President Vučić is under increasing pressure ahead of December elections due to social unrest.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is giving free rein to his discontent with his rebellious compatriots in the provinces. It is “disgusting” that they try to “blackmail” the government “literally before every election” and “demand what they want”, he says. And the authoritarian head of state comments with particular anger on the growing number of roadblocks by dissatisfied farmers: “A solution can always be found with real farmers, but not with fraudsters.”
Exploding prices
With just a few weeks to go before the early parliamentary elections on December 17th, it is not just the tractor blockades by small farmers who fear for their existence and the wildcat strikes at the post office that are disrupting the election campaign’s image of a prosperous country painted by the ruling SNS Party. Social unrest is also fueled by the still very high inflation of recently 8.5% and the sharp increase in basic food prices.