BALKAN

Confusion

That the confusion is worrisome can be seen from the fact that from the top of the state, the Serbian people are increasingly calling for "unity"
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Aleksandar Vučić, Photo: Reuters
Aleksandar Vučić, Photo: Reuters
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The bizarre statement by Aleksandar Vučić, the President of Serbia, that his plan for Kosovo failed because the people did not accept it, and that this rejection will cost Serbia dearly for several decades, is probably intended not only for the domestic but also for the foreign public.

When it comes to foreigners, that statement could be read as a warning that his ideas for the resolution of Kosovo are the maximum that he can push in Serbia, and that anything less has no chance of being accepted, and that he will not gambles with his position.

When it comes to the domestic public, the mentioned Vučić's statement may have a "fishing" character, to attract some "consolation campaign" to the disappointed president. So far, only Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin has responded unequivocally to this "bait", while the main spokespersons of the SNS are wisely waiting for more detailed instructions.

In both cases, both external and internal, one gets the impression that the President of Serbia has not yet lost all hope that his ideas that Serbia will receive at least something substantial for concessions to the Kosovo side will meet with some response. Or he thinks that he will at least get a solid alibi for giving up pro-European policy, that is, from everything that such a policy should entail. However, this would mean that Vučić is taking over from the opposition Alliance for Serbia his main idea to oust him from power because of a compromise over Kosovo. Maybe it's too late for such a maneuver?

The reaction of external factors to the aforementioned Vučić's statement will probably be muted, both in the East and in the West. That is, when Vučić says that the people rejected his Kosovo ideas, he is probably primarily referring to the absence of any more effective external support for those ideas, from any global side. Of course, for different reasons. For some, "frozen conflict" probably suits, others may think that one problem should not be solved by creating assumptions for an even bigger one. Therefore, President Vučić is certainly right when he says that further delaying the "Kosovo settlement" will cost Serbia dearly in the future, but everything else in the aforementioned statement is vague and contributes to the confusion that now adorns Serbia's state politics.

That the confusion is worrisome can be seen from the fact that from the top of the state, the Serbian people are increasingly calling for "unity". I will not repeat here the rational and witty analysis of that call, which was recently performed by Danas columnist Svetozar Basara, but I would simply add to the "spiritual" contradictions of that term that the call for "unity of the people" is actually a call for obedience to the authorities. The Serbian Orthodox Church knows this well, and that is why it joins this call so wholeheartedly.

By the way, this call for unity, that is, for obedience to superiors, was brought to perfection by the communists, always allergic to any kind of pluralism. After all, in the SKJ, those who have been forever arguing about the need to "consolidate unity in the Party" have progressed the fastest. Fortunately, the SFRY, and also the SKJ, were founded on the federal principle, so unity was difficult to impose, and when Milosevic tried to achieve it with a "Serbian majority", war and disintegration occurred. Otherwise, perhaps from the top of the SNS, that call to the people for unity is addressed with an additional goal, to preserve and strengthen unity in their party.

In any case, Serbia is now in a strange state, the plan that allegedly failed does not seem to be abandoned because no new plan has been announced - neither by the government nor by the most agile opposition parties. In the meantime, the operation to "save Šešelj" (from falling below the threshold in the upcoming elections) and to strengthen the right as the controller of national politics continues. We won't get very far with such confusion and such controllers.

(novimagazin.rs)

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(Opinions and views published in the "Columns" section are not necessarily the views of the "Vijesti" editorial office.)