Panel debate on Djindjic: He imbued Serbian society with energy

They assessed that Djindic and Serbia’s incumbent President Aleksandar Vucic are “two different worlds.”

“I am sorry that there we did not have a little more understanding that some things could not change faster, because society was completely devastated,” School of Dramatic Arts professor Milena Dragicevic Sesic said, noting that it was clear after Djindjic's assassination 21 years ago that nothing in Serbia would be the same again.

She recalled that, not long before he died, Djindic said: “If anyone thinks that they will stop the implementation of reform by eliminating me, then they are badly mistaken, because I am not the system.” She said there is still awareness of the need to first build a system in the country, but added that political elites believe that authoritarianism, rather than the political and legal system, is the guarantor of the future.

Policy Center director Dragan Popovic stressed that, colloquially speaking, the policy of the Radicals was contrary to how Djindjic viewed the past, present and future and added that Vucic has destroyed the country's institutions, but also politics as such, which is why educated people see politics as something they do not want to get involved in.

The panel debate on the 21st anniversary of Djindjic's assassination was organized by the New Optimism and Civic Initiative.