{"id":216854,"date":"2026-08-22T19:17:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T17:17:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=216854"},"modified":"2026-08-22T19:17:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T17:17:24","slug":"british-media-criticizes-vucics-policies-he-plays-the-medieval-king-handing-out-charity-in-the-streets-but-his-throne-is-dangerously-shaky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/british-media-criticizes-vucics-policies-he-plays-the-medieval-king-handing-out-charity-in-the-streets-but-his-throne-is-dangerously-shaky\/","title":{"rendered":"BRITISH MEDIA CRITICIZES VU\u010cI\u0106\u2019S POLICIES: He plays the medieval king handing out charity in the streets \u2013 but his throne is dangerously shaky!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The British \u201cTimes\u201d published an extensive article about<\/strong><\/em> Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, his balancing act between Moscow and Brussels, as well as the increasingly powerful student protest movement, which according to opinion polls has greater support than the government.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLike a medieval king receiving petitions, Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107, president of Serbia, stood in the main square<\/strong> of a small town in the southwest of the country as local residents loudly voiced their problems,\u201d the Times begins its article, referring to Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s visit to Nova Varo\u0161 in the first half of August this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newspaper writes that citizens were asking for jobs for their relatives, while one elderly man complained that his son could not find employment despite attending \u201call the rallies\u201d of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am not a jukebox that fulfills everyone\u2019s personal requests. I am not going to haggle with you over a kilometer of road to your house or 80 meters to your gate. That makes no sense,\u201d Vu\u010di\u0107 snapped at the citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discontent in Nova Varo\u0161 is far from an isolated case, and Vu\u010di\u0107 knows it \u2013 the newspaper points out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times writes that public dissatisfaction over corruption and rising living costs has developed into a protest movement that now, according to polls, has greater support than the president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s announcements that he would resign and his speculation about the dates of elections, the British newspaper writes that this resembles moves made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Expo<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Times journalist Jack Adamovi\u0107 Davies also writes about Expo<\/a>, which he describes as \u201cVu\u010di\u0107\u2019s grandiose project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbout 160 kilometers farther north, construction workers are busy working on what could easily be his \u00a31.1 billion swan song: a vast exhibition hall on the outskirts of Belgrade, due to host next year\u2019s Specialised Expo,\u201d the newspaper writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also writes about how subcontractors have made \u201chuge profits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe identities of those receiving the money are a state secret, since a new law exempts Expo from public procurement regulations. Under the cloak of confidentiality, subcontractors linked to the ruling elite \u2013 including at least one company charged with allegedly bribing a deputy minister \u2013 have made huge profits,\u201d the Times writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EU is afraid of pushing Vu\u010di\u0107 toward Russia\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It states that skepticism toward the Serbian president is growing within the EU, mentions a European Parliament resolution, but also notes that \u201cthe Western diplomatic corps in Belgrade is reluctant to take a tougher stance toward Vu\u010di\u0107 for fear of pushing him further into Russia\u2019s arms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe nature of this dictatorship is directly connected to what the EU expects from Serbia. It is an autocracy that is perfectly adapted to remain on the EU\u2019s good side,\u201d political scientist Nikola Burazer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As voters\u2019 appetite for Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s brand of demagoguery weakens, the Times writes, so too is Moscow and Brussels running out of patience with his attempts to turn them against each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chameleon routine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Long before he began associating with Putin and the EU elite, the Times writes, Vu\u010di\u0107 was perfecting his \u201cchameleon routine\u201d behind the front lines in war-torn Bosnia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times spoke to journalist Predrag Popovi\u0107, who interviewed Vu\u010di\u0107 in 1993 and now describes him as a rising star of the neo-fascist Serbian Radical Party. He recalled a master manipulator who, as Popovi\u0107 told the Times, was \u201cservile\u201d toward his superiors and sadistically \u201caggressive\u201d toward his subordinates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t changed at all,\u201d Popovi\u0107 said, \u201cbut now everyone can see who he is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several days after the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995, the Times recalls the words Vu\u010di\u0107 uttered in the Serbian Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou kill one Serb,\u201d Vu\u010di\u0107 said, \u201cand we will kill 100 Muslims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a direct echo of the Nazi occupation of Serbia, the Times writes, during which the Wehrmacht had a standing order to execute 100 Serbs for every German soldier killed by the resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the war in Kosovo, the article continues, Vu\u010di\u0107 was information minister and persecuted journalists while implementing some of Europe\u2019s most restrictive laws on freedom of speech. Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s campaign against independent media has barely lost momentum during his presidency.<\/strong> A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists published last month cited \u201crecord levels of physical violence against journalists, death threats and online smear campaigns,\u201d along with \u201calarming levels of impunity\u201d and \u201ctight political control over the media environment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than a decade later, Vu\u010di\u0107 changed course, according to the British newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe irredentist who wanted to build a \u2018Greater Serbia\u2019 from parts of neighboring countries disappeared. Purportedly reformed, Vu\u010di\u0107 left the Radical Party for the new Serbian Progressive Party, whose stated goal was EU membership,\u201d the newspaper writes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Western diplomats, it notes, accepted him as their \u201cstabilocrat.\u201d They believed he was pragmatic enough to prevent the pot of domestic and regional tensions from boiling over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the Times writes, Serbia represents an increasing threat to Europe\u2019s stability<\/strong>. Since 2022, the Serbian government has issued passports to more than 200 Russians linked to the Kremlin, giving them visa-free access to the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newspaper writes about the collapse of the canopy that sparked student protests, noting that students are the most popular political force in the country<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Rector \u0110oki\u0107<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Times describes Rector \u0110oki\u0107<\/a> as a composed man who is the opposite of Vu\u010di\u0107 in almost every respect and who is \u201cone of the most vocal supporters of the student demonstrators.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u0110oki\u0107 has been the target of a government-sponsored smear campaign for almost two years. Vu\u010di\u0107 called him a parasite and a terrorist. Police summoned \u0110oki\u0107 in April 2025 to give a statement as part of an investigation into alleged abuse of office,\u201d it states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThree criminal complaints have been filed against me. They have not been dismissed, but nothing is being done about them. They are simply keeping all these things on the table,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of March, one female student, the newspaper writes, fell from the fifth floor through a window of a university building. Graffiti began appearing around the city labeling the rector a murderer, it says. Five days later, police raided university premises, accompanied by pro-government news crews. When the raid ended, \u0110oki\u0107 stepped onto a balcony and discovered a crowd gathered below. He delivered a speech that cemented his status as the student movement\u2019s most likely candidate for president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis government is not attacking the university because we have done something wrong, but because we have done something right,\u201d \u0110oki\u0107 told those gathered. \u201cWe stood with the students. We stood with the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publicly speaking out carries real danger, the British newspaper points out. Just 36 hours before \u0110oki\u0107 spoke with the Times, his colleague, professor Stevan Filipovi\u0107, was brutally beaten in the street by people he called \u201ccriminals in the service of the regime,\u201d after he filmed them writing pro-government graffiti.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a sign that this can happen to anyone who raises their voice against the regime. They cannot focus on every student, so they focus on me\u2026 I am in the position I am in and I cannot run away from here,\u201d said \u0110oki\u0107, who hopes to protect his students from the worst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Times writes that students have achieved in recent months what no political party has managed to do during the 12 years since Vu\u010di\u0107 came to power: they have overtaken him in the polls. In a June survey by the Center for Research, Transparency and Accountability, 59 percent of respondents supported the student protests, while only 36 percent said they trusted Vu\u010di\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the same poll, 45 percent of decided voters said they intended to vote for the Student List, while only 36 percent said they would vote for Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s Serbian Progressive Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The possibility of becoming a presidential candidate is \u201csomething I never dreamed of,\u201d \u0110oki\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

LAST FLIGHT AFTER A 40-YEAR CAREER: Captain Vesi\u0107 landed from Chicago into retirement accompanied by water cannons! (VIDEO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUE TO SEVERE INJURIES: A Serb beaten by the so-called Kosovo Police urgently being transferred for treatment to Belgrade!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAFTER 12 YEARS, MAYBE IT\u2019S TIME FOR NEW PEOPLE\u201d: Terzi\u0107 confirmed Stankovi\u0107\u2019s resignation after Zvezda\u2019s debacle and announced extraordinary elections at the Marakana! (VIDEO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGREAT CHAMPION, EVEN GREATER MAN\u201d: Joki\u0107 went for a haircut in his hometown, then gave the barber a dream gift! (PHOTO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SERBIAN HERO ON VACATION IN GREECE: Brave programmer from Ni\u0161 jumped into the sea without hesitation, saved a woman and two children!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source<\/strong>: N1<\/a> Foto:<\/strong> Dru\u0161tvene mre\u017ee printscreen<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The British \u201cTimes\u201d published an extensive article about Serbian President Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107, his balancing act between Moscow and Brussels, as well as the increasingly powerful student protest movement, which according to opinion polls has greater support than the government. \u201cLike a medieval king receiving petitions, Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107, president of Serbia, stood in the main square […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":216855,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[856,5609,492,2609,113],"class_list":["post-216854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-serbia","tag-aleksandar-vucic","tag-expo","tag-izbori","tag-sns","tag-srbija","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t