EditRespected professor suggests solution for resolving Serbia’s political crisis
Vladeta Janković proposes single electoral list for the opposition and a limited mandate for a post-Vučić cabinet pending fair elections
A retired university professor and former ambassador, Vladeta Janković, has warned that Serbia may face a dangerous escalation of unrest unless President Aleksandar Vučić acknowledges and addresses the profound polarisation in the country. In a stark assessment, Janković said he has “no doubt whatsoever” that the president is “fully aware of the depth and gravity of the divisions in the population, and knows exactly where they might lead”.
In an interview with the Nova daily, Janković outlined two equally perilous scenarios ahead of potential elections: “One is the almost certain defeat of Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party, with an equally certain refusal to recognise the results; the other – a kind of state of emergency with even more severe violence than we have recently witnessed.”
According to Janković, both outcomes hinge on the stance of the police and, crucially, the army, “whose true disposition, it seems, remains largely unknown”.
When asked about a possible strategy for the opposition, Janković said that the best solution would be for all opposition groups to unite on a single electoral list. He suggested that this list should be created with the involvement of respected members of the academic community, who would have the final say in selecting candidates.
He stressed the necessity for any post-Vučić government to operate under a strictly limited mandate.
“It must be stated unequivocally, and repeated for the umpteenth time, that any government succeeding Vučić’s must have a strictly time-limited mandate, after which new elections would be held under finally equal conditions,” Janković emphasised.
In these new elections, he explained, “everyone could participate individually or in coalitions, as they see fit, thereby establishing each party’s political weight beyond any doubt”.
“Only such a parliament,” he concluded, “could elect a government that would genuinely set Serbia’s bogged-down cart into motion.”
Janković’s political legacy
Vladeta Janković (born 1 September 1940, Belgrade) is a Serbian philologist, university professor, author, diplomat and political figure. He served as Yugoslavia’s ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2001 to 2004 and as Serbia’s ambassador to the Holy See from 2008 to 2012.
A long-standing senior member of the Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), Janković withdrew from politics in 2014 following the resignation of former party leader Vojislav Koštunica. After an eight-year hiatus, he returned to political life in January 2022 when the opposition coalition United Serbia (US) nominated him as its lead candidate for the Belgrade City Assembly elections and for the position of mayor.
As Serbia stands at a crossroads between accountability and authoritarian consolidation, Janković’s warning serves as a reminder of the stakes involved and of the risks if deep societal rifts continue to be ignored.
Tensions mount following deadly infrastructure collapse
Janković’s comments come as Serbia remains gripped by nationwide protests, sparked by the collapse of a newly renovated train station canopy in Novi Sad nine months ago, which killed 16 people. The disaster, widely attributed to corruption and oversight failures, has triggered public outrage and political upheaval.
In an apparent attempt to ease tensions, Serbian authorities arrested 11 individuals on Friday, 1 August, in connection with the incident. Among those detained are former transport minister Tomislav Momirović and former acting head of the state railway infrastructure company, Nebojša Šurlan. Prosecutors also announced an arrest warrant for another former transport minister, Goran Vesić, who was hospitalised on Thursday.
The arrests follow an initial announcement regarding six suspects accused of abuse of office, with five additional suspects named later in the day.
Serbia arrests 11, including former minister, over Novi Sad train station canopy collapse
According to prosecutors, the Chinese consortium responsible for the station’s renovation – China Railway International and China Communications Construction (CRI-CCC) – carried out unauthorised work worth over 64 million dollars, after securing an inflated project value of over 1.2 billion dollars. This allegedly resulted in “unlawful financial gain” of more than 18 million dollars for the contractors.
The tragedy has prompted large-scale demonstrations across Serbia, with protesters demanding a transparent investigation and snap elections. Some rallies have drawn hundreds of thousands of people, reflecting widespread public anger at the perceived impunity and mismanagement at the heart of the Serbian political system.
Caption: Protesters wave a giant Serbian flag during a student-led rally in Belgrade, Serbia, 28 June 2025. University students are demanding accountability and calling on early elections after sixteen people died when the canopy of the newly renovated Novi Sad Railway Station collapsed on 01 November 2024. The station, which had been reopened on 5 July 2024 following renovations, was undergoing additional work shortly before the incident. EPA/ANDREJ CUKIC
Updated: August 4, 2025 - 12:30
