Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said today that he sees no reason for any drama following the decision of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) to run independently in the upcoming elections, but added that the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) does not expect anyone’s help after the elections to form a government.
Vučić said that SPS has “always” run independently in parliamentary elections and that the decision by the party leadership “is nothing new.”
“I have no right to interfere in the internal affairs of other political parties, but I see no reason for any drama, especially because someone has decided to run independently in the elections. I wish them all the best, we will fight to defeat them just like everyone else. We are not a so-called student list without students to ban people from running in elections or to exert any kind of pressure,” Vučić told reporters in Belgrade after touring the construction site of the “Tiršova 2” University Children’s Hospital.
Vučić said that SPS is “a party worthy of respect” and that people who vote for the Socialists are “patriotic and state-oriented.”
“When we talked previously and had a closer or joint approach, we always debated whether to run together or separately in the elections, and how more votes could be attracted, although, to be completely open, that is not what this is about this time. What surprises me, I would not speak about publicly. We are not closing the door to anyone, but we do not expect anyone’s help after the elections. If we do not have a majority ourselves, it will be clear to us that we have lost the majority,” Vučić said.
He added that the SPS decision is a “clear signal” to SNS that it must independently secure a majority in the new parliamentary term.
“This is a clear signal to us that we will have to win on our own and secure a majority if we want to continue important work and projects for Serbia. You have to independently have around 46 percent of the vote to have more than 125 members of parliament. It is certain that we could count on cooperation with István Pásztor’s party; they are our traditional partners who always keep their word, and toward whom we also keep our word,” Vučić said.
“IT IS NOT TRUE THAT RUŽIĆ HAS TAKEN OVER THAT PARTY”
He rejected claims that SPS Vice President Branko Ružić, who has publicly criticized the situation in the country and the authorities’ attitude toward the student movement, has taken over the party.
“I do not agree that Ružić has taken over that party. Whatever influence he had a year, a year and a half ago, he has today as well. They simply skillfully played the game of fake commissions, statutory commissions, this and that, and childish stories so that they could always be someone who would one day choose one side or the other. I pursue a different policy, a policy based on commitments, principles and substance, rather than on how to remain in power. I do not want to be in power if I have to cooperate with the blockaders, to pursue Pol Pot’s politics in which every different opinion would be banned,” the president said.
DECISION ON CONTINUING COOPERATION TO BE MADE AFTER THE ELECTIONS
Vučić also said that a decision on possible continued cooperation with SPS would be made after the elections.
“Whether we will continue or not, that will be decided once the elections are over. It is possible that they will be with someone else, it is possible that they will be with us, but the person who wins the elections will have the say in that, and that is the most important thing,” the president said.
Vučić added that the construction of Tiršova 2, together with equipment, would cost around 150 million euros and that the facility should be opened by Vidovdan next year.
“That would then be an incredible step forward. It will be the best hospital in Southeastern Europe, one of the key healthcare infrastructure projects that we have carried out in recent years,” the president said.
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Source: Nedeljnik, Foto: R.Z./ATAImages