Vucic Denies Controlling Media, Says Does Not Pre-arrange the Questions That Reporters Ask

An Brnabic (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/DS)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Feb. 13 that the people who said he controlled media outlets and pre-arranged the questions that reporters ask him before appearances were projecting.

"Because they are afraid of questions, while I am always afraid of my answers," Vucic told Pink TV in an interview composed of multiple inserts from his life before politics. Vucic said the opposition was criticizing him for handing out EUR100 to young people and announcements of a new payout, but that they would have done the same if they could, and that the state was now able to.

He added that there would be no purges in the Serbian Progressive Party, only major changes. "I don't like that word. As for purges, that is characteristic of some other parties. They kick out people who don't agree with the president. You saw that ahead of the referendum half of the party campaigned against it and no one is the worse for it," Vucic told Pink TV.

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said on Feb. 13 after a session of the Progressive Party's steering commission, that a unanimous decision was reached for the party to run at all election levels with a ticket titled Aleksandar Vucic -- Together We Can Do Anything, and for Vucic to head all of the tickets. She said it had also been unanimously decided that Dr Danica Grujicic would head the parliamentary election ticket, while Aleksandar Sapic would head the Belgrade city election ticket.