How the new Vučić movement could be the road to a de facto dictatorship

Political analyst Mladen Mrdalj tells N1 that the announcements that Aleksandar Vucic will establish a “People’s Movement for the State” actually indicate that the SNS leader will try to change his party machinery, as his party is losing the trust of the people. He points out, however, that the very name of the new movement sends the message that anyone who is in opposition is against the state. “If he imposes this rhetoric, we can worry about how far we are from a de facto dictatorship,” Mrdalj says.

Mrdalj recalls that the last elections showed that the Serbian Progressive Party does not have a majority on its own, but has to rely on coalition partners, which, he points out, gain a certain blackmail potential.

It is clear, Mrdalj points out, that the SNS is “smeared enough among the people” that this causes concern for Vučić.

“All this was justified by a certain part of Vucic’s voters on the grounds that there were bad people around him, but he was OK. The same was said about Milošević, but Vučić clearly does not want to end up like Milosevic. He is trying to change his party machine. The best way is to change the existing machine, to give his new movement a new legitimacy”, he explains.

The N1 interlocutor warns, however, that the new movement leads to the further creation of an atmosphere of dictatorship, because if by far the most popular politician in the country calls his movement state-building, this can be seen as a message that anyone who is in opposition is against the state.

“If he imposes this rhetoric, we can worry about how far we are from a de facto dictatorship”, he warns.

Mrdalj also expects that the new movement will be a broad conglomeration of everything and anything, and that “in that noise” SNS will be pushed into the background.

The media also report that from Saturday 11 March, Vucic will start talks with the population in the south of Serbia, most probably in Vranje.

The SNS has a strong foothold in the south-east of the country, Mrdalj reminds, adding that if the new narrative and the new image of the party is presented for the first time in the south, it will get “visible, passionate support” from voters there. part of the country, which will be a signal to the other Serbian Progressive Party committees in the country through media spin.

Večernje Novosti announced that President Vucic will start the formation of a People’s Movement for the country and will visit all parts of the Serbia in the coming period./N1/