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Aleksandar Vučić says he plans to resign as president and return as prime minister after early elections this fall...
Trump ally Aleksandar Vucic has said he will resign as president of Serbia and perhaps seek to return as prime minister after snap elections this fall, a model inspired by Russia's Vladimir Putin.
The 56-year-old strongman, who has governed Serbia in one capacity or another for the past 13 years, has faced growing protests and discontent over his alleged autocratic tendencies, corruption and slow economic development.
“Yes, it is logical that we will have elections soon, and when I say soon, I mean in the next three to four months,” Vucic said at a news conference late Monday. He alluded in previous statements that he might seek the post of prime minister after the vote and pledged to make transparent decisions.
He said at a pro-government rally in Belgrade on Saturday that he would only be president for a few weeks. Then he would resign…
"In the next elections, if the party wants and demands this, together with you, I will help win the trust of the people ," he added.
Anti-Vucic protests have been ongoing in Serbia for more than a year, sparked by the collapse of a renovated train station canopy in 2024 that killed 16 people and quickly became a symbol of alleged government corruption. The station was renovated by a Chinese company that critics say was not properly vetted by authorities before being awarded the contract.
The Serbian leader is one of Trump's few remaining allies in Central and Eastern Europe. Vucic has echoed parts of Maga's rhetoric, attacking Brussels, independent media and foreign-backed "elites" while praising conservative themes such as family, Christianity and opposition to gender politics.
Serbia has also cleared the way for a luxury development backed by Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on the site of the former Yugoslav defense ministry in Belgrade, a building bombed by NATO in 1999 and considered by some Serbs to be a national memorial. The project was later withdrawn after public backlash and investigations into alleged government wrongdoing, including allegations that documents were forged to enable the removal of national heritage protections from the site.
Analysts say Vucic may be using the announcements to gauge the political climate and could backtrack on his promise to resign if he concludes that the timing is unfavorable.
“This is not the first time he has thrown a bone. A few months ago he said that snap elections could happen in July. He also said that he could only run for prime minister if the party asks him to. Well, of course they will, ” said Helena Ivanov, an associate researcher at the Henry Jackson Society in London.
Ivanov said Vučić appeared to be trying to play a “Putin scenario,” arguing that he had already bent Serbia’s constitutional order, under which the presidency is largely ceremonial, by continuing to dominate public life through the ruling SNS party.
"The main thing is that he holds power. In the party and in the country... so, he is not bowing to the demands of the students. He is simply keeping his base in campaign mode ," Ivanov said.
Putin switched places with the Russian prime minister from 2008 to 2012 to break the cycle of presidential term limits.
The student movement has pledged to field candidates in the parliamentary elections, making it the only credible challenger to the SNS.
“A high-risk, high-reward strategy would be to hold the presidential and general elections at the same time ,” said a person with knowledge of Belgrade politics. But he added that “Vucic is not a gambler.”
"A low-risk move would be to hold presidential elections as soon as a parliamentary majority is secured for the SNS and hold the presidency at least until 2027 ," he added./ Adapted from "Pamphlet" by "FinancialTimes"
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