Srdanovic: Government Must Restore Trust in Institutions
Ilija Srdanovic, top candidate of the Students Win list, pledges to defend every vote nonviolently on October 25 and names the future government's first task.
Prof. Ilija Srdanovic, a cardiologist from Novi Sad and the top candidate on the Students Win list, told the Beta news agency in an interview that he is confident of victory in the October 25 snap parliamentary election and that representatives of the student movement are ready to defend every vote nonviolently. The interview was published on September 19; the newspaper Danas carried it at 12:11 p.m., and the Moj Novi Sad portal picked it up the same day.
It is the top candidate’s first extensive public statement since the list was submitted to the Republic Election Commission (RIK). Until now, Srdanovic had mostly given brief remarks after the signatures were handed in, but in the interview with Beta he spoke at length for the first time both about his assessment of the outgoing government and about the priorities he says the next parliament will have to meet.
Assessing the Government, and Why He Is Running
Asked how he would grade the previous 14 years of rule by the Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vucic, Srdanovic said such governance does not even deserve a passing grade.
“At our Faculty of Medicine, that would be a failing grade!” Srdanovic said, adding that the student movement has no wish to further legitimize a government he described as a regime in free fall, and that it wants instead to focus on a dignified life for citizens, which he said is also the backbone of the Students’ Plan.
Explaining why he accepted the invitation to lead the list, he said it is both an honor and a duty he is not taking on lightly.
“The situation we are in leaves no room for hesitation, second-guessing or searching for the most comfortable solution.”
He added that it is the duty of all 250 candidates on the list to stand up in defense of their homeland, saying the moment Serbia is going through allows no delay.
The Future Government’s First Task
Asked what should be the priority of any government formed by the Students Win list, Srdanovic said the first step is restoring trust in institutions. He named the rule of law as a precondition for everything else, including his own field, healthcare.
As a physician and professor at the Novi Sad Faculty of Medicine, he dwelt at length on the healthcare system. He announced plans to remove party influence from the medical profession, to support young doctors who, he said, have lost hope of being able to work honestly in their field in Serbia, and to offer subsidies for practicing in rural areas along with incentives for starting a family and solving housing problems.
He also addressed accountability for the collapse of the canopy at the Novi Sad railway station, which claimed 17 casualties, 16 of them fatal. Nearly two years after the tragedy, he said, no one has yet been held accountable.
“The time is coming when justice will knock on the door of every person responsible.”
Grassroots Campaign and Signature Support
Srdanovic explained his confidence in the election outcome by pointing to the number of citizens who, he said, stood in line to sign in support of the Students’ list even before they knew who was on it.
“We know who we are fighting against, but we are ready to defend every vote in a nonviolent way.”
The list has 250 candidates, appears as number three on the ballot, and RIK confirmed 69,099 valid signatures of support.
Alongside the interview’s publication, the Students’ list presented its action plan “We Know How” on September 19, divided into 11 points and three sections: “Serbia or the Mafia,” “Knowledge Is Power” and “Serbia Grows With Us.” Stands were set up that day at several locations in Belgrade, including Ustanicka Street, Mirijevo and the Dusanovac market, from which, according to the Vozdovac Citizens’ Assembly, students had to relocate after market management moved them away. The same-day action also covered towns in central Serbia, including Kragujevac, Kraljevo, Krusevac, Paracin, Smederevo, Ljig and Pancevo. At one of the Belgrade locations, near the student stand, there was also a stand for the “United Serbia” list, gathered around the Serbian Progressive Party, which, according to a Beta report, was approached by fewer passersby than the student stand.
Srpske Novine has previously reported on the Students’ list’s bicycle tour to Kragujevac, one of the actions Srdanovic mentions in the interview as part of direct communication with citizens, bypassing public media outlets he describes as captured.
A little more than a month remains until the snap parliamentary election. That cycle will show whether the Students Win list can convert the signatures it has gathered so far into votes on October 25.
