Research Center Demostat: Ideological Homogeneity Weakening among the Progressives 

Srecko Mihailovic (BETAPHOTO/MEDIJA CENTAR BEOGRAD)

The ideological homogeneity in the ruling Serbian Progressive Party is rather weak and has been on the decline as certain distancing of the voters and sympathizers from the party has been observed, according to a survey of Belgraders, carried out by Research and Publishing Center Demostat in December.

Speaking to a program titled “A Half an Hour of Demostat,” sociologist Srecko Mihailovic, the main researcher at Demostat, has said that “the opposition and the ruling parties would have equal chances of winning possible elections in Belgrade in the spring.” According to Demostat portal, Mihailovic also noted that the outcome of any vote in Serbia was actually linked to the question whether the process of political demise of the Progressives will continue and whether the opposition will take advantage of that.  

“There are between one fifth and one fourth of party members, sympathizers and supporters who have a different opinion from the majority of the Progressives, which means that the party is heading to de-homogenization. In such situation, they can vote for some other party and can distance from the party for various reasons, including ethical reasons linked with personal benefits which have not been gained,” Mihailovic explained. 

He also noted that distancing of Progressives’ sympathizers was smaller from party leader Aleksandar Vucic, “who still remains a firm mainstay and is respected by a considerable number of party voters.”  

Mihailovic also said that the overall policy in Serbia “is determined by three social phenomena – Serbia’s stand on the EU, Serbia’s stand on Russia and the approach to resolving the Kosovo issue.”