After the major protest on March 15, which on one side brought catharsis and on the other disappointment, demonstrations across Serbia have continued on a relatively similar scale.
Large student actions have become less frequent, except for a group that cycled 1,300 km from Novi Sad to Strasbourg – an act half the public saw as heroic, while those in favor of more radical protests dismissed it as carnival-like. Regardless of these sentiments, polls show that over 60% of citizens support the protest.
Under the umbrella of that support, expectations for political articulation are growing, though it remains unclear what form that would take. Some fatigue has definitely set in, but that isn’t necessarily bad. It only highlights a question that has become increasingly common in recent weeks: What now?
The New “Government of Revenge”
Meanwhile, a new government has been formed under the leadership of Professor Dr. Đuro Macut, a nominally non-partisan figure with clear regime ties. Yet, the most controversial appointment was Dejan Vuk Stanković as Education Minister – best known as a pro-government analyst, facing sexual harassment allegations.
Rather than offering solutions, the new cabinet seems designed to suppress dissent. Attacks on academic figures culminated in police questioning of the University of Belgrade’s rector, following charges by the group Students Who Want to Learn over alleged abuse of office. The rector also met with the new Prime Minister, but stated it was clear that there was no political will to resolve the crisis.
So then, how can this six-month-long (or thirteen-year-long?) situation possibly be resolved?
Turning Up the Pressure: The Public Broadcaster Blockade
Some analysts believe only a general strike paired with free media can truly pressure the regime.
In that context, reclaiming Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) became central. Since April 14, students had blockaded RTS, demanding a public competition to select members of the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM), as required by law but repeatedly ignored. The blockade ended after 14 days, when the Parliamentary Committee for Culture and Information finally announced a competition for the election of REM members, after nearly six months of institutional inactivity.
RTS, while a public broadcaster, has long acted as a major pillar of government propaganda: “No regime in modern Serbian history has relied so heavily on constructing an image that has nothing to do with reality,” says sociology professor Dalibor Petrović, adding that “the regime knows that if it loses the battle for narrative, it will lose all others as well, which is why it now resorts to poor imitations of student actions.”
This is why freeing RTS is a key step toward ensuring that, one day, elections – which must eventually be held – can be considered legitimate.
A moment during the public service blockade. Photo by Gavrilo Andrić
Paths to Resolution: “This Is the Last Train for Change”
As the government organizes counter-rallies, counter-students, counter-walkers, finds counter-professors, and spreads counter-propaganda through its counter-media, students remain firm in their original demands, even if it means losing an academic year.
But, does maintaining the status quo risk more than just a year? Could the current situation also endanger the student movement itself and lead to exhaustion? Is it time for a general strike, a transitional expert government? Time for early elections?
General Strike and Transitional Government
Despite the failure of two general strike attempts, students are convinced it remains the most effective form of pressure. One of those who participated in the Strasbourg march emphasizes that students don’t want just support, but the active engagement of other citizens: “Sometimes it feels like people say, ‘Okay, there’s a protest, I’ll show up like it’s a fair. I’ll do something, support the students, admire their fight, and that’s it. Then I’ll return to my comfort zone while the students fight for me.’ I think now is the time for that to stop. Let’s rise up nationally and do the right thing after decades and decades of mistakes.”
Still, a general strike could be difficult to execute, partly because one-third of union members belong to the ruling SNS party.
Similarly, the option of a transitional government composed of experts appears distant, as the ruling authorities – an essential factor in this process – show no willingness to go down that road.
Calling Early Elections
Calling for early elections is most likely the next step, but there are major issues with voter rolls, manipulation, and vote-buying. Nevertheless, on April 25, the plenum of the Faculty of Technical Sciences voted in favor of demanding the calling of snap parliamentary elections, proposing that students involved in the blockade compile an independent electoral list. There is also a proposal to establish a Social Front – a broad network of groups supporting students and fighting corruption.
The authorities’ reactions suggest they see this as a real threat, and it is certain that even under increased scrutiny, there will be attempts to manipulate the vote in various ways.
Another obstacle is the students’ aversion to political parties – an outcome of years of regime tactics. They hold that any future government or electoral list they endorse should include members without past party affiliations – an idea that, while noble, seems utopian in the current political reality.
In this regard, writer and activist Vladimir Arsenijević states that: “A vital missing link in all this is direct contact with real political actors. Like it or not, the only ones who can channel the energy sparked by students, and later supported by various social groups, through institutional means are political parties. Without that, there can be no change. Except, perhaps, a purely revolutionary one which, I’d say, no one is ready for.”
A detail from the citizens’ gathering. Photo by Stefan Kostić
Pluralism of Opinion and the Rise of the Right
While citizens and students try to find the best solution to the crisis, ideological tensions are becoming more visible within the protest groups themselves. Although their formal demands are ideologically neutral, recent weeks have brought underlying value differences into focus.
Speaking of values, Arsenijević warns that as protests stalled, far-right groups exploited the pause, infiltrating rallies under the banner of unity. “Now we see all sorts of hyper-Orthodox symbols, Chetnik insignia, imperialist territorial nostalgia, slogans about reclaiming Kosovo, Russian flags and symbols – while at the same time, there’s a strong yet unspoken censorship of other symbols.”
There seems to be an expectation of tolerance and understanding from the left: “Many citizens seem to believe this is a sacrifice worth making, because allegedly nothing is worse than Aleksandar Vučić’s regime, not even this revisionist syncretism or the dream of a post-Vučić nationalist utopia where all Serbs live together happily ever after.”
This raises the concern of how such divided citizens can find common ground on the “day after”. Can a movement sustain internal pluralism without a clear values framework? Or is it time to draw clear lines between those fighting for democratic change and those seeking a rebranded authoritarianism?
What Comes Next? Between Dreams of Freedom and Reality
“Every nation has the government it deserves. We can’t just talk about how senseless the regime’s actions are. Each of us must say – I do not accept this,” says retired economics professor Miodrag Zec, adding that the final outcome depends on each of us.
Whatever path things follow, the solution is clearly not within easy reach. It requires daily, persistent decisions not to accept injustice.
Isidora Cerić, a philology graduate, points out that the strength of the student movement lies in its horizontal organization, perseverance, and lack of desire for ready-made solutions. Their patience is not weakness, but a conscious decision not to engage with mechanisms that have failed citizens time and again: “In a society where every political force is measured by numbers, reach, intensity, and immediate results, this kind of resistance seems unproductive. But perhaps that is its real value – to refuse to play the productivity game.”
And so, even though the path ahead is uncertain, maybe the real answer doesn’t lie in when? or how?, but in the daily: Do I accept this? Because from that answer depends whether the dream of freedom will one day move from student amphitheaters into State institutions and the everyday lives of all citizens. And in the meantime, all we can hope for is radical perseverance.
Photo Credits: Gavrilo Andrić, Lav Boka, Stefan Kostić
