They are doctors, actors, philosophers - and a former governor of the National Bank of Serbia. After two years of protests against a regime they consider corrupt and authoritarian, students in Serbia have nominated 250 candidates for the new parliamentary elections on October 25, which Vucic finally called.
Tatjana Paunovic, a psychology lecturer at the University of Nis, is one of them.
“At all the important moments in our history, there have been student movements, but this one is unique and different,” she says, adding:
“This time, it really is young people who have been in control of everything.”
Invisible candidates
The protests were sparked by the collapse of a newly renovated roof at a train station. The roof had been renovated years before it collapsed, and those responsible were accused of corruption and failing to supervise the work.
People could see with their own eyes the consequences of authoritarian government, says Florian Bieber, a Luxembourgish political scientist specialising in the Balkans. He believes this is what has made the movement successful.
“It captures what people can relate to, even if they don’t care about ‘democracy’ or the rule of law as abstract values,” he says.
The movement’s core issues are fighting corruption, building democracy and providing more funding for education. It steers clear of divisive issues such as foreign policy.
“They have also avoided clear ideological positions on the left or right,” Bieber says.
Opinion polls are not reliable but still show the Student List and Vucic’s party, the nationalist SNS, neck and neck.
A new model
The movement has some parallels with the Serbian student and grassroots movement formed in Belgrade in 1998, which sought to oust Slobodan Milosevic. But back then, protesters urged the opposition to unite. Now, several opposition parties have chosen to support the Student List instead.
The goal is not to become a long-term political actor.
“It is about re-establishing a functioning democratic system in Serbia,” says Florian Bieber.
But the question is what happens if the students defeat Vucic. One risk, according to Bieber, is that the movement gets bogged down in details, starts arguing and the government collapses - which would play into the government’s hands.
But he also sees the potential for positive consequences. No other student movement he knows of has become a political actor in a similar way.
“It could become a model for countries where trust in political parties is weak.”
On November 1, 2024, during rush hour, a 48-metre-long concrete roof collapsed at the Novi Sad train station in northern Serbia. Sixteen people died, including a six-year-old child.
The train station was built in 1964 and renovated between 2021 and 2024, shortly before the collapse. Those responsible were accused of corruption and failing to supervise the work.
Shortly after the tragedy, protesters began gathering in Novi Sad. The protests quickly grew and spread across the country, fuelled by simmering discontent over widespread corruption and President Aleksandar Vucic’s autocratic rule.
What began as a call for a transparent investigation developed into demands for new elections. Aleksandar Vucic raised the issue on several occasions.
Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut dissolved the country’s parliament in September this year. A day later, Vucic announced that parliament would be dissolved and new elections held on October 25. He also said he would step down as party leader to lead the nationalist SNS’s election campaign.
