Chaos in Novi Sad Assembly Over SNS Councilor's Slur

A session of the Novi Sad city assembly, held on Tuesday, descended into chaos after a councilor from the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) told the opposition they had „slaughtered Serbs. The remark came during an exchange between representatives of the ruling majority and opposition councilors, was captured on video and quickly published, prompting sharp reactions.

According to the footage, the disputed statement was made at the height of an argument with an opposition councilor, at a moment when tension in the chamber was already running high. Opposition councilors immediately called on the presiding officer to react and remove the councilor from the session, but the debate, they say, was never interrupted.

What exactly happened in the chamber?

The Novi Sad assembly has in recent months become the stage for increasingly bitter confrontations, and Tuesday’s session added another incident to that list. The insulting message aimed at the opposition did not go unanswered: the clip spread rapidly, and opposition councilors described the statement as unacceptable, demanding that it be sanctioned in line with the assembly’s rules of procedure.

The opposition argued that such language has no place in an institution meant to represent all citizens of Novi Sad, regardless of how they voted. It also stressed that the chair is obliged to keep order during the session, and that any failure to react sends a message that such a tone is permitted.

For its part, the ruling party had issued no official explanation or denial regarding the footage by the time of writing. The absence of a response from the authorities further reinforced the opposition’s impression that the incident passed without consequence, while part of the public expects the assembly’s bodies to take a position on the councilors’ conduct.

It is worth recalling that local parliaments generally have procedural tools for warnings and removal from a session, but their use depends on the presiding officer and the assembly majority. That is precisely why such incidents rarely end in a formal sanction, and more often remain in the realm of political squabbling and mutual accusations.

Why this is more than a local episode

Although it was a single city assembly session, the tone of the debate reflects a broader climate in Serbian politics ahead of a new election cycle. Sharpening rhetoric, personal insults and shrinking room for reasoned debate mark both the national and the local levels of government.

Novi Sad is, moreover, a city where tensions have been heightened since the tragedy of the railway station canopy collapse, which remains the subject of political disputes and questions of responsibility. In that context, every session that turns into a clash rather than a debate on city matters takes on wider significance.

For residents, however, the essence remains: the assembly is where decisions are made about their city, its budget and everyday services, not an arena for personal scores. The question that arises is not only who said what, but whether local institutions are able to bring the debate back to the issues councilors were elected to address.

What do you think, how should a presiding officer react when a debate in the assembly turns into personal insults?