’s populist prime minister, Milos Vucevic, has resigned in an attempt to calm political tensions stoked by weeks of massive anti-corruption protests sparked by the deadly collapse of a concrete overhang at a recently renovated train station.
BELGRADE – Serbia’s populist Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned Tuesday in an attempt to calm political tensions and pressure roiled by weeks of massive anti-corruption protests over the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy.
The canopy collapse in November, which killed 15 people in the northern city of Novi Sad, has become a flashpoint reflecting wider discontent with the increasingly autocratic rule of Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic. He has faced accusations of curbing democratic freedoms in Serbia despite formally seeking European Union membership for the troubled Balkan nation.
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“It is my appeal for everyone to calm down the passions and return to dialogue,” Vucevic told a news conference announcing his resignation.
Novi Sad Mayor Milan Djuric also stepped down on Tuesday.
Vucevic’s resignation could lead to an early parliamentary election. The resignation must be confirmed by Serbia’s parliament, which has 30 days to choose a new government or call a snap election.
Pro-government media said President Vucic will attend a Cabinet session on Tuesday evening to decide whether a new prime minister-designate will be appointed or an early election called.
Opposition parties have said they would insist on a transitional government that would create conditions for a free and fair election. Vucic’s populists have faced accusations of irregularities during past elections.
Vucevic became the prime minister in April 2024, after the Serbian Progressive Party won most votes in an election marred by tensions.
“They (ruling party) have been in a free fall since the Novi Sad tragedy,” journalist Slobodan Georgiev said on N1 television, adding that Vucic was seeking a “buffer” with the prime minister’s resignation.
Protests are the biggest challenge yet to the ruling populists
Vucic in the past had managed to cushion the impact of anti-government street protests, but the current student movement has garnered widespread support from all walks of life, including actors, farmers, lawyers and judges.
The students’ call for justice has resonated in a country where corruption is widespread and few feel that the state institutions work in the interests of citizens.
Branimir Jovancicevic, professor at the Faculty of Chemistry in Belgrade, expressed hope that Vucevic’s resignation is a first step toward further political changes in Serbia, where power is concentrated in the hands of the president although his constitutional role is largely ceremonial.
“If the president thinks that by replacing one, essentially, unimportant figure … will solve the problem … he is deeply mistaken,” said Jovancicevic. ”This must lead to total political changes because autocracy and dictatorship in Serbia, in the heart of Europe, must be stopped.”
On Monday, tens of thousands of people joined striking university students in a 24-hour blockade of a key traffic intersection in the Serbian capital. Serbia’s students are demanding accountability for the canopy collapse that critics have blamed on rampant government corruption.
Classes at Serbia’s universities and dozens of schools have been blocked for two months with students camping inside their faculty buildings.
In another attempt to defuse tensions, Vucic, Vucevic and Parliament Speaker Ana Brnabic on Monday evening urged dialogue with the students, who have so far rebuffed such invitations. They say Vucic shouldn’t be the one holding talks with them but that government institutions such as police and the judiciary should do their job.
Another student is assaulted
Vucevic said the immediate cause for his quitting was an attack on a female student in Novi Sad early Tuesday by assailants allegedly from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party. Vucevic said that “whenever it seems there is hope to return to social dialogue, to talk … it’s like an invisible hand creates a new incident and tensions mount again.”
But the outgoing prime minister also said that the street protests “undoubtedly” have been organized from abroad “with an aim to directly jeopardize Serbia as a state.” Vucevic offered no evidence for his claims that echoed earlier similar statements by Vucic.
“I can never justify or understand many of these protests, blockades of lives, of roads and the freedom of movement of other citizens,” he said.
Students in Novi Sad said they were horrified by the assault they said was carried out by thugs with baseball bats. They attacked two groups of students and chased them in their car, the students said. Prosecutors later said that four people have been detained.
“We are horrified over the state of our society where such a situation is possible,” the students said in an Instagram post. “We have had enough of blood.”
The students called a big rally in Novi Sad later Tuesday in response to the attack.
Doubts over prosecutions
Serbia’s prosecutors have filed charges against 13 people, including a government minister and several state officials for the November canopy collapse. But the former Construction Minister Goran Vesic, who had resigned shortly after the canopy crash, has been released from detention, fueling doubts over the investigation’s independence.
The main railway station in Novi Sad was renovated and inaugurated twice in recent years as part of a wider infrastructure deal with Chinese state companies and a fast railway link with neighboring Hungary.
Several incidents have marred the street demonstrations in the past weeks, including drivers ramming in to the crowds on two occasions, when two young women were injured.
Students and others have been holding daily 15-minute traffic blockades throughout Serbia at 11:52 a.m., the exact same time the concrete canopy crashed down on Nov. 1. The blockades honor the 15 victims, including two children. The blockades were also held on Tuesday.