Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced in his annual address to the nation on January 4 that he will not stand for another term. After completing his second term in the presidency in 2027, Vucic does not intend to change the constitution to allow him to remain in the position.
Vucic has been the pre-eminent Serbian politician for around a decade, with his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) dominating the parliament.
He is currently just one year into his second presidential term, and the next election will not occur until 2027. However, long before that, he intends to step down as leader of the SNS, telling Serbians that in the first half of 2024, he will no longer be a political party leader.
“I have no need, nor will I in any way deceive or conceal facts from my people. This is my last presidential term. I will not change the constitution, and in the first half of next year I will not even be the president of the [SNS] party,” said Vucic.
Amending the constitution is a tactic used in other post-socialist countries such as Russia to ‘reset the clock’ where there is a limit on two consecutive terms in the presidency, and enable the local strongman to stay in power for longer.
Vucic previously said in September 2022 that he planned to create a state-wide political movement in the next six months for the “survival and progress” of the country. The formation of such a movement may allow Vucic to keep his promise to resign as leader of the SNS in line with the constitution.
He indicated when announcing the new cabinet in 2022 that there will be high-level political changes in 2024. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, a Vucic loyalist, was reappointed in autumn 2022, with Vucic saying at the time that it was vital for her to remain in office as “someone with experience” to tackle ongoing issues such as the energy crisis.
Vucic also commented on the demographic crisis in Serbia, which like much of Emerging Europe is experiencing a long-term population decline caused by the low birth rate and mass emigration.
In his speech, the president linked lower birth rates to rising incomes. “Wherever there is more money, people will not have children … Don’t let us have fewer and fewer children,” Vucic said.
“Many people are returning to Serbia, but more must be done. Who are we doing and building this for, what will the railways and factories do when no one wants children? We will see how to give further rights to mothers and pregnant women during the year. These are huge sums of money, €80mn to €100mn each, no less.”
