site.btaConsultations on New Serbian Government Begin Wednesday, Some Opposition Parties to Boycott

Consultations on the new Serbian government will formally begin on Wednesday.

Speaking to TV Pink, President Aleksandar Vucic said he had invited all parliamentary groups to talks on Wednesday, and by Monday night, just five or six had responded. Late last week, Vucic told public broadcaster Radio Television Serbia that the consultations would begin Monday.

He did not specify what had delayed them by two days.

Meanwhile, eight opposition parties have refused to participate in talks on forming a new government and have set forth their arguments in a letter to the media. According to them, the only way for Serbia to move forward is to meet the students' demands and to form a transitional government that would prepare free and democratic elections.

The eight opposition parties believe that the intention to replace one bad government with a new one is not a solution but rather deepens the political crisis.

Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned on January 28 after protesting students in Novi Sad were attacked with baseball bats by supporters of the Serbian Progressive Party, of which he is the leader. On the same day, the mayor of that northern Serbian city, Milan Djuric, also stepped down.

On November 1, 2024, the concrete canopy of the railway station in Novi Sad collapsed, killing 16 people. The tragedy sparked a wave of social unrest in Serbia, with protests and blockades organized mainly by students, who took control of over 60 faculties across the country.

On March 19, the Serbian parliament acknowledged the resignation of the government, and a 30-day period for forming a new cabinet began on March 20.