Original article (in Serbian) was published on 24/6/2026; Author: Stefan Kosanović
President Aleksandar Vučić’s meeting today with representatives of Belgrade’s Public Transport Company (GSP), trade unions, and professional associations outside the Presidency was portrayed by pro-government tabloids as an almost historic event. In one sense, it was. However, Informer presented the meeting as proof that Vučić “does not run away from the people” and is willing to listen to citizens. That narrative, however, overlooks the fact that in recent years the president has not appeared at the country’s largest protests and gatherings of dissatisfied citizens. He was absent from the commemorations held by citizens after the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy, where people gathered to pay tribute to the victims, as well as from the mass student demonstrations that followed.
Workers from Belgrade’s Public Transport Company (GSP), trade unions, and professional associations on June, 24 presented their demands to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and spoke with him in front of the Presidency building.
After Vučić thanked those gathered for having “protested in a decent manner, regardless of their political beliefs” and promised to respond to their demands in seven days, the crowd responded not with boos, but with applause.
For the tabloids, this was “unprecedented.”
What are GSP’s demands?
GSP employees are calling for the suspension of the public-private partnership procedure until the future of Belgrade’s trolleybus network is determined. They are also demanding guarantees that no trolleybus or bus routes will be taken away from GSP and handed over to private operators, as well as the procurement of at least 90 new trolleybuses and 300 buses.
Informer wrote that “this moment once again demonstrated the enormous difference between the former and the current government,” claiming that while Boris Tadić, during his presidency, “ran away from his own people and hid in Romania,” Vučić, by contrast, “showed what responsibility means.”
However, such praise is not justified. The tabloids appear willing to use virtually any event for propaganda purposes, highlighting even something for which Vučić is not, in fact, known.
On numerous occasions, Vučić has had the opportunity to come outside the Presidency building and speak with dissatisfied citizens – but he did not.
In 2019, Vučić held an emergency press conference inside the Presidency after protesters and opposition representatives entered the Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) building. While he was speaking, citizens were protesting outside the Presidency.
During the large protest on March 15 last year, when there were allegations that a sonic weapon had been used against citizens peacefully observing 15 minutes of silence for the victims, anti-drone rifles were seen on the balcony of the Presidency. The Ministry of the Interior stated that they had been deployed to protect the president, suggesting that Vučić was inside the building at the time.
In June last year, Vučić also held a press conference during which he promised students early parliamentary elections. Throughout his remarks, the chants of students gathered outside could be heard through the windows.
In the European Economic and Social Committee’s report on Serbia, published in mid-September last year, which presents concerns raised by civil society organizations alongside the Serbian government’s responses – often denying those concerns – the authorities stated that more than 14,000 public gatherings had taken place in Serbia.
Vučić did not stand before dissatisfied citizens during any of those gatherings.
He was absent following the collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy, as well as during the commemorations marking six months and one year since the tragedy, and during the large student protests that followed.
Instead, he organized his own rallies, where he appeared either on stage behind a microphone or among his most enthusiastic supporters at SNS headquarters and in Ćacilend.
He also found time to eat an index sandwich in Novi Sad and wave to an elderly woman.
In June last year, Vučić met exclusively with students supportive of his policies – the group known as Students Who Want to Study. On the Presidency’s official website, the meeting was simply described as a meeting with students.
Milovan Milivojević, whose son Milomir was killed in the 2017 explosion at the Milan Blagojević – Namenska arms factory in Lučani, used Vučić’s visit to Lučani in mid-2019 to seek his help. During that exchange, Vučić spoke inappropriately to the grieving father, at one point telling him that “your son wasn’t working on a fashion runway, but in a weapons factory.”
Over the years, there have also been strikes and protests by employees of Apoteke Beograd, pensioners, teachers, dairy producers, farmers, and other groups. The president did not appear at any of those protests either.
Translated in English using AI tools, then thoughtfully refined by a human editor.
