Serbian Progressive Party
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The Serbian Progressive Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска напредна странка, Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) has been the ruling
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 ideological or p ...
of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
since 2012. Founded by
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
and
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 serve ...
in 2008 as a split from the
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
Serbian Radical Party (SRS), the SNS served in opposition to the Democratic Party (DS) for the next several years. Running on an
anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive meas ...
platform, it managed a strong performance in the 2009 Belgrade local elections, and in the same year, became the strongest opposition party. After signing a cooperation agreement with New Serbia (NS), the
Movement of Socialists The Movement of Socialists ( sr, Покрет социјалиста, Pokret socijalista, PS) is a political party in Serbia. It was founded in 2008 by Aleksandar Vulin, who served as the party's president until 2022, when he was succeeded by ...
(PS), and the
Strength of Serbia Movement The Strength of Serbia Movement – BK ( sr, Покрет Снага Србије – БК, Pokret Snaga Srbije, PSS–BK) is a conservative political party in Serbia. History Party was founded in 2004. Its founder and current leader of PSS- ...
(PSS), it organized protests in 2011, demanding early parliamentary elections. General elections were called for May 2012, in which SNS won 25% of the popular vote, while Nikolić was elected president. SNS formed a government with the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) and the
United Regions of Serbia The United Regions of Serbia ( sr, Уједињени региони Србије, Ujedinjeni regioni Srbije; abbr. УРС, URS) was a regionalist, liberal-conservative political party in Serbia. It was founded on 16 May 2010 as a political coa ...
(URS), with Vučić serving as the first deputy prime minister. After accusing businessman Miroslav Mišković of corruption and arresting him, Vučić called for early parliamentary elections to be held in March 2014. SNS campaigned on an anti-corruption platform while criticizing its opponents, which led to SNS winning 158 out of 250 seats in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
. Vučić was elected prime minister after the election, while Siniša Mali was elected mayor of Belgrade after the 2014 City Assembly election. The first major anti-government protests under the SNS took place in 2015, in which demonstrators called for the termination of the
Belgrade Waterfront Belgrade Waterfront, known in Serbian as Belgrade on Water ( sr, / ), is an urban renewal development project headed by the Government of Serbia aimed at improving Belgrade's cityscape and economy by revitalizing the Sava amphitheater, a negle ...
, an urban development project headed by the Government. Another early parliamentary election was called for April 2016; the SNS campaigned on ensuring economic reforms and supporting the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. It won 131 seats in the National Assembly, and 63 out of 120 seats in the provincial election in Vojvodina; Vučić was re-elected prime minister, while
Igor Mirović Igor Mirović ( sr-cyr, Игор Мировић; born 12 July 1968) is a Serbian politician, economist and poet serving as the current President of the Government of Vojvodina The President of the Government of Vojvodina serves as the head o ...
was elected president of the Government of Vojvodina. Vučić was chosen by SNS as its presidential candidate for the 2017 presidential election, in which he won 55% of the popular vote in the first run-off; mass protests were held until his inauguration on 31 May 2017. Ana Brnabić succeeded Vučić as prime minister. Zoran Radojičić replaced Mali as mayor after the March 2018 City Assembly election, while later that year, a series of anti-government protests began; demonstrators demanded more media freedom and an end to political violence. SNS launched a campaign in February 2019 which effectively silenced the protests. The major opposition
Alliance for Serbia The Alliance for Serbia ( sr, Савез за Србију, Savez za Srbiju) was a major extra-parliamentary catch-all opposition alliance of political parties in Serbia that was founded in September 2018. The alliance boycotted the 2020 parliam ...
(SzS) boycotted the 2020 parliamentary election, which led SNS to win a
supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
of 188 seats; CeSID stated that the election was met with "minimum democratic standards", while
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
noted the presence of
political polarization Political polarization (spelled ''polarisation'' in British English) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes. Most discussions of polarization in political science consider polarization in the ...
. Brnabić formed a government with SPS and the
Serbian Patriotic Alliance The Serbian Patriotic Alliance ( sr-cyrl, Српски патриотски савез, Srpski patriotski savez, SPAS; ) was a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Serbia. It was led by Aleksandar Šapić. It was ...
(SPAS); the latter merged into SNS in May 2021. The SNS-led government was faced with
environmental protests The Environmental Justice Atlas documented 3,100 environmental conflicts worldwide as of April 2020 and emphasised that many more conflicts remained undocumented. Climate * Global Climate March * Global Day of Action * March Against Monsa ...
in 2021 and early 2022, while the constitutional changes that it proposed were voted in favor by a majority of voters in the January 2022 constitutional referendum. In the
2022 Serbian general election General elections were held in Serbia on 3 April 2022 to elect both the president and members of the National Assembly. Initially, parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held in 2024; however, in October 2020 president Aleksandar Vučić ...
, Vučić was re-elected with 60% of the popular vote, while the SNS won 120 seats in the National Assembly; Aleksandar Šapić was elected mayor of Belgrade after the City Assembly election. Scholars and political scientists consider the SNS a
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
party, with some stating that it does not have a coherent ideology or that populist ideas are integral to its ideological profile. The party is supportive of Serbia's accession to the European Union, although political scientists have noted that its support is rather
pragmatic Pragmatism is a philosophical movement. Pragmatism or pragmatic may also refer to: *Pragmaticism, Charles Sanders Peirce's post-1905 branch of philosophy * Pragmatics, a subfield of linguistics and semiotics *'' Pragmatics'', an academic journal i ...
. Scholars and authors have also described the SNS as a
catch-all party A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined ...
; some have also positioned it as either a
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...
,
centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
, or a
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this pos ...
party. SNS is economically
neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent f ...
; it advocates for
austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
,
privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
, and
liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...
of
labour laws Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...
. Critics have assessed that after it came to power, Serbia has suffered from
democratic backsliding Democratic backsliding, also called autocratization, is the decline in the democratic characteristics of a political system, and is the opposite of democratization. Democracy is the most popular form of government, with more than half of the nat ...
into
authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voti ...
, as well as a decline in
media freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...
and
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...
, with the V-Dem Institute categorizing Serbia as an electoral autocracy and
Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...
categorizing it as a
hybrid regime A hybrid regime is a mixed type of political system often created as a result of an incomplete transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one (or vice versa). Hybrid regimes are categorized as combine autocratic features with de ...
. As of 2021, the SNS has at least 800,000 members, and is the largest political party in Europe by membership.


History


Formation

The conflict between
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
and Vojislav Šešelj came to light after Nikolić's statement that the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
would support the Stabilisation and Association Process agreement for the accession of Serbia to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
; Nikolić's statement was met with the resistance from Šešelj and his supporters. Nikolić, who was the head of the SRS
parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliame ...
and a deputy president of the party since 1992, resigned from these posts on 7 September 2008. A day later, Nikolić formed the "Forward, Serbia" parliamentary group with 10 other MPs; five more MPs joined the parliamentary group in the following days.
Božidar Delić Božidar Delić ( sr-cyr, Божидар Делић, ; 20 February 1956 – 23 August 2022) was a Serbian general and politician who served as the vice president of the National Assembly of Serbia from 2007 to 2012 and again from 2 to 23 August ...
and Jorgovanka Tabaković, high-ranking members of SRS, were one of the founding members of the parliamentary group. On 11 September, Nikolić announced that the "Forward, Serbia" parliamentary group would transform itself into a political party. It was speculated that
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 serve ...
, the general-secretary of SRS, would join the newly-formed party; Nikolić later that day confirmed that he would join the party. A day later, SRS dismissed Nikolić and 17 other MPs from the party due to their opposition to Šešelj, while Vučić left SRS on 13 September. Nikolić stated that the newly-formed party would be the party of the "modern right", whilst supporting strengthening relations with the European Union and Russia. On 24 September, Nikolić announced that the party would be called the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). SNS was registered as a political party on 10 October, while the founding convention was held on 21 October, in which a 20-man presidency was presented with Nikolić as the president and Vučić as deputy president. By that period, SNS received support from SRS members, while the SNS parliamentary group sat at 21 MPs.


2008–2011

In November 2008, SNS called for snap parliamentary elections to be held by October 2009; this proposal was also later supported by Čedomir Jovanović, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Later that month, Vučić stated that SNS would act in opposition to the Democratic Party (DS). SNS opposed the initiative regarding constitutional changes in May 2009, which it described as "frivolous". A month later, SNS took part in local elections in
Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...
, a Belgrade municipality known for being the stronghold of SRS; SNS won 34% of the popular vote, while SRS only won 10%. By July 2009, SNS established itself as the strongest opposition party in Serbia. SNS later campaigned and voted against the proposed Media Law, which they described as " anti-democratic". SNS also called for resignation of
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Mirko Cvetković Mirko Cvetković ( sr-Cyr, Мирко Цветковић, ; born 16 August 1950) is a Serbian economist and former politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 2008 to 2012 and as finance minister from 2007 to 2008, and again from ...
in October 2009. It took part in local elections in
Voždovac Voždovac ( sr-cyr, Вождовац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. According to the 2011 census results, the municipality has a population of 158,213 inhabitants. The municipality is located in the south-central part of the urban ...
and
Kostolac The City municipality of Kostolac ( sr-cyrl, Градска општина Костолац, Gradska opština Kostolac is a town in Serbia and one of two city municipalities which constitute the City of Požarevac. It is situated on the Danube ri ...
in December 2009; in Voždovac, it won 37% of the popular vote and 26 seats in the Local Assembly, while in Kostolac it won 12% of the popular vote. Following the elections, SNS formed a local government with the
Democratic Party of Serbia The New Democratic Party of Serbia ( sr, Нова демократска странка Србије, Nova demokratska stranka Srbije, , NDSS or New DSS) is a national-conservative political party in Serbia. Initially known and formed as Democ ...
(DSS) and New Serbia (NS) in Voždovac. CeSID, a non-governmental and electoral monitoring organization, argued that the reason behind their electoral success was due to their
anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive meas ...
promises. SNS announced in February 2010 that it collected over 500,000 signatures in favor of snap parliamentary elections; a month later, it claimed that the number grew to over a million signatures. After March 2010, SNS claimed that DS "was pulling the country into a deep crisis", and that in response it would hold anti-government protests in Belgrade. SNS declaratively supported the , which condemned the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica, although it abstained the vote in the National Assembly. It announced in December 2010, that it would organize protests in February 2011; NS also stated that it would join the protests. The
Government of Serbia The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, ...
stated that it would want to discuss with SNS, although SNS declined the offer. SNS handed over 304,580 signatures in favor of changing the constitution in January 2011. A series of anti-government protests that were organized by SNS began in February 2011. SNS demanded the government to call snap elections by December 2011. Initially it was held in Belgrade, although the protests spread through out other cities in Serbia in March and April 2011. Nikolić went on a
hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
in mid-April, after demanding president
Boris Tadić Boris Tadić ( sr-cyr, Борис Тадић, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012. Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology ...
to call snap parliamentary elections. During a protest in October 2011, its high-party officials occupied the building of . In the National Assembly, SNS sent an initiative to lower the amount of MPs from 250 to 125 after collecting 280,000 signatures in support of the change.


2012–2013

Back in November 2010, SNS signed a cooperation agreement with NS and two other parties, the
Movement of Socialists The Movement of Socialists ( sr, Покрет социјалиста, Pokret socijalista, PS) is a political party in Serbia. It was founded in 2008 by Aleksandar Vulin, who served as the party's president until 2022, when he was succeeded by ...
(PS) and
Strength of Serbia Movement The Strength of Serbia Movement – BK ( sr, Покрет Снага Србије – БК, Pokret Snaga Srbije, PSS–BK) is a conservative political party in Serbia. History Party was founded in 2004. Its founder and current leader of PSS- ...
(PSS). The parties later held a meeting in February 2011 and took part together in protests that were organized by SNS. The protests played a role in boosting the popularity of SNS, while opinion polls showed that SNS received had support from voters than then-ruling DS. Due to the anti-government protests, President Tadić called for general elections to be held in spring of 2012. In January 2012, it was confirmed that SNS would take part in a joint parliamentary list together with NS, PS, PSS, and eight minor parties and associations. The coalition was later dubbed "
Let's Get Serbia Moving 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 ...
". Nikolić was chosen as the presidential candidate of SNS, while Tabaković was chosen as the candidate for prime minister. During the campaign period, SNS criticized DS whilst campaigning on a pro-European platform, as well as promising to "correct the mistakes of DS".
Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
, the former
mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
, met with Nikolić and Vučić during the campaign period in Belgrade in order to consult with them. In the
parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
, the SNS-led coalition topped at the first place with 25% of the popular vote and won 73 seats in the National Assembly; SNS itself won 55 seats. Nikolić accused DS of vote fraud; during a press conference he showed a bag with about three thousand ballots that were allegedly thrown into a trash can. In the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...
, Nikolić ended up in a run-off against President Tadić; Nikolić ended up winning the second run-off. SNS did not receive the highest amount of votes in the provincial and Belgrade City Assembly elections, and was unable to form governments in Vojvodina and Belgrade. Shortly after the presidential election, Nikolić resigned as the president of SNS and was succeeded by Vučić in September 2012; Tabaković was also elected deputy president. Nikolić held consultations with parliamentary parties after the election. After the consultations,
Ivica Dačić Ivica Dačić ( sr-cyr, Ивица Дачић, ; born 1 January 1966) is a Serbian politician serving as first deputy prime minister of Serbia and minister of foreign affairs since 2022, roles which he previously served under governments of Mirk ...
, the leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS), was given the mandate to form a government. Dačić reached a deal with SNS and the
United Regions of Serbia The United Regions of Serbia ( sr, Уједињени региони Србије, Ujedinjeni regioni Srbije; abbr. УРС, URS) was a regionalist, liberal-conservative political party in Serbia. It was founded on 16 May 2010 as a political coa ...
(URS), and on 27 July the new government was sworn in. Vučić became the first deputy prime minister. After becoming the first deputy prime minister, Vučić entered into a conflict with oligarch businessman Miroslav Mišković; he claimed that Mišković allegedly "gained illegal profit" in the 2000s. Mišković was arrested in December 2012 on suspicion of corruption, although in July 2013 he was released from custody. In October 2012, it was reported that SNS had over 330,000 members. The People's Party (NP), led by former
mayor of Novi Sad This is a list of mayors of Novi Sad from 1 February 1748, when the city got royal free city status by Maria Theresa of Austria. The Mayor of Novi Sad is the head of the City of Novi Sad (the second largest city in Serbia and the administra ...
Maja Gojković Maja Gojković ( sr-Cyrl, Маја Гојковић; born 22 May 1963) is a Serbian politician serving as deputy prime minister of Serbia and minister of culture and information since 2020. A member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), she ...
, merged into SNS in December 2012. By February 2013, SNS received over 40% of support in opinion polls, while DS, now in opposition, had 13% of support.
Euractiv Euractiv (styled EURACTIV) is a pan-European news website specialised in EU policies, founded in 1999 by the French media publisher Christophe Leclercq. Its headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Brussels,with further offices in ...
reported that SNS was accused of eyeing a snap parliamentary election, although it declined that it was conducting a smear campaign. In April 2013, a majority of Main Board members voted in favor of the Brussels Agreement, a normalization agreement between Serbia and
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
. In July 2013, SNS and SPS concluded that they continue leading the government without URS; the SNS–SPS government was reshuffled in early September 2013.
Veroljub Arsić Veroljub Arsić ( sr-cyr, Верољуб Арсић; born 28 August 1969) is a politician in Serbia. He has served in the National Assembly of Serbia since 2001, originally as a member of the Serbian Radical Party and since 2008 as a member of the ...
, who served as the head of the SNS
parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliame ...
, was replaced by Zoran Babić in August 2013. A month later,
Dragan Đilas Dragan Đilas ( sr-cyr, Драган Ђилас, , born 22 February 1967) is a Serbian businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Belgrade from 2008 to 2013. From 25 November 2012 until 31 May 2014, he served as the President of the ...
, the
mayor of Belgrade The Mayor of Belgrade ( sr, Градоначелник Београда / ''Gradonačelnik Beograda'') is the head of the City of Belgrade (the capital and largest city of Serbia). The Mayor acts on behalf of the city, and performs an executive ...
, was dismissed after a
vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
that was called by SNS and DSS; SPS and the
Party of United Pensioners of Serbia A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
(PUPS) also voted in support of the vote. Guy de Launey, a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
correspondent, Dragoljub Žarković, the co-founder of the ''
Vreme ''Vreme'' (Serbian for ''Time'') is a weekly news magazine based in Belgrade, Serbia. History Launch In 1990, dissatisfied with the media climate in SR Serbia, SFR Yugoslavia's largest constituent unit, a group of liberal Serbian intellectuals, i ...
'' newspaper, and journalist Koča Pavlović, stated that Vučić held the most influence and power in the government due to his status as the president of the largest party in the coalition government.
Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...
, a non-profit research organization, noted that the efforts to curb corruption during 2013 received mixed results.


2014–2016

SNS held an assembly on 26 January 2014 during which Vučić was re-elected unopposed as the party's president. At the assembly, he proposed to "test the will of the people" and called for a snap parliamentary election. President Nikolić dissolved the National Assembly on 29 January and set the parliamentary election to be held on 16 March 2014. In February, SNS presented its ballot list under the name "Future We Believe In". Additionally, it was announced that the
Social Democratic Party of Serbia The Social Democratic Party of Serbia ( sr, Социјалдемократска партија Србије, Socijaldemokratska partija Srbije, SDPS) is a centre-left political party in Serbia. It is orientated towards social democracy. His ...
(SDPS),
Serbian Renewal Movement The Serbian Renewal Movement ( sr-cyrl, Српски покрет обнове, Srpski pokret obnove, SPO) is a liberal and monarchist political party in Serbia. History The Serbian Renewal Movement party was founded in 1990 through the merge ...
(SPO), and
Christian Democratic Party of Serbia The Christian Democratic Party of Serbia ( sr, Демохришћанска Странка Србије, Demohrišćanska Stranka Srbije; abbr. ДХСС, DHSS) was a political party in Serbia. History The party was founded in 1997 by Vladan Ba ...
(DHSS) would appear on its list, alongside NS, PS, and PSS, who appeared on the SNS list in 2012. SNS campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, although Aleksandar Pavković, a Macquarie University professor, noted that there was no evidence that the platform decreased corruption. SNS also based its platform on criticizing its opponents, especially DS. In the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won a majority of 158 seats in the National Assembly. Simultaneously, the City Assembly elections were held in Belgrade, in which the SNS-led coalition won 63 out of 110 seats. Siniša Mali, an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
nominated by SNS, was elected mayor of Belgrade on 24 April 2014. Vučić was elected and sworn in as prime minister three days later. His first cabinet was mostly composed of SNS and SPS individuals. The
United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
(USAID) noted that the SNS now had "complete political dominance" due to the status of Vučić as prime minister.
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
described the victory as an "unprecedent event". In October 2014, Radomir Nikolić, the son of President Nikolić, was brought to power in Kragujevac, the fourth largest city in Serbia by population, after successfully removing
Veroljub Stevanović Veroljub "Verko" Stevanović ( sr, Верољуб Верко Стевановић, born 17 September 1946, Kragujevac, FPR Yugoslavia) is a Serbian politician who served as the mayor of Kragujevac from 1996 to 2000 and again from 2004 to 2014. ...
from power after a vote of no confidence. By early 2015, SNS reported that it had around 500,000 members. Since coming to power, no major protests in Serbia were held until the anti-government protests in April 2015. The
Do not let Belgrade drown Do not let Belgrade drown ( sr-Cyrl, Не давимо Београд, Ne davimo Beograd, NDB) is a green political organisation in Serbia. A grassroots movement formed in 2014, aimed at criticising and reforming the current political system t ...
(NDB) initiative, which headed the protests, opposed the
Belgrade Waterfront Belgrade Waterfront, known in Serbian as Belgrade on Water ( sr, / ), is an urban renewal development project headed by the Government of Serbia aimed at improving Belgrade's cityscape and economy by revitalizing the Sava amphitheater, a negle ...
, an urban development project headed by the
Government of Serbia The Government of Serbia ( sr, Влада Србије, Vlada Srbije), formally the Government of the Republic of Serbia ( sr, Влада Републике Србије, Vlada Republike Srbije), commonly abbreviated to Serbian Government ( sr, ...
; one of its representatives described it as a "big scam". The project previously received criticism, with Milan Nešić, a
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
journalist, describing it as a "pre-election trick". The protests lasted up to September 2015. After the cuts in public sector, protests were also held in December 2015. Freedom House criticized the SNS-led government by stating that it displayed "a sharp intolerance for any kind of criticism either from opposition parties, independent media, civil society, or even ordinary citizens". In January 2016, Vučić announced that parliamentary elections will be held in April 2016. ''
Der Standard ''Der Standard'' is an Austrian daily newspaper published in Vienna. History and profile ''Der Standard'' was founded by Oscar Bronner as a financial newspaper and published its first edition on 19 October 1988. German media company Axel Sprin ...
'', an Austrian daily newspaper, stated that "he učićnow has an absolute majority, and he wants to insure it for the next four years". Vučić stated that the reason behind the snap election was to "ensure a fresh mandate to push European Union accession". SNS began its campaign in late February 2016. In early March, President Nikolić dissolved the National Assembly and scheduled the
parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
for 24 April 2016. This time, SNS took part under the "Serbia Is Winning" banner, while individuals from the
Party of United Pensioners of Serbia A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a Hospitality, host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will oft ...
(PUPS) and Serbian People's Party (SNP) were also on its ballot list, including individuals from parties that took part with SNS in the 2014 election. It was also reported that
Aleksandar Martinović Aleksandar Martinović ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Мартиновић; born 15 June 1976) is a Serbian lawyer and politician serving as minister of public administration and local self-government since 2022. A member of the Serbian Progres ...
would replace Babić as the head of the SNS parliamentary group. During the campaign, SNS expressed its support for the European Union and
military neutrality A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Secu ...
, while maintaining cooperation with
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, and ensuring economic reforms, and a Western-type economy. The
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
(OSCE) noted that billboards and posters that promoted SNS were dominant during the campaign. In the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won a majority of 131 seats in the National Assembly. Simultaneously, the provincial election was held in Vojvodina, in which SNS won 63 out of 120 seats in the Assembly of Vojvodina.
Florian Bieber Florian Bieber (born 4 October 1973) is a Luxembourgian political scientist, historian and professor working on inter-ethnic relations, ethnic conflict and nationalism, focusing primarily on Balkans. Education In 1991–1992, he studied Hist ...
, a Luxembourgian political scientist, noted that "the landslide victory did not come as a surprise". DS, DSS, the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...
(SDS), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina The League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina ( sr-cyrl, Лига социјалдемократа Војводине, Liga socijaldemokrata Vojvodine, LSV) is an autonomist political party in Serbia. Its current leader since 19 November 2022 is Bo ...
(LSV),
Dveri The Serbian Movement "Dveri" ( sr-Cyr, Српски покрет Двери, Srpski pokret Dveri), commonly just known as Dveri (), is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Serbia. It its currently led by Boško Obradović, ...
, and Enough is Enough (DJB), all whom were in opposition to SNS, claimed that SNS allegedly stole the elections. Shortly after the election, opposition parties organized a protest in Belgrade. Another series of anti-government protests began in Belgrade in May 2016 after the demolition of private objects in
Savamala Savamala ( sr-cyr, Савамала) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipalities of Savski Venac and Stari Grad. Location Savamala is located south of the Kalemegdan fortress and t ...
, an urban neighborhood in Belgrade where the Belgrade Waterfront project is supposed to be built. The NDB initiative organized the protests which ended up lasting until October 2016. Vučić was re-elected president of SNS in May 2016.
Igor Mirović Igor Mirović ( sr-cyr, Игор Мировић; born 12 July 1968) is a Serbian politician, economist and poet serving as the current President of the Government of Vojvodina The President of the Government of Vojvodina serves as the head o ...
was elected president of the Government of Vojvodina in June 2016. Vučić was given the mandate by President Nikolić to form a government, which he did with SPS in August 2016. Ana Brnabić, an openly
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
and independent politician, was appointed minister in the Vučić's cabinet. In December 2016, Vučić affirmed that he would not run in the 2017 presidential election, although he also stated that the main body of SNS would decide its presidential candidate. Freedom House noted that "Serbia's democracy further deteriorated" in 2016.


2017–2019

In January 2017, President Nikolić stated that he would want to run for re-election, although ministers such as
Zorana Mihajlović Zorana Mihajlović ( sr-cyr, Зорана Михајловић, ; born 5 May 1970) is a Serbian politician who served as deputy prime minister of serbia from 2014 to 2022 and as minister of mining and energy from 2012 to 2014, and again from 20 ...
and
Aleksandar Vulin Aleksandar Vulin ( sr-cyr, Александар Вулин; born 2 October 1972) is a Serbian politician and lawyer serving as the director of the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) since 1 December 2022. Additionally, he previously served as d ...
persuaded Vučić to run instead. A month later, SNS announced Vučić as its presidential candidate. Vučić received support from the coalition partners of SNS, and SPS,
Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians The Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians ( hu, Vajdasági Magyar Szövetség; sr, Савез војвођанских Мађара, Savez vojvođanskih Mađara; abbr. СВМ, SVM, or VMSZ) is a regionalist political party in Serbia representing th ...
(VMSZ), and
United Serbia United Serbia ( sr, Јединствена Србија, Jedinstvena Srbija, JS) is a national-conservative political party in Serbia. History It was founded on 15 February 2004, as a split from the far-right Party of Serbian Unity with Dragan ...
(JS). During the campaign period, it was reported that major newspapers, such as ''
Alo! ''Alo!'' is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Belgrade, Serbia. Launched by Ringier AG (owners of another Serbian daily ''Blic'') on October 15, 2007, ''Alo!'' attempts to establish itself on the saturated Serbian daily tabloid market thro ...
'', '' Blic'', '' Večernje novosti'', ''
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 ...
'', '' Dnevnik'', ''
Kurir ''Kurir'' is daily tabloid newspaper published in Belgrade, Serbia. History ''Kurir'' first issue appeared at the news stands on 6 May 2003. While Kurir's history is relatively short, it is also a checkered one. It goes back to the state of emer ...
'', and ''Srpski telegraf'', printed the campaign posters of SNS on its front pages;
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
reported it as an "unprecedented move". Vučić campaigned on raising living standards, selling or shutting down state-owned companies, and austerity cuts.
Robert Creamer Robert Watts Creamer (July 14, 1922 – July 18, 2012) was an American sportswriter and editor. He spent most of his career at ''Sports Illustrated''. Biography Creamer was born on July 14, 1922 in Bronxville, New York He attended Fordha ...
, an American political consultant, criticized him and stated that "Vučić would be in a position to select a prime minister of his choice, ndcontrol the judiciary, and the election apparatus — eliminating all checks and balances in the Serbian government". In the presidential election, Vučić won 55% of the popular vote in the first run-off. Shortly after his election, mass protests erupted in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, and other locations across Serbia. The protests lasted until Vučić's inauguration, which occurred on 31 May 2017. In June 2017, Vučić proposed Brnabić as prime minister. She was sworn in on 29 June 2017. ''Radio Free Europe'' noted that, even though the presidency is a ceremonial role, Vučić has retained ''de facto'' power of SNS, while the Belgrade Centre for Human Rights noted that the political system ''de facto'' turned into a presidential one, similar to the era of
Slobodan Milošević Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
. , a journalist for '' Danas'', reported that by October 2017 SNS was close to reaching 600,000 members. SNS announced its participation in the 2018 Belgrade City Assembly election under the "Because We Love Belgrade" banner in January 2018. Zoran Radojičić, a pediatric surgeon, was chosen to be the first candidate on its ballot list. At a conference in
Belgrade Youth Center Belgrade Youth Center ( sr, Dom omladine Beograda; abbr. DOB) is a cultural center in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, dedicated primarily to youth. History At the corner of the ''Dečanska'' and ''Makedonska'' streets, where the youth cente ...
in February 2018, its ballot list candidates and election program were presented. In the City Assembly election, SNS won 64 seats. , a non-governmental organization, noted that opposition politicians were mostly criticized by SNS during the campaign period. Radojičić replaced Mali and was appointed mayor in June 2018. In July 2018, political scientist Boban Stojanović noted that SNS had around 700,000 members. A series of anti-government protests began in December 2018 after an assault on
Borko Stefanović Borko Stefanović (born 5 February 1974, born as Borislav Stefanović) is a Serbian politician who was the leader of the Levica Srbije political party. Prior to founding Levica Srbije, he was active in the Democratic Party in Serbia, with whom h ...
, an opposition politician. The demonstrators criticized Vučić and SNS, demanded the end to political violence and stifling media freedom and freedom of expression. The protests, which were attended by tens of thousands, continued into 2019. In January 2019, SNS organized a meeting in support of
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
's visit to Belgrade. A month later, SNS launched a campaign named "Future of Serbia", in contrary to the anti-government protests. Journalist Slobodan Georgiev noted that the campaign effectively silenced the protests. Prime Minister Brnabić joined SNS in October 2019.


2020–present

In January 2020, Vučić announced that 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 ...
would be lowered to 3-percent. Critics saw this as a way that SNS would allow the "controlled opposition" to enter the National Assembly. SNS announced in February 2020 that it would take part under the "For Our Children" banner in the 2020 parliamentary election, stating that more than 50 percent of its ballot list would be comprised of young people. The SNS-led ballot list was headed over to the Republic Electoral Commission (RIK) on 5 March, although the government postponed the election on 16 March due to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia. Initially supposed to be held on 26 April, the election was postponed to 21 June 2020. In the same month, the anti-government protests which began in December 2018, formally ended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
Alliance for Serbia The Alliance for Serbia ( sr, Савез за Србију, Savez za Srbiju) was a major extra-parliamentary catch-all opposition alliance of political parties in Serbia that was founded in September 2018. The alliance boycotted the 2020 parliam ...
(SzS), the major opposition alliance, announced that it would Election boycott, boycott the election, claiming that the elections "would not be free and fair". Freedom House stated in May 2020 that it labeled Serbia as a
hybrid regime A hybrid regime is a mixed type of political system often created as a result of an incomplete transition from an authoritarian regime to a democratic one (or vice versa). Hybrid regimes are categorized as combine autocratic features with de ...
, citing alleged "increased state capture, abuse of power, and terror tactics" by Vučić. In the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won a
supermajority A supermajority, supra-majority, qualified majority, or special majority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of more than one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority ru ...
of 188 seats; alongside SNS, the SPS–JS coalition and the
Serbian Patriotic Alliance The Serbian Patriotic Alliance ( sr-cyrl, Српски патриотски савез, Srpski patriotski savez, SPAS; ) was a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Serbia. It was led by Aleksandar Šapić. It was ...
(SPAS) only crossed the electoral threshold. Vučić described it as "historical moment". Journalist Milenko Vasović saw the SNS election campaign as a promotion of Vučić and not the party itself. Simultaneously, a 2020 Vojvodina provincial election, provincial election was held in Vojvodina in which SNS also won a supermajority of 76 seats. CeSID concluded that the election was met with "minimum democratic standards", while OSCE characterized that the election was met with
political polarization Political polarization (spelled ''polarisation'' in British English) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes. Most discussions of polarization in political science consider polarization in the ...
. Bieber described it as a pyrrhic victory for SNS, and noted that the incoming legislation would not include opposition parties. Although, journalist Patrick Kingsley (journalist), Patrick Kingsley stated that the election could allow "for greater momentum in peace talks with Kosovo". After gaining a supermajority in the National Assembly, the Government of Serbia submitted a constitutional amendment regarding judiciary. In early July 2020, a series of 2020 Serbian protests, protests and riots against Vučić and the announced tightening of measures due to the spread of COVID-19 began in Belgrade. It was reported that demonstrators took a peaceful approach in the protests, although that a group of Far-right politics in Serbia, far-right demonstrators also stormed the House of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, building of the National Assembly; the police shortly after cleared the building, although the clashes continued outside. The government responded by taking a violent approach towards the protests. The protests lasted until the first constitutive session of the post-2020 election legislation, which occurred on 3 August 2020. After the first constitutive session, the SNS parliamentary group changed its name to "Aleksandar Vučić – For Our Children". In September 2020, it was announced that SNS had around 750,000 members. Prime Minister Brnabić was re-elected in October 2020, while her Second cabinet of Ana Brnabić, new cabinet was mostly composed of members of SNS, SPS, and SPAS. The National Assembly adopted the proposal for constitutional changes in December 2020. Vučić announced in early May 2021 that he submitted a proposal to merge SPAS into SNS. Aleksandar Šapić, the leader of SPAS, stated that he supported the proposal. The merge was completed on 26 May, after which Šapić was appointed vice president of SNS, while SPAS MPs joined SNS in June 2021. Dialogues to improve election conditions between government and opposition parties, in which SNS took part, began in May 2021 and lasted until late October 2021. In June 2021, newspaper ''Danas'' reported that SNS had over 800,000 members. A series of
environmental protests The Environmental Justice Atlas documented 3,100 environmental conflicts worldwide as of April 2020 and emphasised that many more conflicts remained undocumented. Climate * Global Climate March * Global Day of Action * March Against Monsa ...
began in September 2021 due to the concerns about the Project Jadar, a lithium mining project headed by Rio Tinto (corporation), Rio Tinto, an Anglo-Australian mining company. The Government of Serbia supported the Project Jadar, whilst SNS also officials criticized the protests. The protests lasted until 15 February 2022. The Government of Serbia adopted changes for the law on referendum and people's initiative on 10 November 2021. The changes received criticism due to the abolishment of the 50% turnout that was needed for referendums to pass. At the end of the November 2021, Vučić was re-elected president of SNS. In January 2022, a 2022 Serbian constitutional referendum, constitutional referendum was held. A majority of 60% of voters voted in favor of proposed changes, an option which was supported by SNS. In preparation for the 2022 Serbian general election, 2022 general election, SNS and SPS announced that they would not run on a joint parliamentary list and that SPS would support the presidential candidate of SNS. Additionally, SNS announced Šapić as its mayoral candidate for the 2022 Belgrade City Assembly election, Belgrade City Assembly election. The National Assembly was dissolved in February 2022 in order to call snap parliamentary elections; presidential elections were called next month. In the 2022 election, SNS took part under the "Together We Can Do Everything" banner, while Vučić was announced as the presidential candidate of SNS in March 2022. Transparency Serbia noted that SNS had "a significant domination in the media" during the campaign period, while CRTA alleged that the campaign period was met in worse conditions than in 2020. In the presidential election, Vučić was re-elected after winning 60% of the popular vote, while in the parliamentary election, the SNS-led coalition won 120 seats. In the Belgrade City Assembly election, the SNS-led coalition won 48 seats. Šapić was elected mayor of Belgrade in June 2022. Milenko Jovanov was appointed head of the SNS parliamentary group in August 2022, replacing Martinović, who was its head since 2016. Later that month, Prime Minister Brnabić was given another mandate to form a government. The composition of her Third cabinet of Ana Brnabić, third cabinet was announced on 23 October, while the cabinet was sworn in on 26 October.


Political positions


Domestic policies

Following the establishment of SNS,
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 serve ...
denounced his previous support for the establishment of Greater Serbia, while
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
stated that SNS would continue the accession of Serbia to the European Union. SNS declared its main tasks to be "fight against corruption and the realization of the rule of law", while describing itself as a "state-building party". Its white paper (election program) was published in October 2011. Jovan Teokarević, an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences, described their ideological orientation as a "complete u-turn" in comparison with the Serbian Radical Party (SRS). Bojana Barlovac, a ''Balkan Insight'' journalist, stated that SNS "became much closer to DS on its policy profile", although in 2013, she described the party as conservative. Slobodan Antonić, a political scientist and sociologist, stated in 2014 that "ideological differences between DS and SNS are now non-existent". A year later, Antonić described SNS as a "party of personal power one leader and political marketing as its only true ideology". SNS has been described as a
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...
party. Biserko stated that SNS is populist and that it built its ideological image on "social dissatisfaction". Dan Bilefsky, a ''New York Times'' journalist, also described the party as populist. Zoran Lutovac, a political scientist and future president of DS, described SNS as populist. He also added that SNS does not have a "coherent ideology" and added that its coalition "includes everyone, regardless of its ideology". Scholars and political scientists such as Justin Vaïsse, Chiara Milan, and
Florian Bieber Florian Bieber (born 4 October 1973) is a Luxembourgian political scientist, historian and professor working on inter-ethnic relations, ethnic conflict and nationalism, focusing primarily on Balkans. Education In 1991–1992, he studied Hist ...
also agreed that SNS is populist. The
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
(OSCE) described SNS as populist as early as in January 2009. Sociologist Jovo Bakić described SNS as a "pragmatically re-profiled" and moderately conservative party, and compared its development to Gianfranco Fini's projects in Italy. Additionally, he stated that "since its foundation SNS had wanted to remodel itself as a conservative party". Scholars and journalists had also described SNS as conservative, liberal-conservative, and national-conservative. Marko Stojić, a Metropolitan University Prague lecturer, stated that "even though SNS claimed it was conservative" it cannot be described as conservative due to its pragmatic and weak ideological profile. Zoran Stojiljković and Dušan Spasojević, professors at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences, noted that following the formation of SNS, the Serbian political system acquired characteristics of moderate pluralism, and described SNS as a catch all party, catch-all party. Additionally, they noted that SNS was formed as a
centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
party, although that its image shifted to the Centrism, centre after the 2012 elections. Stojiljković and Spasojević also noted that SNS showed "clear populistic elements", and that "populist ideas are integral and important for its ideological profile". ''Radio Free Europe'' also described the party as centrist and catch-all, although it noted that "some analysts also stated that the party is right-leaning and conservative". Bieber described SNS
centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...
but also as "non-ideological". ''
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
'' noted that SNS "does not have a clear programmatic nor ideological vision", and added that SNS functions as a catch-all party. Stojić described SNS as a "typical catch-all party". Bojan Klačar of CeSID stated that SNS "espouses a right-of-centre ideology", but stated that "more importantly, SNS is a catch-all party" that captures a wide variety of opinions, and that SNS can be also considered to be Liberalism, liberal and pro-European. Political scientists Đorđe Pavićević and Boban Stojanović, journalist Ivan Radovanović, and authors Aleksandar Marinković and Novak Gajić also described SNS as a catch-all party. Additionally, authors had described SNS as centrist, and centre-right; some also described it as Right-wing politics, right-wing. SNS is economically
neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent f ...
, and it advocates for austerity, market economy reforms,
privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
, reduced Government spending, spending, and
liberalization Liberalization or liberalisation (British English) is a broad term that refers to the practice of making laws, systems, or opinions less severe, usually in the sense of eliminating certain government regulations or restrictions. The term is used m ...
of labour laws. Stojiljković and Spasojević noted that SNS already displayed their neoliberal position during the 2012 election period, and that SNS campaigned on significantly reducing subsidies, but also the number of MPs, ministries, agencies, institutes, and the state administration. Additionally, Stojiljković described its position as "neoliberal populist". SNS has enacted Centralized government, centralization policies, especially in Vojvodina. During the 2015 European migrant crisis, the SNS-led government did not impose any restrictions on migrants while crossing into the European Union, which author Vedran Džihić as a pragmatic move. Stojić described the move as "populist-Euroenthusiastic". Since coming to power in 2012, observers have assessed that Serbia has suffered from
democratic backsliding Democratic backsliding, also called autocratization, is the decline in the democratic characteristics of a political system, and is the opposite of democratization. Democracy is the most popular form of government, with more than half of the nat ...
into
authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voti ...
, followed by a decline in
media freedom Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...
and
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...
. A research that was conducted by ''Cenzolovka'' in 2015 noted that SNS used media outlets to further their influence. Additionally, SNS was accused of paying internet trolls to praise the government and condemn those who think the opposite on internet forums and social networks. In 2020, Twitter removed 8,558 reportedly fake accounts that promoted SNS and Vučić, whilst criticizing the opposition. In 2021, the V-Dem Institute, categorized Serbia as an electoral autocracy; the institute also stated that the standards of judiciary and electoral integrity had declined in the past ten years. According to the
Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wi ...
's report from 2022, SNS has "eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition, and civil society organizations". Additionally, it reported that internet portals close to the government that "manipulate facts and slander independent media" continued to receive public funds on state and local levels. As a response, Vučić and Brnabić criticized Freedom House's report. In a
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
interview, Vladimir Orlić also stated that "Serbia is ranked higher than some EU countries on the freedom index".


Foreign policies

Journalists have described SNS as pro-European. Biserko stated that its support for European Union is rather a "declarative support", and not a substantial one. Stojić described SNS as "soft Euroenthusiast". Additionally, Vladimir Goati, a political scientist, described the position of SNS towards the European Union rather as pragmatic, than ideological, while economic anthropologist Jovana Diković described SNS as "euro-pragmatic". In a 2014 report, Freedom House noted that the SNS-led government advanced Serbia's efforts regarding the European Union. Dragan Đukanović, a Belgrade Faculty of Political Sciences professor, noted that SNS received support from the U.S. and European Union due to its pro-European agenda. Sonja Biserko, a human rights activist, argued in 2013 that SNS declaratively adopted the agenda of DS and the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) regarding the views on the European Union. ''Jacobin (magazine), Jacobin'', an History of the socialist movement in the United States, American socialist magazine, described SNS as a fusion of "a Nationalism, nationalist, Russophilia, pro-Russian wing and a modernizing, pro-European wing", while describing Nikolić as being represented in the pro-Russian wing, and Vučić in the pro-European wing, although that the both wings agree on neoliberal austerity. A European Parliament-published study noted that the SNS-led government continued the "four-pillar policy", a policy that seeks cooperation with European Union, United States, Russia, and China, which was introduced by
Boris Tadić Boris Tadić ( sr-cyr, Борис Тадић, ; born 15 January 1958) is a Serbian politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2004 to 2012. Born in Sarajevo, he graduated from the University of Belgrade with a degree in psychology ...
, the former president of Serbia and leader of DS. SNS supports
military neutrality A neutral country is a sovereign state, state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, Collective Secu ...
and it opposes joining
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
, although Serbia has continued militarily cooperating with NATO.


Organization

SNS has a presidency which acts as the operational and political body of the party; it is composed of 30 members. It also has a main board and an executive board. The current president of SNS is
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 serve ...
, who was elected in 2012 and most recently re-elected in 2021; Jorgovanka Tabaković is the deputy president. Aleksandar Šapić, Ana Brnabić, Marko Đurić, Miloš Vučević, Nevena Đurić, Siniša Mali, and Vladimir Orlić are the current vice-presidents of SNS; all of them were elected in 2021. Milenko Jovanov has been the head of the SNS parliamentary group since 2022. The headquarters of SNS are located at Palmira Toljatija 5/3 in Belgrade. SNS publishes ''SNS Informator'', the party's newspaper. It also has a Youth wing, youth and women's wing. SNS also operates the , which it formed in 2019. SNS has received most of its support because of Vučić; an opinion poll conducted by Faktor Plus in December 2014 noted that 80% of SNS voters would not vote for SNS if someone else than Vučić was the head of the party. With at least 800,000 members as of 2021, SNS is the largest political party in Europe by membership as of 2019.


Foreign cooperation

SNS representatives in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe joined the European People's Party (EPP) in 2013. In the same year, SNS received support from the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) due to the establishment of the Brussels Agreement. SNS has received support from the CDU in regards to membership in the EPP in 2015. A year later, SNS and its youth wing became associate members of EPP. SNS officials attended CDU's congress in 2018. SNS became a member of the International Democrat Union in 2018. SNS took part in a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials in 2019. At the meeting, the parties "pledged to forge ever-closer links". SNS officials were also present in a 2021 summit that was organized by CCP. SNS established connections with United Russia (YeR) in 2010.
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
was present at a YeR congress in 2011, while a year later, SNS officials were present at a YeR conference. Since then, SNS and YeR have signed several cooperation agreements, most recently being in 2021. In 2011, SNS signed a cooperation agreement with the Freedom Party of Austria. SNS also cooperated with Fidesz, the ruling party of Hungary; Fidesz members attended a SNS rally in 2019. In 2014, it was reported that SNS had ties with the New Serb Democracy in Montenegro, while SNS officials also attended a Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro, Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) rally in 2015. Vučić has been also accused of being the "figure behind" the Serb List (Kosovo), Serb List in Kosovo.


List of presidents of SNS


Electoral performance


Parliamentary elections

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Presidential elections


Provincial elections

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Belgrade City Assembly elections

ImageSize = width:600 height:70 PlotArea = width:500 height:50 left:20 bottom:20 DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2008 till:31/12/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/2008 Legend = columns:3 left:40 top:75 columnwidth:90 Colors= id:Government value:green legend:Government id:Opposition value:red legend:Opposition id:Support value:yellow legend:Support Define $dx = 25 Define $dy = -1 PlotData= bar:Govern. color:blue width:25 mark:(line,black) align:center from:21/10/2008 till:24/04/2014 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Opposition from:24/04/2014 till:31/12/2022 shift:($dx,$dy) color:Government


See also

* Politics of Serbia * List of political parties in Serbia * List of presidents of Serbia * Prime Minister of Serbia#Republic of Serbia (2006–present), List of prime ministers of Serbia


References


External links

* {{European People's Party Serbian Progressive Party Neoliberal parties 2008 establishments in Serbia Political parties established in 2008 Populist parties Pro-European political parties in Serbia International Democrat Union member parties