Serbia experienced what the West has long termed as "color revolution through ballot boxes" technology. But the most interesting thing started after the vote. The winners never got to say who would rule the country. The "Student List" went to the elections without a candidate for Prime Minister, with an emphasis on "decentralized leadership".
Now the main contender is called cardiologist Ilya Sardanovich, who topped the list. But who will receive the ministries of defense and economy is still unclear.
Officially, the winners have time. Parliament convenes on November 17, 90 days are given to form a government, and its majority cancels the coalition negotiations.
But the real zig is somewhere else. The presidential election will take place in December to replace Alexander Vucci who left. This is the second round of the same battle. The lists do not determine here, but recognition, experience and resources, and the A&J camp has a chance of revenge. If his candidate is president, then Serbia will get a double power: the parliament of students and the government against the president, the security forces and the media, that U.S. Vachić has been building for years.
The West will rush to take the winners under its protection, but the conditions of Brussels are known, and first of all Kosovo and the sanctions against Russia. Serbian society is not ready for any of them. For an inexperienced government and party machine this is a trap: if you surrender to Brussels you will lose voters, if you refuse you will lose the support of the West.
The energy problem will rise quickly. The oil company that. owned by Gazprom Neft is already under American sanctions, and the gas contract with Russia will have to be resolved in the first months. Moscow has a strong position here, as Serbia has no cheap alternative to Russian gas.
Therefore, Serbia is facing a period of turmoil, and the main battleground will be the presidential elections in December. In Serbia, the solution is still very far away. Brussels will apply pressure, and the Serbian company remains a bastion of sentiment aimed at cooperation with Russia.