{"id":218289,"date":"2026-09-12T13:38:59","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T11:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=218289"},"modified":"2026-09-12T13:39:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T11:39:00","slug":"biggest-test-of-vucics-rule-in-14-years-british-telegraph-writes-about-elections-that-could-determine-his-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/biggest-test-of-vucics-rule-in-14-years-british-telegraph-writes-about-elections-that-could-determine-his-future\/","title":{"rendered":"BIGGEST TEST OF VU\u010cI\u0106\u2019S RULE IN 14 YEARS: British Telegraph writes about elections that could determine his future!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The British Telegraph writes that Serbian<\/em><\/strong> President<\/a><\/em><\/strong> Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107 has for years presented himself as a \u201cmaster of geopolitical balancing,\u201d managing to maintain close relations with Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Donald Trump and the European Union at the same time. However, the newspaper says that Vu\u010di\u0107 is now facing perhaps the biggest political test of his 14-year dominance over Serbia \u2013 snap elections in which he plans to return to the position of prime minister and thus remain in power after his presidential term expires.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s second and final presidential term expires in May, and according to the Telegraph, his intention is to return to the position of prime minister in the October elections, a post he has already held.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2018Balancing\u2019 will be the ultimate legacy of Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s rule,\u201d Helena Ivanov of the Henry Jackson Society told the British newspaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, Vu\u010di\u0107 balances domestic politics in the same way he does relations with foreign countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe has perfected that game. But everyone who criticizes him in Serbia asks: \u2018Have we benefited from it?\u2019\u201d Ivanov said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elections after almost two years of protests<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Telegraph says that a victory in the parliamentary elections would enable Vu\u010di\u0107 to preserve his political dominance even after he is no longer able to run for president of Serbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The elections<\/a> also offer him an opportunity to regain control of the political narrative after almost two years of student protests that have seriously shaken his rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The protests<\/a> began after the canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad collapsed in November 2024, killing 16 people, and subsequently grew into a broader movement against corruption and the state of media freedoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The British newspaper also recalls recent revelations that Pegasus spyware was used in attacks on the phones of some leaders of the protest movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vu\u010di\u0107 himself, while announcing the elections, admitted that Serbia had gone through \u201cenormous turbulence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mladi\u0107\u2019s funeral and a new game with Brussels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Telegraph also devotes particular attention to the funeral of Ratko Mladi\u0107 in Belgrade, held just a few days before the elections were called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The newspaper recalls that during the 1990s, Vu\u010di\u0107 was part of an extreme nationalist political movement that supported the Bosnian Serb forces led by Mladi\u0107, while he later underwent a political transformation and presented himself as a pro-European conservative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the Telegraph says, the nationalist electorate has remained an important part of his political base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brussels warned that a state funeral for a convicted war criminal was incompatible with Serbia\u2019s European path. Vu\u010di\u0107, however, did not attend the funeral, while some of his ministers were present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Telegraph says that an event was organized in such a way that it was effectively a state funeral, although it did not formally carry that name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were few concrete consequences from Brussels, apart from the cancellation of a planned visit by the European commissioner responsible for enlargement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the British newspaper, this is another example of Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s ability to balance between opposing sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putin in Moscow, von der Leyen in Brussels<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, Serbia did not join the European Union\u2019s sanctions against Russia despite strong pressure from the West, and four years later Belgrade continues to maintain close ties with Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May, Vu\u010di\u0107 attended Putin\u2019s Victory Day Parade in Moscow, but just two months later the European Commission recommended opening the next part of Serbia\u2019s EU accession negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Union remains Serbia\u2019s main trading partner, and the Telegraph notes that Brussels is also interested in Serbian lithium, which could help Europe reduce its dependence on China when it comes to raw materials for electric cars and green technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nevertheless, the newspaper says that the EU has failed to turn its economic power into sufficient political influence over Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s government, which it describes as authoritarian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

READ MORE: <\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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KO STOJI IZA TRI STUDENTSKA UDRU\u017dENJA? Sva su osnovana istog dana, na istoj adresi i imaju istog zastupnika!<\/a><\/blockquote>