Political Scientist: Chance Exists for Ousting Progressives from Power in Belgrade   

Boban Stojanovic (BETAPHOTO/MEDIJA CENTAR BEOGRAD)

Political scientist Boban Stojanovic on Aug. 31 said that if ousting the Serbian Progressive Party from power was being considered then “grouping of the opposition must have already happened,” also in certain pre-election activities, such as the EU parliament-mediated inter-party dialogue on improving the electoral process.

Stojanovic told Belgrade daily Danas that “each wasted vote is expensive for the opposition.” “If everything stays as it is – the opposition must seek a new strategy to fight against the Progressives, because changes are not possible in the elections with the existing conditions. On the other hand, there is a chance in Belgrade, and losing power in Belgrade would be a huge blow to them,” Stojanovic specified.

He regarded as the opposition’s mistake the fact that “it will likely allow for city elections to be held in parallel with presidential, and primarily with parliamentary elections.”

“The elections in Belgrade will certainly be contested and there is a chance of power changing hands. What the opposition has to do is to primarily show to the citizens who mainly do not support the Progressives rule in Belgrade that changes are possible. It can be done by setting up a strong opposition entity, which implies serious grouping, not to say, unification of all opposition parties,” Stojanovic stressed.