22-year-old Marija puts on her rain jacket and gets on her bike. Today she will reach her limits, but she doesn't know that yet. The medical student has been traveling with other students for days.
As a collective, they are running in the election against Aleksandar Vucic, who only resigned as President of Serbia at the end of September and called early elections. The students' election campaign: bicycle tours across the country.
The upcoming rainy stage goes through a rural region southwest of Belgrade. It is a conservative region in which many people have so far supported Vucic. The town of Osecina is the first target: "We hope that we can reach the people there and explain to them what is really going on in the country," says Marija.
Novi Sad disaster sparked movement
It all started two years ago when a train station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad. 16 people died. The subsequent protests were the starting signal for the student movement, which is now running for election in third place on the list. They criticize that the accident in Novi Sad is the result of corruption and abuse of power in the Vucic system.
The students want a new start: better education, the rule of law and a clear EU perspective - which has not been improved by Vucic's autocratic tendencies, his attitude towards Russia and the handling of the protests. The students envision a kind of expert government. Accordingly, many places on the list are occupied by professors or scientists.
Unlike Hungary, where Peter Magyar led his alliance to victory against then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Serbia's student movement lacks a charismatic leader. But that's entirely in her spirit.
âReputation systematically destroyedâ
This apparent contradiction can be well explained by the case of Professor Vladan Dokic, who, as rector of the University of Belgrade, supported the student protests. After a tragic death at the university, Serbian police units stormed his office - whereupon Dokic gave an emotional speech from the university balcony.
"You can take away receivers and computers, but you can't take away the truth," he shouted to the crowd in the courtyard. The movement suddenly had a face.
But then what Vucic's opponents call a smear campaign began: the media controlled by Vucic - the only source of information for many people - systematically destroyed Dokic's reputation. Now he can't even be found on the electoral list anymore.
Personal attacks for supporting students
The students say that everyone who publicly appears as an opponent of Vucic feels the same way.
An example of this is Jana Acimovic Planojevic. The lawyer represents victims of a police operation in Valjevo. Protesters there were brutally beaten by police officers a year ago. The lawyer, who advocates for education, subsequently became a target herself and was personally attacked on television by Vucic, among others.
"The worst thing was the stories they made up about my father," reports Acimovic Planojevic: "He was accused of being an entrepreneur and allegedly having buried ammonia and thus poisoning the entire city, so that many here died of cancer." The lawyer supports the students who are explicitly committed to the rule of law.
Expected by Vucic supporters
Meanwhile, Marija and the 120 other cyclists campaigning for the election are on their way to the town of Oescina. Because Marija has diabetes, she has to go down again and again. The hills and the rainy weather are too much for them. Finally she is pushed by fellow campaigners.
Together they roll into the town, where representatives of Vucic's party are already waiting for them. From their perspective, Vucic has brought the country forward, especially improving the infrastructure.
âHere, in our community, you can see with the naked eye what has been done,â says Svetozar Gacic, chairman of the local council. When asked what the situation is regarding EU accession, the mayor next to him doesn't really know how to answer. Gacic supports him: "We support the policies of our President Aleksandar Vucic, who is committed to European integration - and to good relations with our brotherly Russia."
"We put our hope in God and in these youth"
There are other locals a little further on. They welcome the students with applause, food and drink. âThey opened the doors and windows wide so that people could finally feel a touch of freedom again,â says one man.
"All respect for them. These are our children!" adds another with tears in his eyes. "We will all fight together to put an end to this madness. We put our hope in God and in these young people." Marija stands in the middle, exhausted but happy: "We do this with all our hearts. And we share our positive energy with everyone here."
Surveys now actually see the student list on a par with the Vucic camp. The election in two weeks, on October 25th, could be historic for Serbia and the entire Balkans.
You can see these and other reports in the Europamagazin - on Sunday at 12.45 p.m. on Erste.
