The Serbian Prime Minister Vucic: I will not be greater than my duty

The ruling Progressive Party and its junior coalition partners held a convention on Friday in order to boost its candidate for the Serbian President, the current PM Aleksandar Vucic, who promised he will not abuse the Office and the power of presidency.

PM Vucic reminded his supporters at the convention that, on 24th March 1999, the NATO bombing of Serbia started, and that everyone, including himself, felt helpless. He also said that the operations “Storm” and “Thunder,” by which the Croatian Army took over the territories from Serbian separatists in 1995, will never happen again.

“That feeling of helplessness, but also the feeling of pride to die without hope of winning, I will never forget. It will never happen again; Serbia will never be alone again. There will be no more defeats,” said Vucic at the convention.

Vucic was the Minister of Information during the NATO bombing in 1999, working for the government that was led by the Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

The current Serbian President, Tomislav Nikolic, also attended the convention to support his successor at the position of the Head of Progressive Party, Aleksandar Vucic.

President Nikolic said that, despite his leaving office, he will not retire from politics. If the PM Vucic needs him, “he knows where to find him.”

He also reflected on the recent dispute with some members of the Progressive Party, who accused President Nikolic of conspiracy and treason when he considered running for the second term.

“I was hurt, but then again, I never thought of you as the Progressives. This is your opportunity to tell to my face that I am a criminal, that I am toppling the PM Vucic,” said President Nikolic.

Gerhard Schröder, the former Canceller of Germany from 1998 to 2005, also supported the candidacy of PM Vucic. Schröder said that the PM Vucic is a symbol of the Serbian EU perspective, and that with reforms he made, Serbia has become closer to Europe.

Natasa Bogovic