The answer: it won’t have any. Serbia and Hungary are different cans of worms. The only foreign event that influences the political and social dynamics in Serbia is the war in Ukraine.
While the kleptocratic, populist rule of Fidesz was icky, it cannot in all honesty be compared to the elective paternalist autocracy of the Serbian Progressives. Serbian Information Minister Boris Bratina informing us that students “are not aware that the police there have the right to beat them and kill them” is just another day in Serbian paradise – this place be genuinely nasty, people here vote for it. The doomism of the foreign commentariat about how Orban might not concede the elections or call them off or whatever was unfounded and clueless. Back in 2000, people had to clash with the police after Slobodan Milošević, the forefather of our current government, lost the elections that ousted him.
Just before the elections on Sunday, Aleksandar Vučić publicly supported Viktor Orban on his Instagram account.
“I don’t know whether Viktor Orban will lose or win. I just know that I am infinitely grateful to him for the friendship between Serbs and Hungarians. Without him, that friendship would not exist. And yes, whatever the result, thank you, Viktor, for everything and support in the elections. PS We Serbs are different, because even if you lose, we will be forever grateful.“
Le cringe.
Vučić did congratulate Magyar on his victory.
The public discourse in Serbia has consigned the whole alleged Serbia-Hungary gas pipeline bombing plot to oblivion, after most people here came to the conclusion that it was a false flag to help Orban with the election.
This didn’t seem to satisfy Peter Magyar, who announced that the new Hungarian administration will investigate the alleged gas line bombing plot in Kanjiža.
PM-designate Magyar’s further comments, “I know exactly what’s going on in Serbia. I know the ties between Orban and Vucic in Serbia, between Orban and Fico in Slovakia, and I know who is the godfather behind all these ties.” prompted Vučić to respond that he and Orban share the same “godfather”: “freedom of speech, thought, and action.”
*eyeroll*
The telenovela then escalated to involve the Secretary General of the European Democratic Party, Sandro Gozi, who used social media to invite Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to a debate, and Vučić quickly agreed. This isn’t an unimportant detail.
A common accusation among Vučić’s opponents in Serbia is that the Serbian president avoids engaging in face-to-face televised debates with people from opposing political tribes here, and that his public appearances are always unchallenged monologues.
Mr. Gozi is to be congratulated on his knowledge of such minutiae of Serbian political life.
Serbian television N1 communicated that it will not entertain self-invitations from anyone, including those two.
These kinds of endless public shouting matches that the Serbian officials engage in with foreign dignitaries and public personas are common, almost daily. A good illustration of such behaviour is the tirades launched at the former president of Montenegro, Milo Djukanović, and at Tonino Picula, a Croatian politician and a member of the European Parliament. Even the current opposition organizations and figures join in on such fun, thinking how they will score some affection from the nationalist voters – they won’t, but in their minds, it doesn’t hurt to try. These are also useless at best, damaging at worst. The classy act would be to just let it slide.
“Serbia will not bow!” was Slobodan Milošević’s defiant slogan, and we all know how that ended. Such behaviour is considered assertive and brave among the local electorate, so these displays of “Pistols at dawn, sir!” blabber will continue indefinitely.
Image: Street in Prokuplje, Serbia (X.com)
Serbianism 