Political turmoil has augmented in Sebia, leading to concerns. As per the reports of multiple sources including the BBC and CNN, opposition parties have carried out massive political rallies in the capital city and other cities and demanded early elections and raised concerns over irregularities in the government including corruption. Political rallies led to the clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement agencies and the arrests of many. But political rallies and clashes happened in the past too, leading to the arrests of many. But it remains unclear whether the political crisis will be resolved in Serbia without further trouble and how much the political ground will be improved.
It may not be surprising at all if the political situation deteriorates in the coming weeks in Serbia, which is facing trouble for the last several years. The possibility of it is rather high at least to some extent. The political situation has been dramatically deteriorating since November 2024 when a railway station was collapsed that killed 16 people and led to massive political gatherings drawing more than 350000 protesters and anti-government movements in many towns and cities including the capital. But there are political and other reasons that may lead to the deterioration of the political situation in the coming weeks. The repression of the opposition, external influence and other reasons may play some roles in the politics of Serbia.
While the repression of the opposition has increased in Serbia during the time of the Vucic government, there has been rising mass rallies against the government, which has been in power since 2012 and promoting stability at the cost of democracy in Serba. arbitrary arrests and the detention of opposition leaders and demonstrators which has increased remarkably and limited media freedom. But the arbitrary arrests and detention of opposition leaders during political rallies increased in the last several years. For instance, in the political rallies participated by hundreds of thousands of Serbians in response to the railway station collapse last year, many demonstrators were arrested and detained by the law enforcing agencies.
The lack of measures to address the reasons for the political crisis and resolve it are vital reasons that may potentially deteriorate the political situation in the coming days. The government and the opposition have different position and there is a lack of efforts to address political problems through talks between the parties. The geopolitical engagement is also another reason that may hinder the mitigation of the political crisis. While the government is said to be pro-Russia, the opposition is said to be pro-West. While the Vucic government rejected to impose sanctions against Russia when the Ukraine war started especially in 2022, the opposition is criticized to have links with western countries and promote pro-EU democratic values.
But it is not at all right that there is a lack of efforts to address the crisis. The government of Serbia which is in power for several year and has employed à la carte approach to foreign policy of hedging Serbia between the West and Russia with a side order of China, launched a slow-moving investigation into the rail station disaster, which led to unprecedented demonstrations and the demand for the resignation of the president. Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic also resigned amidst ongoing student protests. But the efforts of the government were meager and negligible in addressing the concerns of the parties involved in the political movements and have not aimed at mitigating the crisis.
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The Vucic government has rather put emphasis on the use of force with the deployment of law enforcing agencies against demonstrators, who have the support of around two-thirds of people. There is an absence of any step from the government to hold talks with opposition parties and demonstrators, who are demanding a systematic change in how the country is governed and are seeking the resignation of the president and early elections, and the government has not made any reasonable concession yet. Consequently, it may not be surprising altogether if the political situation deteriorates in Serbia, which is being pushed by European Union and Russia to choose a side, in the coming weeks.
There are several other vital problems and challenges that may put hindrances to mitigating the crisis and the development of political grounds in Serbia. The lack of trust between the government, which believes that protests are orchestrated by the West and aim at destroying Serbia, and opposition parties, along with the absence of notable efforts to addressing the crisis is notable. The lack of efforts to address election fraud, mismanagement of public resources, poor governance and the illiberal role of the Vucic government can also put some challenges to addressing political crisis in Serbia in the coming days. Consequently, it may not be surprising at all if the political repression increases in Serbia in the coming months.
It may be difficult to resolve the political crisis and improve the political grounds in Serbia as desired mainly due to complexities in politics and several other causes mentioned above. But addressing the reasoned concerns of opposition parties and other demonstrators will help resolve the political trouble. Talks between the government and those involved in the anti-government movement are vital and may help address the political and other concerns of demonstrators and mitigate the political crisis. This will also help focus on other crucial problems. But the willingness of the parties including the government is vital and will help resolve the political crisis and improve other conditions.
But it is crucial to address other concerns of the movement that are reasonable, no matter whether the political crisis is resolved in Serbia. Without these, the crisis many unsurprisingly increase in the coming weeks. Serbia needs to address electoral irregularities including vote buying and the administrative misuse of public resources during the elections. These will help improve political conditions, ensure credible elections and provide more scope to opposition parties for politics. But the freedom of the media which helps address various concerns including political also needs to be ensured.
