Regime Party VP Says He Admires Protesting University Students

Branko Ruzic (BETAPHOTO/Milan Obradovic)

Branko Ruzic, the vice-president of the Socialist Party of Serbia – which is a member of the ruling coalition – said that if wisdom prevails, the next prime minister-designate will be someone independent of the person who appointed him, i.e. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

“Such a prime minister-designate would have the clear goal and task of resolving the [ongoing] political crisis. To form a Cabinet that isn’t too big, that doesn’t have quotas for coalition partners, one which is reduced to only the basic ministries. Such a government would then inherently be ‘interim,’” Ruzic told the latest edition of the Vreme weekly.

In his opinion, it would be only logical for the university students who have been protesting for months – demanding that state institutions begin doing their job – to appoint a group of people tasked with discussing voting conditions, the media, the state of the judiciary, with the ministries in charge of these areas.

“I admire the university students, their clear thinking and anticipation of things that could happen – like on March 15. They stopped things from escalating too far then, which could have happened because certain others wanted it,” the top Socialist official said.

Ruzic went on to opine that what is most likely to happen, however, considering the regime’s point of view, is that the new Cabinet will serve its full term rather than create the conditions for a snap election. The Socialist VP said he could not see how this would help resolve the current crisis, but expressed his belief that even such a turn of events would not preclude the possibility of a dialogue.