"It wasn't that long ago, but it can already be said that 2008 was a turning point in the history of Serbia. Seen from the Serbian point of view, three events were dominant that year," writes Mihael Martens for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt am Main) and states as such: the declaration of Kosovo's independence in February, the extradition of Radovan Karadžić to the Hague Tribunal in July and the founding of the Serbian Progressive Party in October in 2008
"The rise of Vučić and Nikolić began with betrayal. Both were loyal followers of Vojislav Šešelj for years. When he was accused before the Hague Tribunal and then surrendered in 2003, Vučić and Nikolić took over the leadership of the Serbian Radical Party in the absence of their idol. That party was popular among Serbs, but it never came to power, because moderate forces as well as minorities - Vojvodina Hungarians, Albanians in the south of Serbia and Slavic Muslims near the border with Montenegro - always formed coalitions against it.
In 2008 at the latest, Vučić and Nikolić realized that Šešelj's radical rejection of the West and the EU attracted more than a third of Serbian voters, but that they could not count on a majority in the foreseeable future. So, they renounced Seselj and changed their rhetoric by 180 degrees. The Serbian Progressive Party declared membership in the EU the most important goal of Serbia's foreign policy. Nikolić became the head of the new party, Vučić his deputy. The party was very successful. Nikolić was elected president in 2012, Vučić was elected prime minister in 2014. He also controls the secret services and, indirectly, all other ministries.
Since Slobodan Milošević was ousted from power almost 17 years ago, no politician in Belgrade has had as much power as Vučić. On Sunday, Vučić wants to increase that power: he ran for president, and all polls show that the only open question is whether he will have to go to the second round.
By winning the presidential elections, Vučić, after Šešelj, would get rid of his second mentor, the current president Nikolić, who wanted to run again. Because of his professional beginnings, when he was also responsible for the cemeteries of his native Kragujevac, Nikolić is called "The Undertaker" by both friends and enemies. Now Vučić wants to "bury Grobar". It is expected that Vučić will not allow Nikolić to become the head of the government, but will bring someone to that position who listens to him without question."
Mihael Martens writes that "Vučić's popularity among the majority of Serbs has to do with the fact that the media, apart from a few remaining exceptions, are completely focused on him" and cites media entrepreneur Goran Veselinović and oligarch Željko Mitrović who ensured that Vučić was omnipresent in the media. "Of course, Vučić, Mitrović and Veselinović deny it, but it is indisputable that the media owned by these two and many other media - without exception report Vučić positively - so not mostly positively, but always positively."
Martens singles out the tabloid "Informer" as the worst example of dirty media campaigns and harassment against government critics. On the other hand, the few remaining independent newspapers, such as "Danas" or "Vreme", criticize Vučić, but have a small circulation. And the independent TV N1 is among the few other media that report in a balanced way, writes the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
"However, Vučić's popularity cannot be explained only by the royal, i.e. uncritical, media. He is also popular because he has achieved a lot economically: the airport, which is on the way to becoming the most important in the region, is one example, and "Belgrade on the Water", Vučić's favorite project, is the following. In some Belgrade circles, it is fashionable to make a mockery of that project, but many citizens of the capital city praise it and say that finally something is being done where it was a mockery of the city. However, last year, during the construction works at night, illegal bulldozers came and demolished several houses to their foundations, the neighbors called the police, who did not react.
The level of the rule of law in Serbia will be measured by whether this criminal offense will ever be brought to justice - and thus its maturity for joining the EU," concludes Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Zidojce Zeitung (Munich) writes today that "Aleksandar Vučić wants to become the president of Serbia. At the same time, he likes to criticize the Serbian prosecutor, which apparently goes over well with the EU." From Nađa Pantel's commentary for the newspaper Deutsche Vele, she highlights: "Vučić's international success is largely based on the fact that he managed to convince foreign leaders that at home in Serbia he is mostly surrounded by scoundrels. However, regardless of whether it is Belgrade, Skopje or Podgorica - in the process of rapprochement with the EU, the leaders of the Balkan countries like to work with clichés and threats. Dear Brussels, pay attention! In the southeast, unfortunately, everyone is corrupt and always ready to dig out their old machine guns. It's really bad here. But, count on me Political processes thus come down to personnel issues. And so the solution to stagnation in Serbia is no longer the promotion of democracy, the strengthening of education or the suppression of corruption. The solution is Aleksandar Vučić. Who guarantees him? Aleksandar Vučić, of course, because there is no one else." Zidojce zeitung writes.
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