Vučić’s plebiscite almost slipped on arithmetics

As largely anticipated, the incumbent Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, secured another four years in power at the snap elections that took place on 24 April. However, the results suggest that Vučić has overplayed his hand with this personal plebiscite: simple arithmetics unmasked his exaggerated hope to wipe out the opposition and consolidate political dominance. This might bode well for political pluralism but voters’ preferences and the affixed party options caution against taking Serbia’s commitment to European integration for granted.

The elections had been described by the prime minister and international media as a referendum on Serbia’s European path, aimed at providing Vučić with a new and solid mandate to carry out tough reforms for the modernisation and EU integration of the country. However, the vote has also been a referendum on the person of the Prime Minister himself and an opportunistic attempt to camouflage the government’s weak economic record in pro-European discourse. The unemployment rate is still high at 17.9%, while the 0.74% GDP growth in 2015 has hardly been sufficient to set Serbia on the path of permanent economic recovery after the country experienced three recessions during the post-2008 period.

ESO: Background information: Serbian Parliamentary Election 2016 http://www.europeansources.info/record/serbian-parliamentary-election-2016/

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