Opposition Leader: Support to Kosovo Solution, Not Vucic

Pavle Grbovic (Beta photo/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

The Movement of Free Citizens leader Pavle Grbovic said on Feb. 8 that “President Aleksandar Vucic is hindering national unity on the issue of Kosovo” by putting himself at the center of the discussion on the French-German proposal and conflating acceptance of the plan with support to him and his regime.

Speaking for the Nova daily, Grbovic stated that he refuses “to play such a game.”

“[The issue of Kosovo] is far more important than [Vucic is], and its repercussions will last far longer than his rule. Decisions like this are pivotal and will affect the lives of generations whose everyday life will not include Vucic or the Serbian Progressive Party, and that is why we mustn’t allow Vucic to obscure our vision with his aggressive spinning,” Grbovic told the paper.

Asked whether he believes Serbia will face dire consequences should it reject the French-German proposal for Kosovo, Grbovic answered that the proposal is not just “French and German but also European and American.” Therefore, he explained, refusing the plan would constitute not just a rejection of its content “but also of its actors, of the Euro-American political context and of the currently united Europe and U.S., at a time when their patience for indecisiveness is at its lowest.”

The repercussions would be serious, however they may manifest, Grbovic claimed, adding that “their exact shape is truly least important.” The opposition leader stated he does not believe that all investors would leave Serbia but that even if only ten percent withdrew in the wake of the proposal’s rejection “tens of thousands of families would still be left without income.”