Đorđe Vukadinović from the New Serbian Political Thought (Nova Srpska Politička Misao) said that the downward trend in the ruling party’s ratings has been halted and that now “Vučić is simmering us”.
He believes that at this moment the government has to some extent “stabilised”, but society has not.
“Aleksandar Vučić has established control within his party and among his electorate, because a year ago that was very shaky. He has largely brought back those who would otherwise have abstained, and the main political battle in the next elections will be for abstainers,” he said.
This stabilisation does not mean, he adds, that he controls everything and holds all the levers, but the declining ratings trend that had been visible since the summer of 2024 has been stopped. “Vučić has managed to plug a large number of holes. For the past six or seven months, he has been simmering us, not the other way round. And I do not like that terminology at all. He is not that successful at it, but the downward trend has been halted, while the simmering, cooking and stewing has begun within the anti-regime bloc,” he believes.
He also notes that the bloc in power appears less numerous than the anti-regime bloc, but that it is “compact, homogeneous, with occasional squabbles that are concealed and smoothed over”, while the bloc opposing the government looks “catastrophic” in terms of internal relations, “with no clarity as to who is quarrelling with whom”.He assesses that if elections had, for instance, been held in the autumn of 2025, “it would not have mattered which names were on the student list”.
The battle in local elections
He also says that the fact that in Bor all opponents of the government have joined forces to run together in the local elections is a “normal” and “logical” step in any case, especially at local level.
“We are either surprised by or celebrating something that ought to be taken for granted and normal. As far as I understand, there will also be a united front in Bajina Bašta, while I do not know what will happen in Kula, whether there will be one or two columns. Following the local elections, it seems that in the end reason prevails, but on the other hand, very late, and as a last resort,” Vukadinović said, as reported by N1.
He adds that last year the authorities organised local elections, some regular and some early, in order to demonstrate strength and send a message that the past year, which was difficult for them, had not weakened them. This, he notes, partly succeeded, but not in the way they had hoped. He also says that unified electoral lists running in local elections will, at best, be part of a fierce contest, but far from “winning triumphantly”.
“But if it wins one or two of these municipalities, I think it can celebrate,” Vukadinović concludes.
(Danas, 11.02.2026)