#Issues with the Serbian political environment in 2023
Watching political “debates” and sessions from the Serbian parliament is pretty interesting nowadays. Not that it was boring before, especially in the ’90s. Of course, you can’t say that other countries’ parliament is so much better. After all, we are all people. We watched fights, insults, and malicious activity in exploiting rules and regulations that govern its working.
However, the issue I see is a tendency to go one step forward and then two steps backward. Throughout the 2000s, we witnessed various mischiefs by our representatives. Now in the year 2022. the parliament looks worse than it was in the 90s. It is strange that in the convocation of 2008, they processed ~ 990 laws, and in the convocation of 2016, ~ 1230. How is it possible that the same institution can now have processing power that is 25% higher? One of the reasons lies in avoiding processes and procedures necessary to ensure people’s will. After watching live sessions, what is very clear is that the vast majority of representatives act like party soldiers rather than people tribunes.
The language of manipulation is the default language. Apart from constant generalization, misinterpretation, and overall bogus arguments, you can’t hear much of constructive debate. What is also devastating is that the opposition is also using the national assembly as a stage for populistic speeches.
Now interestingly enough, I asked ChatGPT from OpenAI about politics in Serbia, and this is what I got:
In recent years, Serbian politics has been marked by ongoing political and economic challenges. One major issue has been the ongoing tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. The two sides have been engaged in negotiations to resolve their differences, but the talks have been difficult and have not yet produced a final agreement. Another major issue in Serbian politics has been the rise of nationalist and populist parties, which have gained significant support in recent elections. These parties have been critical of the European Union and have called for a stronger focus on national interests and sovereignty. Additionally, Serbia faces ongoing economic challenges, such as high unemployment and slow economic growth. The government has implemented a number of reforms to address these issues, but progress has been slow and there are concerns about the country’s long-term economic prospects. Overall, Serbian politics is currently facing a number of complex and interconnected challenges, which the national assembly and other institutions of government are working to address.
That is more or less spot on :) Of course, everything is far more complex, but non the analysis is accurate on a fundamental level. Usually, educated people in Serbia have this misconception that only one man’s fault is the functioning of its political system. That one man is the current president, Aleksandar Vucic. I seriously doubt that one variable can significantly impact any complex system.
Apart from the first misconception, there is another one that this populistic party called SNS is responsible for appointing assembly members that are not viable for the national assembly. Yes, definitely, representatives that sit in the national assembly are not the best of what Serbia has, but they do represent an average as they are average. What we don’t like is our average. Unfortunately, not one person can change our standard, and for that, we need to create a strategy that would span over several generations. The first step would be to enable free education and training to support various talents. The second step would be to allow people to start small businesses and build an entrepreneurship spirit. Once we have that, everything else will slowly change for the better.
Are there short-term ways to make everything right? Unfortunately, there are not. If you are Serbian and you wish to help your country without expecting drastic changes in your lifetime, then that’s a noble cause to stay in the country and fight for exceptional education.