‘It’s the smell of freedom’: Belgrade cleans up after Student List triumph
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Student List cleaned up at Serbia’s parliamentary elections. So it was only fitting that the morning after a night of raucous celebrations, the movement’s supporters were gathering, bin bags in hand, at Pioneers Park, opposite the national assembly building in Belgrade.
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For the previous 18 months, this small patch of greenery – with its established trees and playground – had been a no-go zone. A pro-government camp known as Ćaciland had taken over the space with convicted criminals living there in white tents, happy to attack journalists, or anyone else who came too close. Police stood by but did nothing to prevent the violence.
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On election night, it seemed that thuggery might be on the cards again. Half an hour before the polls closed, large numbers of masked, black-clad men started gathering in and around Pioneers Park. Their intimidating presence gave credence to pre-poll predictions that the governing Serbian Progressive party (SNS) would not hand over power without a struggle.
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What happened next took almost everyone by surprise. Shortly after the polls closed – and before any projections of the results had been published – Aleksandar Vučić told supporters at SNS headquarters that they had suffered a comprehensive defeat to the Student List. As cheers rang around the heart of Belgrade, he added that he did “not want unrest” or “anything like that on the streets”.
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The riot police stood aside and the barriers blocking access to the area around Pioneers Park were removed. The goon squad made a rapid exit – and Student List supporters joyfully ransacked Ćaciland, setting fire to some of the tents.
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But this is not a movement that likes to leave a mess. Over the two years of anti-corruption protests that led to the Student List’s victory, participants have always cleaned up after themselves. So the call went out for volunteers to restore Pioneers Park to something approaching its previous state.
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Hundreds of people answered the appeal and joined municipal workers to remove the remains of Ćaciland. Some dismantled the mangled white tents, while others painstakingly cleaned and disinfected the climbing frames, swings and slides in the children’s playground.
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Radomir Dalic painstakingly combed over the grass to remove cigarette butts and other rubbish. Apparently relishing his labours, he said he was overjoyed that the park was finally rid of “criminals with violent intentions towards us”.
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“Yesterday was a big victory, so today is the smell of freedom,” he added. “We are in garbage, but it’s the smell of freedom.” Tamara Tomic wore yellow rubber gloves for the occasion – and radiated similar pride in taking part.
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“Gathering here and cleaning this place just shows that we want to live nicely,” she said. “We want to enjoy the city, enjoy a normal life without violence and without anyone torturing us.” For now, nobody is asking too many questions about how the Student List will govern. In fact, Serbian voters have taken something of a leap into the unknown – because this is a movement that operates unlike a traditional political party.
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It has no hierarchy and no leader. Its candidates were chosen by a series of student assemblies, with nominations ranging from academics to athletes, economists to engineers. The Student List did publish an 11-point plan. Most of these points deal with anti-corruption measures – ironically, the pitch that secured victory in 2012 for Vučić and the SNS.
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Other commitments include judicial reform, media freedom, affordable housing and improved access to healthcare, with the promise of “a doctor in every village”. But beyond the domestic priorities – in essence, a clean-up for public institutions – little is clear. The Student List went into the elections without naming a candidate for prime minister, let alone a possible cabinet.
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Kurt Bassuener, co-founder of the Democratization Policy Council, said he was concerned about what that might mean when the euphoria of victory died down, and the serious business of forming a government began. The thinktank chief added: “I’m hoping that there is a dream scenario plan here – they have portfolios and people who have credibility in particular issue areas and they can hit the ground running.
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Because the danger of a broad coalition like this is that the fissures will show soon after victory.” Ilija Srdanović, the candidate ranked first on the Student List, has played down the potential for strife.
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A cardiologist at the university in Novi Sad, the city where a deadly roof collapse sparked the student protests, he has protested alongside the students since the early days. However, he was keen to emphasise that his ranking on the list did not mean he would become prime minister.
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“The student movement is fully democratic,” he said, adding that the aim was to buck Serbia’s history of “creating the cult of personality or leadership”. The 250 candidates on the Student List were “equal subjects in this struggle”, Srdanović insisted, with “numerous candidates who can be chosen for the prime minister position or any other position”. But his confidence does little to reassure those who have noticed that the broad spread of views held by Student List candidates could lead to trouble.
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Despite Vučić’s warnings that a Student List government would impose sanctions on Russia and recognise Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence, the movement’s foreign and regional policy remains opaque.
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“We have not seen seas of EU flags at demonstrations by students or the marches across Serbia,” said Michael Davenport, a former EU and UK ambassador to the country.
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“There are massive policy areas where there is no consensus among the Student List or those have been elected. The approach towards accession to the European Union is not clear, nor is the position with regard to regional issues like Bosnia and Herzegovina and, very particularly, Kosovo.” Many people are happy to leave these concerns for another day.
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Vučić and the SNS have fallen – and the cacophony of car horns continued throughout Monday as drivers passed the clean-up crew in Pioneers Park.
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One visible symbol of the old regime has been swept away. The Student List voters are hoping more will follow.
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