Folk singer Aca Lukas has once again sparked debate about political “switching sides” with his latest Instagram post, following the victory of the Student List in the parliamentary elections.
This time, the singer recalled “three Arenas, three nights and an energy that cannot be described in words”, alluding to the three concerts he recently held at Belgrade Arena. He also added the comment: “A guaranteed three.”
The comments beneath the post suggest that many people are not taking him particularly seriously.
A post shared by ACA LUKAS (@aleksandar_vuksanovic_official)
“Well, you sang for the SNS in that same Arena just 15 days ago,” reads one comment that received almost 900 likes.
The number three became a recurring theme in the promotion of Aca Lukas’s concerts, while the singer raised three fingers during both performances. These gestures caused surprise and, for many, ridicule, given his long-standing closeness to the outgoing SNS-led government. Over the past month, the three-finger salute has become a symbol of the student protests and their electoral list, which appeared as number three on the parliamentary ballot.
Lukas’s manager, Saša Mirković, also placed particular emphasis on the number three in the concert announcements. Throughout the night, their social media profiles were filled with messages highlighting that very number.
“Why do people always start with three?”, “Why do people like to start something on three?”, “And tomorrow, Arena No. 3”, “An unusual sight and a warm-up for the third (3) Belgrade Arena” were just some of the posts they shared.
All of this attracted attention because Lukas had openly supported the SNS for years, repeatedly stating that he performed at the party’s rallies without payment. His cooperation with Telekom, which is also behind these concerts, was also discussed publicly.
The folk singer made no secret of his support for the SNS after the party came to power. Back in 2015, he said that Vučić was the only person he would sing for “for free”. At the time, he explained to Blic:
“I have the right to sing for free, just as I have the right to sing for money. It is my choice to perform for the SNS without receiving a single dinar in compensation,” he said.
Asked whether such an engagement was linked to any promises from the outgoing regime, he replied:
“There are no promises whatsoever! If anyone claims otherwise, that is nonsense. I agreed to perform exclusively because of my political convictions. And it is obvious what my convictions are.”
He believed that his unpaid performances spoke sufficiently clearly about his political affiliation.
“I know everything and I see everything that is happening, but there is no need for me to say whether the Progressives are better or worse than the others. I have already said everything through my engagement, which is unpaid,” he added at the time.
Ten years ago, he also explained his support for the Progressives in the following terms:
“I decided to perform without compensation because the Progressives are the most active when it comes to doing things that bring people a little happiness and joy in these gloomy times.”
Three years later, he once again took part in the SNS campaign, performing in Sevojno as well. Darko Glišić, then chairman of the party’s Executive Board, described him as a “friend of the party” and thanked him for donating concerts.
“Aca Lukas is a friend of the party and he publicly supports us. We cannot forbid him from publicly supporting us, and he donates concerts. Last night he donated a concert in Obrenovac, just as he did a few days ago in Lazarevac. Tonight he is in Mladenovac, and on February 13 he will be in Sevojno. Thank you,” Glišić said at the time.
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Source: Nova.rs, Foto: Printscreen Instagram
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