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Although he is despised by the urban middle class because of his allegedly autocratic control over Serbian institutions, Vucic is still popular among the country's poor and rural voters, who consider him a guarantor of stability. ..
With one-time aid payments, increased pensions and tireless appearances in state media, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is seeking another victory in Sunday's election by relying largely on his rural and impoverished base.
Among them is Jovanka Cvejić, an 81-year-old pensioner from Belgrade, who has been trying to make ends meet with her pension for some time.
This year was especially difficult for her, because the average inflation of 12%, caused her to reduce her expenses.
"I trust my president and I believe that I will manage to survive"
Despite the difficult moments, her support for Vučić ahead of Sunday's parliamentary and local elections has not changed.
"I trust my president and I believe that I will manage to survive ," she told the France Presse (AFP) agency.
In the past decade, Vucic has relied heavily on such votes to consolidate his grip on Serbia.
Although he is despised by the urban middle class because of his allegedly autocratic control over Serbian institutions, Vucic is still popular among the country's poor and rural voters, who consider him a guarantor of stability, according to AFP.
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of major cities earlier this year in protests dubbed "Serbia against violence" after the massacre at a Belgrade primary school and killings in the countryside around Mladenovac. The demonstrations soon turned into anti-government rallies and lasted for months.
"I believe that Serbia will stop developing if our president leaves"
The loose pro-European coalition of opposition parties "Serbia Against Violence" that emerged from those protests came together in hopes of defeating Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the election.
Early parliamentary elections, a common practice of the ruling SNS, were scheduled for December 17. At the same time, representatives in the Assembly of Vojvodina and councilors in 65 municipalities and cities, including Belgrade, will be elected.
Although Vucic will not be on the ballot in Sunday's election, it is a referendum on the president and his ruling party.
" I believe that Serbia will stop developing if our president leaves ," said Milica, an SNS activist.
Pre-election polls show that the SNS will win again and stay in power.
"The media machine presenting a happy vision of the future, combined with the government waving money around to increase pensions, is something that clearly brings success ," said Vojislav Mihailovic, an analyst at the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability (CRTA). based in Belgrade.
Very old and very poor
With the Serbian media largely under his control, Vucic has a free hand to constantly send messages to voters about pay and pension increases.
In October, pensions increased by 5.5%, with government promises that another adjustment will come after the New Year. The increase is a welcome relief for poor pensioners who, on average, have to live on around 320 euros a month.
Each Serbian pensioner also received a one-off benefit of around 20,000 dinars (170 euros).
However, the government is not just pampering the elderly, because Vucic has promised all high school students in Serbia, and there are 235,000 of them, that he will offer them 10,000 dinars (85 euros) each. The moves will follow a similar program in which the state paid the same amount to parents with children under the age of 16 and a campaign that lowered the prices of selected goods in stores.
But big costs will have to be paid, economists warn, so Serbia may need to borrow to finance the aid as it struggles with inflation and weak economic growth.
" We don't have that money. It's vote buying and the goal is to capture as many voters as possible in the ruling party's network ," Danica Popović, a retired economics professor in Belgrade's Fault, told AFP.
But Vucic is extremely popular among senior citizens, Mihailović said, noting that this group remains the voting base for Vucic's SNS.
" I see safety and honesty in Vucic. There were better times, but I remember even worse. Now I can live well, normally ," said Milomir Petrovic, a 76-year-old pensioner from the village of Dljin.
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