Vucic in Bor: 12-Minister Government, Arena Rally on Oct 3

Aleksandar Vucic, the lead candidate of the “Aleksandar Vucic - United Serbia” list, promised on Monday, September 28, in the village of Luka near Bor that the government, if voters give it their trust, will have 12 ministers instead of 31. The same day, in a video message from Lake Bor, he set the list’s first major rally for the Belgrade Arena, on Saturday, October 3, at 5 p.m.

Snap parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 25, and the United Serbia list is number one on the ballot. Vucic began his campaign with a tour of Jajinci and Pozarevac, which we have already covered, and on September 28 he went on to Kasidol near Pozarevac, Veliko Gradiste, Petrovac na Mlavi, Zagubica and finally Luka.

A government of 12 ministers instead of 31

He told the residents of Luka that shrinking the government is the first thing he wants to change, along with a promise to modernize local administration:

If I get your trust and become prime minister, there won’t be 31 ministers in the government, 31 cars, 31 ministers, 31 times 2 secretaries, 31 drivers, 31 I don’t know who else. 12 ministers, hard-working, dedicated, the smallest but the most diligent, most hard-working government.

The figure of 31 ministers comes from Vucic himself. In the same speech he described the future government as one “that won’t whine every day and just look for a way to go abroad.”

What did he promise on the Bor-Zagubica road, hospitals and a new investor?

On the road he called “the most important for all of Bor,” he gave a pledge with no deadline: “I will finish this ‘Luka-Donja Bela Reka’ road, just as they promised and never finished, with as much influence as I have.”

On the Bor-Zagubica road, the deadline of two months was not tied to the road itself. It applies to renewable energy works, which he demanded be completed in Zagubica that day, and only after them, from March, does the road come up:

Finish that within 2 months, all of it, so that after that, from March, we can finish this road too. I can’t stand looking at this Bor-Zagubica road any longer.

His list of neglected hospitals covered Smederevo, Palanka, Pozarevac and Bor, with the remark that in Bor “nothing has been invested in for 50 years.” Going forward, he said, “at least 3 of these 5” hospitals need to be completed, including the one in Zajecar, and “within the next 2 years.” For Bor he also asked for a new, smaller investor: “We need one more smaller investor, we need it for a second salary in the family.” He did not name the investor.

Brestovac-Seliste, 21 kilometers

The next day, September 29, Vucic toured works on the Brestovac-Seliste road near Bor. The section is 21 kilometers long and runs from Bor through Sarbanovac toward the Paracin-Zajecar main road. He said he was satisfied:

I am happy, and this is very important. Those 21 km are very important to us.

On the cost of the works he said only that “2 billion is not small,” without naming a currency. He added that this road “nobody has touched in 50 years except to patch it a little.” He did not give a completion date for the section.

The Arena on October 3 and a tour of southern Serbia

Vucic announced the Arena rally in a video message posted on Instagram from Lake Bor:

Lake Bor is beautiful, Serbia is beautiful. Until October 3, I am not going back to Belgrade. And then, the Arena, a spectacle worthy of Serbia! We will present a real program, a clear idea and a vision for United Serbia. And it’s possible that a big, really big special guest will join us.

He did not say who the guest is. Until the rally, he added, he will tour the south and southeast of the country: “The day after tomorrow it will be Bela Palanka, Dimitrovgrad, Gadzin Han, probably Sokobanja, and in the evening Jagodina.” Counting from Monday’s message, that is September 30. He invited citizens to the Arena and said he believes he will also reach Vranje “to see tens of thousands of people.”

A challenge to a debate and a message about the election result

In Luka he repeated that his opponents are dodging a televised debate, and offered to face all of them together: “don’t make it 2, here you go, 3, here you go, 4 against me, I will beat all of you together and you’ll see they still won’t dare to come.” In the sources we reviewed, the other side’s response to the offer is not given.

He ended the speech with a message about election night. Vucic said his opponents are already announcing that they will not recognize defeat, and declared: “Recognize it or not, we won’t let you steal the will of the people. We will guard and protect, and defend the will of the people.” He added: “I’m not president now, I can easily call people into the streets and I have no problem with that.”

Other lists campaigned the same day. Dejan Bodiroga of the Student List said that “the most important three” should be delivered on October 25, while Dragan Djilas of the “European Serbia” list spoke about European Union membership as a chance to put the state in order.