Students list wins elections in Serbia and promises to improve relations

A List of Students, winner of the Sunday parliamentary elections in Serbia, today promised to improve relations with neighbouring countries, marked by tensions during the 12 years of power of Nationalist President Aleksandar Vucic.

“ We will do our best to correct and achieve the best possible cooperation with all our neighbours,” said Ilija Srdanovic, who led the winning movement and is one of the candidates for Prime Minister, in an interview published today by the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji list.

Mr Sdanovic has ensured that the new government will try to resolve issues such as the search for missing persons in the war between Serbia and Croatia in 1991-1995, the opening of archives and the clarification of war crimes.

“There are mothers, sisters and grandparents crying on both sides. We want to help both sides get to the truth,” he added.

Referring to Vucic, he said that change will be possible because “a man who poisoned [Serbian] relations for more than 30 years” was left to history.

Mrdanovic further confirmed that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic contacted him to congratulate him on his victory and that both expressed their desire to strengthen good neighbourly relations.

Vucic accused Croatia in recent weeks of agreeing with Albania and Kosovo in an aggressive military alliance against Serbia, of interfering “brutally” in the election campaign and of participating in alleged attempts to “destroy” the country.

Questioned about the divisions that analysts attribute to the Student List regarding sanctions against Russia, the recognition of Kosovo or accession to the European Union, Mrdanovic insists that these issues are no longer a priority.

He mentioned that the group, which emerged from a student protest movement initiated two years ago against Vucic, agreed to put them aside to focus on building a society based on freedom, equality and respect for rights and law, with free media and independent institutions.

Cardiologist at the Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases of Vojvodina, a region in northern Serbia, and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Novi Sad, Srdanovic has no political experience and until recently was unknown to the general public, such as most 141 Members whom the List hopes to obtain in Parliament of 250 seats.

Although the media have placed him among the possible candidates to lead the next government, the doctor has removed personal aspirations.

“ My ambitions have been fulfilled: we replaced the government. The Prime Minister will be the one that the parliamentary majority considers most appropriate, any of the 250 candidates on our list”, he said.

The Student List obtained an absolute majority of 52.6% of the votes in the early Sunday elections, against the 39.2% of the coalition led by the conservative SNS party of former President Aleksandar Vucic, in power since 2014.

Vucic presented in September his resignation from the office of President of Serbia to run for Prime Minister in these elections.

Serbia submitted its application for EU membership in December 2009 and was granted candidate status in March 2012.