Sandra Stiskalo: Is it now that Serbia stops raving about Putin?

- I don't care about politics.

When I spent a summer in Serbia as a new adult, I heard that sentence all the time from my peers.

It had then been about ten years since a NATO-led coalition led by the United States bombed the country to stop Serbian military actions and ethnic cleansing of Albanians in Kosovo. The young Serbs I met had grown up in a nation that was guilty of many atrocities and bore the brunt of the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

They felt - and probably were - unwelcome in Europe. Sad and tired, they directed the little energy they had inwards, towards everyday life and their own lives. Getting involved politically was risky, pointless at best, they reasoned.

But then in the fall of 2024, a newly renovated roof collapsed over the central station in Serbia's second largest city, Novi Sad. 16 people died. The fatal accident drew the plug from the listlessness of the young generation.

Students took to the streets to honor the victims and demand that the government explain how the work at the train station had really gone and hold someone responsible for the tragedy.

Since then, the protests have grown month by month. The students, backed by academics and artists, accuse the Serbian government of corruption and repression. "Your hands are bloody", reads the slogan. Over time, their demands have become more specific, they want to see a new political class and have demanded new elections.

The government has cracked down hard on the demonstrations, but in September the country's president, also the leader of the national conservative party SNS, Aleksandar Vučić, still agreed. Today, Sunday, new elections are held. Serbia's future, also in the international arena, is at stake.

Vučić, who has ruled the country for 14 years, is constitutionally barred from running for a third term. Instead, he will try to become prime minister and thus cling to power. During his political career, he has proven to be a master of advanced political acrobatics.

In the 90s, he represented Serbian nationalism and was a minister in Slobodan Milošević's government. He has made China the country's second largest trading partner and admires both Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

He prefers not to talk about the attitude of these leaders towards human rights, democratic institutions and the opposition. When Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell on the podcast The Rest is Politics asked him to comment earlier this year, he said succinctly:

- You have to respect other people's customs and traditions.

It may therefore seem strange that he also wants to bring Serbia into the EU. In his negative argument lies a veiled threat: Serbia should be allowed to join the union so as not to be tempted to ally with Trump or Russia.

If Vučić remains in power, it is hard to imagine the country being granted any membership: That depends largely on Kosovo, which he and his party will probably never recognize as an independent state.

But if the Student List, which is now challenging Vučić, wins Sunday's parliamentary election, there is possibly an opening. The party, which emerged in a short time from the student protests, wants to see the rule of law restored, a deal with corruption and a fundamental change in the way Serbia is governed.

Many factors speak against the Student List securing a majority in parliament. It lacks both a clear leadership figure, political experience and financial muscle. In return, you have visions and wind in your sails.

Based on the opinion polls, it looks even. Regardless of who wins the election, Serbia has a new, vocal political force to reckon with.