Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who has been in power for 12 years, on Sunday, the 6th of April, nominated a politically inexperienced medical professor, Djuro Macuta, for the post of Prime Minister after the previous Prime Minister resigned amid anti-government protests, reports Reuters.
The previous Balkan government fell in March after months of protests that began in November when the roof of a railway station in Novisad collapsed, killing 16 people.
Protesters accuse the government of corruption and incompetence. The government denies these accusations and claims that Western intelligence services are supporting efforts to destabilise the country.
Vucic announced his nominee in a public address late on Sunday night, saying that Macut had until the 18th of April to propose a cabinet to form the new government.
Macut is a 62-year-old professor of endocrinology at Belgrade University and has previously supported Vucic’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
Opposition parties ridiculed Macut’s candidacy, saying he would be Vucic’s minion.
“As long as Vucic remains head of state, the prime ministerial candidate can be anyone or no one,” said Pavle Grbovic, leader of the Citizens’ Voluntary Movement.
“Knowledge about polycystic ovaries is not a reference for how to run a government, which requires a completely different kind of knowledge,” said Boris Tadic, former president and leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party.
The government-controlled parliament is expected to back Macut, who will succeed SNS leader Milos Vucevic after his resignation in March.
Protesters want an interim government to be formed before parliamentary and presidential elections in 2027.