"Ana Brnabić believes that the world is once again unfair to Serbia. As a guest author of the Washington Times last Tuesday, the prime minister of this country in southeastern Europe claims that Belgrade fully complies with democratic rules in the fight against the pandemic and that there can be no question of excessive concentration of power in the hands of the state", writes Noje Zircher Zeitung (NZZ) and continues: "She also believes that the criticism of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, is unjustified due to his dramatic appeals because, according to the Prime Minister, he was only pointing out how dangerous the virus is."
Urbanization of the Southeast
"The special powers of the state in the fight against the pandemic represent a democratic-political challenge for all countries. And especially for those in which the separation of powers and the rule of law did not look good before. In Europe, Hungary is first of all in mind. took away all power from the parliament for a certain period of time", writes Folker Pabst for NZZ.
"But in the southeast of the continent, where the dismantling of democracy in Serbia, Albania and Montenegro has been at work for a long time, things are developing in a similar direction.
In Serbia, for example, the legality of Vučić's introduction of a state of emergency on March 15 is being questioned. Namely, such a decision must be made by the parliament. In addition, there are doubts as to whether certain measures are proportionate to the goal. An example is the complete ban on the movement of the elderly (which has recently been eased - editor's note) and the draconian penalties for violating the measures."
"The same applies to Albania," states NZZ, "where Prime Minister Edi Rama sent armored vehicles with long pipes onto the streets. In Bulgaria, the army can take over police duties within the framework of the state of emergency law. And the new Slovenian government of the right-wing populist Janez Janša demands exactly that as well as limiting the well-developed right to a referendum in the country."
"The government of the decades-long ruler of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, has published the personal data of people in self-isolation. On one application, you can see at any time how far away a potential health bearer is. In this way, personal information about the sick is leaked. A similar public database was also planned in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it was stopped by the commissioner for data protection," writes NZZ.
Demolition of democracy even before the crisis
"The Montenegrin government justifies the publication of personal data of people in self-isolation that the state is directed to the cooperation of the population in controlling adherence to quarantine.
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić writes in her text that the limited capacities of the health system required particularly energetic action.
Doesn't success give those countries the right?
The number of infected people in Southeast Europe is still relatively low.
It is true that the health systems of those countries are weakened, among other things, due to the long-term outflow of medical personnel to the West.
The high average age of the population is another risk factor.
But one should doubt the claim that states do not have enough people in the security sector. The number of security forces per capita in these countries is above the European average.
Vedran Džihić, a political scientist at the Austrian Institute for International Politics, otherwise does not accept the argument that states are limited by their capacities in their ability to act: "In recent years, there has been a blatant breakdown of democracy in the region - concentration of power, reduction of media pluralism, politicization of the judiciary. The latest events are taking place on that background."
Tough times
"The draconian punishments that have been introduced in several places for spreading false news about the pandemic crisis, which are vaguely defined, cannot be viewed separately from the war that the autocrats Vučić and Đukanović are waging against the independent media in their countries," NZZ believes.
"Vučić's overstepping of authority in declaring a state of emergency is also indicative. The function of the president of the state is largely only representative. But in the last few years, the current president has tied all his power to that function. Although at the moment one cannot even think about elections, their postponement in It opens up many questions for Serbia and North Macedonia.
Elections are scheduled for 2020 in Montenegro, Croatia and Romania.
Historian Florian Biber from Graz wrote in the journal "Foreign Policy" that autocratic and populist rulers with a typical underestimation of scientific expertise were ill-prepared for the crisis.
NZZ reminds of "Aleksander Vučić, who back in February supported the statements of controversial lung doctor Branimir Nestorović that it was the "funniest virus in the world". When shortly after that the danger could not be denied, Vučić changed his attitude by 180 degrees, warning the elderly that there will be no space in Belgrade cemeteries if they do not adhere to the prescribed measures."
"When autocrats are threatened by the loss of legitimacy, they have a habit of reacting authoritarian...in order to secure power" NZZ quotes Biber and then Vedran Džihić "Politicians like Orban and Vučić profited a lot from the financial crisis. And now the economic turbulence in the region will be even greater. "
Brussels is far and Beijing is close
The author states that many countries in crisis are geopolitically profiled on the basis of aid - Russia, Turkey, and even small Hungary.
He further cites Džihić's opinion that in terms of the successfully overcome epidemic and the West's lack of interest in the Balkans, Beijing is the most visible - so it could also become an authoritarian role model.
Although the total aid of the European Union is incomparably greater.
However, in some countries such as Slovenia and Croatia, according to the author, there are mechanisms to oppose authoritarian tendencies and media that are ready to report critically.
Even Bulgaria, which, in the eyes of Brussels, flaunts the rule of law, has shown that control is possible - President Radev refused to sign laws on Prime Minister Borisov's state of emergency, and the parliament supported - the president.
"In Vučić's Serbia, Đukanović's Montenegro and Rama's Albania, this would not be possible," concludes NZZ.
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