By Skoda and By Bike: Serbia’s Not Completely Even Election Race

On September 19, a Saturday, Aleksandar Vucic posted on Instagram a video of himself driving an old Skoda and singing along to a popular folk song by the Serbian singer-songwriter Toma Zdravkovic. “Today, for the first time, I’m doing it all myself – both as a driver and as a man of the people,” said Vucic, who was still president at that moment. Vucic stepped down a little over a week later, to lead the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, into what promises to be a pivotal election in post-Slobodan Milosevic Serbia. Both he and the SNS have been in power since 2012 and, despite the rules, regularly deploy state resources to contest elections that observers say have not been free or fair for a long time. The line between party and state has become heavily blurred in Serbia, often tipping the election scales. Subscribe to Balkan Insight Premium to read the full article. Please login to your account below if you are already a Premium Subscriber. Buy Premium Subscription Our Premium Service gives you full access to all content published on BalkanInsight.com, including analyses, investigations, comments, interviews and more. Choose your subscription today and get unparalleled in-depth coverage of the Southern and Eastern Europe. Buy Premium Subscription If you have trouble logging in or any other questions regarding you account, please contact us