Serbian prime minister Miloš Vucevic announced that he is resigning on Tuesday, the 28th of January, becoming the highest-ranking official to step down since anti-corruption protests swept across the country, reports Reuters and Politico.
Anti-government protests have been almost daily in Belgrade since a railway station’s roof collapsed on the 1st of November in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city, killing 15 people.
Mass protests started by students at universities have spread, with around 100 000 people taking part in one of the protests in December. Protesters, including students, teachers and other members of the public, blame corruption in the government of President Aleksandar Vucic.
Vucevic mentioned the attack by unknown men on a student with baseball bats in Novi Sad outside the premises of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, which he saw as the last straw in the saga of the huge student protests.
“I chose this step to reduce tensions,” Vucevic said at a press conference on Tuesday,
announcing his resignation, pointing out that the polarisation in Serbia is fuelled by foreign influence and that demonstrations are fomented from abroad. He said the mayor of Novi Sad would also step down.
“With this we have met all the demands of the most radical protesters.”
Vucevic has been leader of the ruling centre-right Serbian Progressive Party since 2023. The prime minister’s resignation still needs to be approved by parliament.
Protesters say corruption, nepotism and shoddy construction work caused the disaster and want those responsible to be punished sooner.
Prosecutors in Novi Sad have indicted 13 people in connection with the roof collapse, including a former infrastructure minister, but so far the court has not confirmed the indictments.