Aleksandar Vucic is accustomed to the spotlight.
asserted
Vucic → accustom → spotlight
As Serbia's all-powerful president, loyal media outlets followed his every move for years.
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outlets → follow → years
His TikTok outbursts led the evening news.
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outbursts → lead → news
But on October 25 he lost the election to the Student List, and since then, a lot has changed.
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lot → lose → List
Vucic complained at a press conference, before fewer microphones than usual, that the winners were practising "revolutionary terror."
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winners → complain → terror
He threatened: "If they continue to terrorize those who think differently – beatings, destruction and all the rest – and the state authorities do nothing, we will be forced to organize ourselves."
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we → threaten → ourselves
Vucic regards the immediate resignation of the general director of the Serbian state broadcaster RTS as an example of this "terror."
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Vucic → regard → terror
Senior RTS editors have also been dismissed.
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editors → dismiss → ?
On Monday, a small group of protesters invaded the Informer TV station.
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group → invade → station
Thousands of complaints have been lodged against Informer over the years for its demonization of Vucic critics.
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Thousands → lodge → critics
Now, journalists' associations are calling for its license to be revoked.
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license → call → ?
Tabloid media outlets loyal to Vucic have already changed their tone.
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outlets → change → tone
Unlike Informer, they no longer refer to the Student List as "terrorists" and "mercenaries."
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they → refer → terrorists
Old accusations against Vucic
The List, which emerged from the student revolt, is made up of professors, activists and artists.
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which → emerge → professors
In the election on October 25, it won 53% of the vote, leaving Vucic's Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) trailing with just 39%.
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it → win → %
Since then, things have moved fast.
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things → move → ?
In many cities, citizens peacefully removed portraits of Vucic from municipal buildings.
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citizens → remove → buildings
The public prosecutor's office for organized crime has launched investigations, including into electoral fraud.
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office → launch → fraud
A special commission is examining the work of the Higher Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, which critics say did Vucic's bidding, and persecuted his opponents.
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critics → examine → opponents
The accusations against him are old ones: that he and his system kept the media under tight control; that state contracts were only awarded to companies loyal to the regime; and that Vucic, his party, and the Serbian state had links to organized crime.
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Vucic → keep → crime
The catalyst for the revolt was the collapse, two years ago, of the concrete canopy on the newly renovated railway station in Novi Sad.
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catalyst → renovate → Sad
Sixteen people died.
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people → die → ?
The accident is believed to have happened as a result of poor workmanship and corruption in the awarding and execution of the renovation contract.
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accident → believe → contract
Those who were celebrating in the streets a few days ago are already growing impatient.
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who → celebrate → streets
The new parliament has not yet been convened, and the SNS still controls many levers of power.
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SNS → convene → power
"A society that was oppressed for so long by a party that acted like a feudal lord now, understandably, expects justice," Dejan Bursac from the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory at Belgrade University told DW.
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Bursac → oppress → DW
"In this power vacuum, people are getting impatient."
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people → get → vacuum
Vucic and leading officials promise to be a strong opposition, and expect to make a quick comeback once "this lot" have ruined the country.
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lot → lead → country
But the majority of critics are calling for Vucic to be investigated and charged.
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Vucic → call → critics
"The SNS people are acting as if they had lost a local election somewhere in democratic Scandinavia, not as if they were part of a deeply corrupt and criminal regime," said Bursac.
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Bursac → act → regime
How much damage can the old government do to the new one?
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government → do → one
It's very common in Serbia for politicians to switch allegiance from one camp to another.
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politicians → switch → another
They go where the power is.
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power → go → ?
Even Vucic has admitted that many of his former comrades-in-arms are turning their backs on him.
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many → admit → him
"We are going to see cases of people resigning or staying in the shadows, even putting themselves forward as informants for the next government," said Zlatko Minic from Transparency Serbia, an organization that monitors the work of governments.
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that → go → governments
The million-dollar question is: How much damage can the old government do to the new one?
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government → do → one
"There's still time for many officials to award contracts and create financial obligations for the agencies they run without necessarily committing a criminal offense," Minic warned.
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Minic → be → offense
However, those familiar with the situation said that for some time now the Student List has had contacts with officials in the police and administration opposed to Vucic's style of government.
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List → say → government
The winners of the election may now be able to prevent certain actions.
uncertain
winners → prevent → actions
On Wednesday, the List again demanded the resignations of leading officials in the police and judiciary.
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List → demand → police
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
