Better Serbia ( sr-cyr, Боља Србија, Bolja Srbija, BS) is a

national-conservative National conservatism is a nationalist variant of conservatism that concentrates on upholding national and cultural identity. National conservatives usually combine nationalism with conservative stances promoting traditional cultural values, ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. Its leader is Dragan Jovanović, a former member of New Serbia. It is the main governing party in the municipality of

Topola Topola ( sr-cyrl, Топола, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. It was the place where Karađorđe, a Serbian revolutionary, was chosen as the leader of the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottom ...

Origins and current status

Jovanović was a longtime member of New Serbia (NS) before his expulsion from the party in January 2017, which occurred against the backdrop of a quarrel with party leader

Velimir Ilić Velimir "Velja" Ilić ( sr-cyr, Велимир "Веља" Илић, ; born 28 May 1951) is a Serbian politician. He is the founder and president of party New Serbia. He served as the Minister without portfolio in charge of Emergency Situations f ...

. Jovanović was elected on

Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска напредна странка, Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) has been the ruling political party of Serbia since 2012. Founded by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić in 2008 as a s ...

's (SNS) list in 2016, and after serving as an independent member of the assembly for six months, Jovanović launched Better Serbia in July 2017. A month before the formation, Jovanović presented a political program with

Vladan Glišić Vladan Glišić (, August 26, 1970) is a Serbian politician and lawyer who was a member of the presidency of the Serbian Patriotic Alliance from 2018 to 2020. He is a former leader of Dveri and an independent candidate at the 2012 Serbian presiden ...

and

Miroslav Parović Miroslav Parović (; sr-Cyrl, Мирослав Паровић; born July 14, 1984) is a Serbian politician and the president of the People's Freedom Movement. Biography He attended primary school in the village of Jaša Tomić, the "Nikola Tesl ...

. He outlined the party's positions in an interview with ''

Politika ''Politika'' ( sr-Cyrl, Политика; ''Politics'') is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and owners ...

'' shortly thereafter, noting the party's focus on agrarian issues. Jovanović was a supporter of

Serbian president The president of Serbia ( sr, Председник Србије, Predsednik Srbije), officially styled as the President of the Republic ( sr, Председник Републике, Predsednik Republike) is the head of state of Serbia. The curr ...

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Вучић, ; born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017, and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012. Vučić served ...

at the time of Better Serbia's establishment, although by 2020 he had become an opponent of the administration. Better Serbia contested the 2020 Serbian parliamentary election in an alliance with

Healthy Serbia Healthy Serbia ( sr-cyrl, Здрава Србија, Zdrava Srbija, ZS) is a right-wing political party founded in 2017 by Milan Stamatović, Mayor of Čajetina. History After leaving the Democratic Party of Serbia and further disagreements w ...

. Their list did not cross the

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

to win representation in the assembly. Better Serbia won a narrow victory in Jovanović's home community of Topola in the concurrent 2020 Serbian local elections, defeating the

by sixteen seats to fifteen. After the election, the Progressives formed a new governing alliance with smaller parties in the local assembly, and Better Serbia served in

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...

. In April 2021, however, two defectors from the Progressives allowed Better Serbia to form a new municipal administration with the support from the

Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia The Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia ( sr, link=, Покрет обнове Краљевине Србије, Pokret obnove Kraljevine Srbije; abbr. ПОКС or POKS) is a monarchist and national-conservative political party ...

. Topola's incumbent mayor, Ivan Petrović, also chose to join the new administration. On 14 February 2022, Dragan Jovanović announced that BS will participate in the 2022 Serbian parliamentary elections as part of the

SNS-led coalition Aleksandar Vučić – Together We Can Do Everything ( sr-cyrl, Александар Вучић – Заједно можемо све, Aleksandar Vučić – Zajedno možemo sve, AV–ZMS), commonly shortened to just Together We Can Do Everythi ...

and their "Together We Can Do Everything" ballot list.

Presidents of ''Better Serbia''

Electoral results

Parliamentary elections

Presidential elections

References