Vucic: Decision on elections or new government in next 10 days

Speaking at an emergency press conference, Vucic outlined the constitutional process ahead: “The prime minister's resignation must be confirmed by Parliament. Once confirmed, there is a 30-day deadline to elect a new government. If one is not elected by then, elections will be called.”

“It is the president’s obligation to launch the process of forming a new government. I will not avoid consultations, although I know I will only receive insults. We need to discuss whether we should move forward with forming a new government or hold elections. (Leader of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party and outgoing Prime Minister Milos) Vucevic has already launched talks with (Socialist Party of Serbia leader Ivica) Dacic, who said he is not in favor of elections. We will continue talks with others,” Vucic said in yet another of his “address to the nation” speeches.

Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic resigned on Tuesday, saying he feels objectively responsible for the attack on students that took place in Novi Sad.

The students were attacked overnight between Monday and Tuesday while putting up stickers reading “3 Months, 3 Bridges,” referencing planned protests over the November 1 incident in Novi Sad where 15 people were killed when a concrete awning collapsed at the city’s recently reconstructed main train station.

According to student accounts provided to N1, four men armed with baseball bats chased and attacked the group. One female student suffered serious injuries, including a dislocated jaw and extensive bruising, while several others sustained minor injuries.

“We received information this morning about the attack in Novi Sad and I want to clarify exactly what happened. Attacks on the (ruling Serbian Progressive) party offices have been happening for weeks, including last night, between 3 and 4 am, almost always by the same people from the same anarchist group. They started scribbling on the office window, and the guys came out, pushed them away. That was fine. What’s not fine is destroying other people’s property. Then something scandalous happened, which we don’t understand - these guys started chasing through the streets of Novi Sad those who were putting up stencils and injured a girl. She is doing well, and I hope she will be well,” Vucic said.

“The guys who did this caused great harm to the country, the party, and all of us. We have said that we are always open to dialogue. For that reason and that reason alone, we worked late into the night, and we were satisfied with the results, knowing everything was going smoothly. Then this happened. Milos wanted us to have a talk and told me that both he and the (Novi Sad) mayor should resign. It was twice as hard for me to accept that because Milos did his job well, he was always loyal to the homeland, and fought for his people. But he felt we needed to set an example of responsibility. In this country, a prime minister was killed, and the police minister didn’t resign. There was a pogrom in Kosovo, and no one resigned. Kosovo declared independence, and no one resigned. Was this fair to Milos? No, but that’s life, that’s politics. His move will go down in history as an example of responsibility. He showed that his position wasn’t more important than principles. All well-intentioned people understood that his decision last night was the right one. We fulfilled every single demand,” said Vucic.