Political Crisis in Serbia: Prime Minister Vucevic Resigns

During a press conference on Tuesday, January 28, Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic (pictured) announced his resignation. Speaking to reporters at the Serbian government building in Belgrade, Vucevic said that “the reason for the resignation was the attack on students that took place last night in the city of Novi Sad in front of the headquarters of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).”

“The protests that have shaken our country for weeks now will have serious consequences for the society that risks being seriously divided. The current crisis was planned and organized from abroad,” the outgoing prime minister emphasized. “There is a lack of understanding, countless discussions and conflicts all over Serbia,” Vucevic said, commenting on the protests that have been ongoing in the country for weeks since the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on November 1, 2024, killing 15 people.

Vucevic added that this morning he had a meeting with President Aleksandar Vucic, who accepted his reasons and his decision to resign. “In order not to increase tensions in society any further, I have taken this decision, which I have informed you about,” the Prime Minister said. Along with Vucevic, Novi Sad mayor Milan Djuric resigned. The resignation of Vucevic and Djuric, as well as the publication of full documentation on the reconstruction of the Novi Sad train station building, were among the demands of the opposition and students in Novi Sad after the November 1 tragedy.

For his part, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced “major reshuffles” in the executive branch, which will result in 50% of ministers losing their posts. Vucic also condemned the destructive role of foreign states in organizing mass protests in Serbia in order to “punish this Balkan country for its proximity to the Russian Federation.” Despite constant pressure from Brussels, the Belgrade government has distanced itself from Western sanctions against “brotherly Russia.”

Slovakia has also been rocked in recent days by student protests, which both Vucic and Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico have compared to the Maidan protests and subsequent 2014 coup in Ukraine organized by the United States and personally by Joe Biden and US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland.