By Savo Manojlović, President of the Kreni-Promeni Movement
“Is this going in the right direction and how long will it last? That is a question I am often asked. At protests, at the market, on the street, in cafés, in parks while I am walking my son, at weddings, in supermarkets, theatres, at basketball games.
Uncertainty is a characteristic axis of every society that is in a process of change. And it has two sides. It awakens fear in people who are fighting for change and pushes us into passivity. But it also shows that it is possible to disrupt unjustly established power relations, if we transform uncertainty into hope that drives us to action.
If someone had told us a year and a half ago that all universities would rise up, that the largest protests in the history of Serbia would be organised – 15 March, the Vidovdan protest and 1 November in Novi Sad; that thousands of students and activists would walk hundreds of kilometres; that the people would welcome us like a liberating army from the First World War; that, under pressure from citizens, Kushner would abandon the General Staff project in advance, fearing a Rio Tinto scenario; that when the authorities organise thugs against the people, those same thugs would flee, while the police would protect them from enraged citizens; and that we would have a new student movement that on its own enjoys more support than the SNS and SPS together… would such a forecast have seemed realistic to you at the time?
Of course it would not.
So if what seemed impossible has been achieved, what is the point of despondency? The two greatest enemies of change are euphoria and despondency. There is no room for euphoria, because change requires enormous work and results often seem slow. There is also no room for despondency, because things in Serbia will not return to how they were.
Last year, in a New Year’s text for 2025 written for Radar, I said that a new generation was leading Serbia towards change. A year later, it is a fact that we have a new generation, new values and a new philosophy.
The uprising we are witnessing is a fight against Vučić, but also against the entire old system, old values and old politics. You do not pour new wine into old wineskins. In terms of values, this generation has buried the radical, losing politics of hatred. The radical political legacy was a Serbia of the past, of divisions, of constant returns to historical conflicts and mistakes from history. The essence is that new generations are not interested in those divisions. Even though we have no problem stating who we are, what interests us is what the Serbia of the future will be like.
The vision of that future Serbia is a hijab and a šajkača embraced together. Students from Novi Pazar and from the rest of Serbia, wrapped in Serbian flags, singing together “Idem preko zemlje Srbije”. The key question is not debates about the past, but a vision of the future.
And we want a Serbia without corruption, with the problem of polluted air resolved, an ecologically sustainable country in which both Chinese and Western mining companies respect environmental standards. A state with fair justice, a humane healthcare system and local self-government that serves citizens.
One of the main questions of old politics was whether leaders and parties would reach an agreement and in what format they would appear. The new approach that is delivering results shows that this is not the key question. Democracy is not defended through agreements behind closed doors and debates in expensive suits and warm studios.
The essence of democracy is not the adding up of leaders, stories about columns, percentages and mandates, but the inclusion of citizens. When citizens are awake, democracy functions. When citizens are asleep, democracy dies. Whenever citizens have been part of the process, this regime has suffered defeats: after the blockades in 2021 that we carried out with local residents and by involving citizens, the authorities could not implement the Rio Tinto project; parks were defended; the purchase of the Serbian Army General Staff building was abandoned. But mobilisation is not enough for a long-term victory.
For that, people involved in organisation are needed: at least 16,000 polling station controllers, people who do what we did on the ground in Kosjerić, Zaječar, Mionica, Sečanj and Negotin: who travel muddy village roads, talk to people and stand up to SNS thugs. And even then, it is not the end.
The moment citizens think that we have won, a new phase of the struggle is only just beginning. Then the “Clean Hands” programme must be implemented, without populist phrases and empty declarations – the removal of corrupt personnel from the public sector and a thorough review of the work and origin of assets of holders of public office. This programme of Kreni-Promeni has been supported by the signatures of 85,000 citizens.
Anyone who has participated in corruption, political persecution or abuse of institutions must face consequences before the competent authorities, in proceedings based on law and evidence.
That is the vision of a Serbia governed by a simple rule:
Those who have respected the law have nothing to fear.
Those who have broken the law have nothing to hope for.
That vision cannot be brought about by one man or by one movement alone. But it can be achieved by movements and individuals who have the people behind them. Citizens who will provide support when the law is upheld, and citizens who will apply pressure when the law is broken.”
(Radar, 08.01.2026)
https://radar.nova.rs/politika/kako-do-promena-u-2026-savo-manojlovic/