These are tense political times in the Eastern European nation of Serbia. On the night of Wednesday, 13 August, opposition supporters clashed with supporters of the incumbent Serbian Progressive Party (Srpska Napredna Stranka, SNS) and police in Újvidék (Novi Sad), Serbia.
The confrontation took place in front of the SNS party office in Újvidék. President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia addressed the nation the next day, informing all that 16 police officers and 64 civilians had been injured during the incident. He also declared that the government will do everything in its power to capture those ‘who want to plunge Serbia into a civil war’, and added that ‘We will respect our opponents, but there will be no mercy for violent offenders, thugs, and criminals.’
President Vučić won reelection in a landslide in 2022, securing 60 per cent of the popular vote. However, since last fall, there have been constant, fervent opposition protests in the country, which ultimately led to the resignation of Prime Minister Miloš Vučević in April 2025. PM Vučević is a member of the same party as President Vučić, SNS.
The catalyst for the series of demonstrations in Hungary’s Southern neighbour was the collapse of the roof of a railway station in Újvidék on 1 November 2024, which tragically killed 16 people. The public felt that it was negligence on the government’s part that caused the tragedy, which spurred the initial wave of protests. The authorities indicted 16 people on the charge of criminal negligence and endangerment in relation to the collapsed roof, while the Újvidék Public Prosecutor’s Office launched an investigation into possible corruption during the renovation of the railway station.
The building of the Újvidék railway station, which finished construction in 1964, was renovated in several stages between 2021 and 2022. The work continued last year as well. Minister of Construction, Transportation and Infrastructure Goran Vesić of Serbia announced in July 2024 that the renovation had been completed and the entire building was ready for use again.
The Minister has since resigned, but said he does not consider himself responsible for the tragedy in November 2024. Újvidék Mayor Milan Đurić, on the other hand, has accepted some level of responsibility and thus announced his resignation in February 2025. As we wrote above, Prime Minister Vučević followed suit two months later.
President Vučić will be term-limited and thus ineligible to run again in the 2027 Serbian presidential election. Also on Wednesday, before the clash between protestors and police erupted in Újvidék, he declared that he will not be seeking to change the constitution to make himself eligible for a third term.
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