Belgrade must be like Banjaluka

The ease with which Dodik lost power in Banja Luka is astonishing. And how quickly he admitted defeat. The one who knew how to shout and threaten suddenly became likeable, ready to hug him. Clumsy and intolerant, the proven "protector" of Serbia and Serbian interests was reduced to natural size, a loser "who is sad".

Perhaps only one person is unhappier because of Dodik's defeat, but he is not from Republika Srpska. He is the ruler of everything that breathes in Serbia. As a trained epidemiologist, he knows very well that the virus of overthrowing the corrupt and arrogant government will not end at the borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And that it cannot be stopped by Vulin's special forces, Nesha's paratroopers, or Bata's black jeeps. There is no vaccine for this virus.

Dodik lost because he got sick of the people of Banja Luka. He could see this even at the time of the "Justice for David" protest, when he looked more like a strongman than a human being. And this is David's little revenge. And his parents, of course.

And Vučić - did he hate the people of Belgrade? If he hasn't yet, he's on the right track, his matchmakers who are destroying and looting the capital certainly are. There is no such foolishness that occurred to them without trying to realize it. Just remember how much they screamed that they were going to build a gondola on Kalemegdan. Even the president personally insisted that "there should be three cables", so that the wind would not sway the gondolas.

The people of Belgrade have not forgotten the overpriced paving of Republic Square, the musical fountain on Slavija, spending money on New Year's lights, or the smoke from the Vinča landfill. Nor that they don't have a train station.

They also know about Lasta and GSP sales, and the sale of PKB and IMT. And "Beograđanke" which the bilmers did not know how to manage. Many were also hurt by the fact that the Sava center is no longer Belgrade, but private. And that he was gifted.

They don't have to remember the streets that have been dug up for years, because of them they curse every day. Because of the title of the most polluted city on the planet, many curse both the government and Belgrade and life in it. Not to mention mafia liquidations. Who does not feel sick from this kind of government in Belgrade, he has no stomach or brain. Or both.

Do the people of Belgrade want this type of government to be extended? I doubt. And they showed this in June with a weak response to Vučić's irregular, single-party republican elections. The one who knows everything and decides everything is also aware of it.

Both the opposition and citizens in Belgrade have something to learn from Dodik's defeat. The opposition, how the elections are controlled and how the campaign is conducted - Draško Stanivuković, the guy who will be the mayor, won by going around the city by bicycle and talking to people who recognized himself in him. And overgrown Dodik's black limousines. Finally, the citizens would have to understand that they cannot stay at home on election day and whine that they have no one to vote for.

The question of the authorities in Belgrade can be asked differently: who manages the billion and several hundred million euros of OUR money. And how will he spend them, on turning cobblestones?

To begin with, the opponents of the progressive government have an advantage, and that advantage is called Goran Vesić. The people of Belgrade love him like the people of Banja Luka love Dodik. When one day they fall, we will laugh at ourselves who ruled us. It's not hard, you'll see. Elections are coming up in the spring of 2022.

(nova.rs)