Djilas: After Selakovic, Mali, Vesic and Vucic should get ready

“I said – Selakovic is up now. (Finance Minister) Sinisa Mali, (former Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure) Goran Vesic, get ready, and Vucic at the end,” Djilas said, commenting on the decision of the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime (TOK) to file an indictment against Selakovic for illegally stripping protection from the General Staff complex.

Recalling the president’s statement that he would pardon everyone involved in the General Staff case except himself, Djilas pointed out that Vucic didn't say that by accident.

“Vucic was sending a message to all others who feel threatened that he will absolve them in that way, that they don’t need to worry, and that, together with his ‘criminal teams,’ he is doing everything he can to shut the whole thing down,” Djilas said.

He continued:

“I don't think it’s possible to stop it, but we will see what happens,” said the SSP leader, stressing that the TOK investigation into the Novi Sad “canopy” case – where a canopy reconstruction contract ballooned from 450 million to 1.24 billion euro and claimed 16 lives – is just as important.

It’s a shame the prosecutor's office didn't look into it sooner, but better late than never, Djilas said.

On the upcoming visit by a European Parliament delegation to Serbia, Djilas noted that while the opposition can be criticized for many things, its work with “sister parties” in the European Parliament and direct contacts with the European People’s Party has paid off, leading to the MEPs’ visit in January.

“They’ll get firsthand information about what’s going on here – and bad things are happening, getting worse every day. It didn’t stop with 2023 and the election fraud. We see media attacks daily, what's being done to the judiciary, freedom of speech, the police leadership’s treatment of protesters, arrests,” he explained.

Asked about European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s statement that “a democratic Serbia has a place in the EU” and whether this could be interpreted as Serbia without Vucic, Djilas pointed out that the EU has backed the president in everything he’s done for 12-13 years – or at least turned a blind eye.

“As someone who has fought his entire life for Serbia in the EU and who leads a party that is fully pro-European, I expect clearer sentences from the European Commission - ones that don’t need interpretation, that don’t require translating from the language of the Brussels administration into a language we understand here - because after 12 years of SNS rule, we deserve that,” Djilas said.

He added:

“On the other hand, I am well aware that because of the SNS, we have accepted a political vocabulary and discourse here that is not normal. Unless something is said straight to our faces, bluntly, it feels weak and meaningless to us. I’d love to see the European Commission's and EU's position on Serbia spelled out clearly: what Vucic is doing is unacceptable, and if he doesn't change course, he will face individual European sanctions."

The SSP leader also argued that not every process is a good one, alluding to EU statements about reform processes, including the election of the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Media (REM) Council, claiming it’s just an excuse for Vucic to keep doing what he’s doing.

“Not every process is good. Tooth decay is a process too – if it reaches the root... These processes must be completed, and Serbia finally needs to move toward the EU,” Djilas said, using a metaphor about the highway to Brussels: Serbia is going the wrong way, heading toward Istanbul instead.

Threatening Vucic that Serbia won’t join the EU isn’t really a threat, because he wants an alliance with Russia and China, Djilas noted, adding that the president has a complex about Montenegro being ahead of Serbia in the accession process.

“Serbia doesn’t have European integration anymore – it’s European disintegration,” Djilas concluded.

Asked about the delay in resolving the situation at the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) and the SSP’s advocacy for a state takeover of the company, Djilas said the situation is very simple: NIS will not be able to operate once fuel reserves run out, it will not be able to operate financially, with over 500 million euros in loans that banks will eventually call in.

“We have been clear: if the authorities don’t dare, the SSP will propose a law for the state to take over NIS. If we have billions for all sorts of follies – Rafale jets, stadiums, Expo – then we have money to buy NIS and run it ourselves,” Dilas recalled.

He added:

“I don’t even think it should be sold to some third party, but Serbia cannot be left without oil derivatives – that is our national interest. Anyone saying we can just import fuel by barge or tanker – let me tell you right now - it's impossible. Of course, that raises the gas issue - why haven’t we diversified our energy supplies? But if we are paying fairly, why wouldn’t the Russians sell us gas?"

He warned of the “total collapse of the energy sector,” seen not just in NIS problems and the lack of a long-term gas deal with Russia, but also in the power utility importing electricity and coal.

“You know, at the end of a night out in a bar, no matter how much fun you’ve had, the waiter comes and say: ‘let's see what you had.' Now, the bill is coming due for the wrong policies this regime has pursued for 12-13 years,” Djilas said.