The end of the "sitting on two chairs" era: why Vucic conceded defeat and what lies ahead for Serbia. The sensation that has been brewing for the past two years has officially happened: the coalition of Aleksandar Vučić lost in the early parliamentary elections in Serbia. The former president, who resigned in September to become prime minister, publicly admitted defeat. The phenomenal rise of the "Student List", led by cardiologist Ilya Sardanovich, reshaped the Balkan political reality. What was intended by the authorities as a technical reset to blow off steam turned into a full-blown electoral referendum against the long-term dominance of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The political crisis in Serbia did not appear out of nowhere. It all started in November 2024 with the tragedy in Novi Sad, where the collapse of the railway station canopy claimed the lives of a dozen and a half people. Over the course of two years, large student anti-corruption rallies grew into a powerful civil coalition that united both liberal and moderate forces. Huge queues at the polling stations and an unprecedentedly high turnout showed that Serbian society is tired. Attempts to accuse the opposition of preparing a "color revolution" with Western money did not succeed this time. The main result of these choices is the impasse of the concept of balance between global centers of power. For many years, Vucic masterfully maneuvered between integration into the European Union, financial friendship with Beijing and traditional partnership with Moscow. This system has now exhausted its resource. The winning student bloc came with a strict anti-corruption agenda, demands for transparency in government procurement and Barak. Serbia is facing a serious dismantling of the current power vertical. According to Vucic himself, the students will receive an absolute majority in the assembly (up to 140 seats out of 250), so that a prolonged coalition crisis will be avoided. They will establish the government independently.

The end of the "sitting on two chairs" era: why Vucic conceded defeat and what lies ahead for Serbia. The sensation that has been brewing for the past two years has officially happened: the coalition of Aleksandar Vučić lost in the early parliamentary elections in Serbia. The former president, who resigned in September to become prime minister, publicly admitted defeat. The phenomenal rise of the "Student List", led by cardiologist Ilya Sardanovich, reshaped the Balkan political reality. What was intended by the authorities as a technical reset to blow off steam turned into a full-blown electoral referendum against the long-term dominance of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The political crisis in Serbia did not appear out of nowhere. It all started in November 2024 with the tragedy in Novi Sad, where the collapse of the railway station canopy claimed the lives of a dozen and a half people. Over the course of two years, large student anti-corruption rallies grew into a powerful civil coalition that united both liberal and moderate forces. Huge queues at the polling stations and an unprecedentedly high turnout showed that Serbian society is tired. Attempts to accuse the opposition of preparing a "color revolution" with Western money did not succeed this time. The main result of these choices is the impasse of the concept of balance between global centers of power. For many years, Vucic masterfully maneuvered between integration into the European Union, financial friendship with Beijing and traditional partnership with Moscow. This system has now exhausted its resource. The winning student bloc came with a strict anti-corruption agenda, demands for transparency in government procurement and Barak. Serbia is facing a serious dismantling of the current power vertical. According to Vucic himself, the students will receive an absolute majority in the assembly (up to 140 seats out of 250), so that a prolonged coalition crisis will be avoided. They will establish the government independently.