Serbian PM: Opposition Changed Their Mind about Snap Polls under the Influence of International Centers of Power

Ana Brnabic (BETAPHOTO/Milan Obradovic)

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on Sept. 12 said that the opposition had changed their mind about snap elections under the influence of international centers of power.

Speaking to state public broadcaster RTS, Brnabic said that during the summer, the opposition representatives were “threatening” to take to the streets, block institutions and call for civil disobedience if early parliamentary elections were called, adding that meanwhile they had changed their mind, because “they are not the decision-makers.”

“These decisions are made in some other centers of power and are only communicated to the opposition in Serbia, both the left-wing and the right-wing parties, after which they start creating chaos in Serbia,” Brnabic, a member of the Serbian Progressive Party Presidency, said.

Brnabic also criticized RTS, saying that the TV station “has somewhat backed down under the pressure,” and “has been unfairly reporting” about Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and the Progressives in relation to elections.

On Sept. 11, the opposition parties, which are the organizers of the Serbia Against Violence protests, formally demanded from Vucic to schedule snap parliamentary and local Belgrade elections until the end of the year. Over the past few months, these parties were insisting that they would not allow holding of early elections before all the demands voiced at the protests were fulfilled.