Vucic: Cabinet of 12 Ministers, Resigns September 27

Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s president, confirmed on September 20 during the morning show Jutro je on Radio Belgrade’s First Program that he will resign the presidency on Sunday, September 27, once he returns from the United Nations General Assembly session in New York. He added that he wants his office in the Presidency to be empty that day, so that Ana Brnabic, the speaker of the National Assembly, can start working immediately after taking over as acting president.

“I am submitting my resignation on Sunday the 27th,” Vucic said in the Radio Belgrade interview.

Is the resignation date actually news?

Vucic first named September 27 six days earlier, on September 14, during the evening news on Pink Television. Srpske Novine reported on that announcement the very next day, September 15, in a piece titled “Vucic: new resignation date is September 27.” What the president said on September 20 was not the date itself, then, but the circumstances around it and what follows right after.

He also explained why he wants the office empty that day. According to him, the goal is for Brnabic to take over without delay, so he can start campaigning for the parliamentary election the following morning.

“Ana has to wait for empty offices, and she wants to take over the duty right away on Sunday, so that by the morning of the 28th I can already set off on the campaign trail and fight for Serbia, fight for Serbia’s future.”

The parliamentary election is set for October 25. Under the constitutional order, the role of acting president until a new head of state is elected falls to the speaker of the National Assembly, a post Brnabic currently holds.

A cabinet of at most 12 ministers

Vucic also spoke about the makeup of the future government, tying it to the outcome of the election. He said that if the list he leads wins the public’s trust, the next government would have far fewer ministers than before.

“If it happens that we win the citizens’ trust, those would be major changes: at most 12 ministers. And I am telling you now, I will do everything I can to make sure at least 50 percent of mayors and municipal presidents are replaced within three months of the government being formed.”

Explaining the announced shake-up at the local level, Vucic said the reason lies in how certain officials have treated their own voters.

“Those people did not want to listen to their fellow citizens, they thought more about themselves than about them, and that is why it is important for us to show the courage and resolve to make such changes.”

This is not the first time Vucic has announced a local-level reshuffle ahead of an election cycle, but the figure of at least 50 percent of mayors and municipal presidents appears, based on the available record, for the first time in this Radio Belgrade interview.

Defending against accusations, and plans from New York

In the same appearance, Vucic addressed accusations made against him during his term, repeating that he sees no basis for them.

“Since I haven’t stolen a single dinar, I haven’t done anything against my own country,” Vucic said, adding that he believes he served his country faithfully and honorably throughout his mandate.

The president also laid out his schedule for the coming week in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly session. He said the program includes a reception with United States President Donald Trump, and that he expects to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as well. Only after returning from New York, he repeated, will the resignation set for September 27 follow, with the campaign for the October 25 election starting the next day, September 28.

Until then, based on what the president laid out in this interview, it remains open how many of the announced figures, the 12 ministers and half of the mayors being replaced, will actually be delivered, since Vucic ties all of it to the outcome of the October 25 vote.