General austerity reigns in Serbia. For a long time, there has been no money for relevant research that would measure how much Serbian society really collapsed in the conditions of the wild transition. Maybe it seems to the authorities that it is not even necessary as long as they have huge support for every decision, and even when the voters are in a situation where they applaud one solution in the morning and a completely different one in the afternoon.
Therefore, no one has long held that big mirror to the face of Serbia that would show where we really are after years of predatory privatization and general impoverishment, Copernican political twists and the audacity for leaders in Serbia to base their current efforts on the support of the electorate. And they usually get it without much effort. We have not seen what a Serbian citizen looks like after the abundance of history and politics took away his right to feel satisfied because we are constantly on the margins as a society, at the door, within reach of something that constantly eludes us like a mirage.
Nevertheless, far from breaking news, from time to time, figures appear as a rough factography of life, which, arranged without much order, accurately compose a gloomy picture of Serbia, and perhaps explain why 34% of Serbian citizens are, at this moment, against joining the EU, and at the same time, the popularity of extreme right-wing parties is growing.
With the combined forces of political groups, we have come to the point where every fourth citizen lives in poverty. One in two never eats fruit. More than a quarter do not have meat or fish in their meals every day. Every fourth resident does not wash their hands regularly, half bathe or shower less than three times a week, and more than 10% of adults do not have any teeth. Infectious diseases are on the rise, and scabies is among the ten most common.
Close to 14% of citizens are out of school or have attended only a few classes. 80% of the illiterate are women. The percentage of those who haven't read a single book in a year is the same. Ten percent of families with small children do not own any children's books. Even 70% of students do not go to museums, rarely visit galleries, theater or literary evenings. A third of young people read only when they have to. But that's why the main "cultural" activity for over 70% of the population is watching television.
One in two people use tranquilizers. In terms of the number of smokers, we are at the top of the world. In Serbia, 11 liters of alcohol are drunk per inhabitant, while the world average is 6. Fifty percent of high school students regularly drink alcohol, and every tenth alcoholic is under the age of thirty. Half of young people aged 18 to 27 live with their parents. More than half a million citizens registered over a million weapons.
Children beat teachers and parents, beatings are common communication between married couples, sons mistreat fathers, families abuse children... Every fourth woman has experienced threats of serious physical violence, murder or serious bodily injury. And we entered 2014 with 2,8 million pending court cases. Is it strange then that only 26% of citizens are happy, which ranks Serbia among the unhappiest countries in the world. It is a picture of a neglected country from grim statistics.
When a person keeps his head just a little above water, and is afraid that at any moment someone might drown him, he experiences every promise as a straw of salvation. Such a society is ideally prepared for extreme solutions and the rise of right-wing parties. Hence, it is no wonder that the Radicals and Dveri together have over 13% of the support of the electorate on the rating list. And with reason they believe that this is not the end.
The technology of governance, something for everyone in the voting spectrum, only gives results in the short term. That is why it is completely incomprehensible political mathematics in which, for example, the government makes enemies out of those who would be allies tomorrow. And when it empties the political space for those with whom it at least declaratively shares the same goals. Especially when the rift between the president and the prime minister can no longer be hidden.
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