Who is the new Prime Minister of Serbia, Gjuro Macut?

Gjuro Macut became the most searched name in Serbia on April 6, after the country's president, Aleksandar Vučić, nominated him as the country's prime minister.

"I believe that he will bring a different discourse to our political life and help ease tensions. I also think that he will do many good and important things for our country," Vucic said.

The tensions to which Vučić referred prompted the resignation of the current Prime Minister, Miloš Vučević, in January, after three months of student-led protests across Serbia.

Protesters have been demanding accountability, accusing the government of corruption and poor oversight of the reconstruction of the train station, after 16 people lost their lives when a concrete shelter collapsed in Novi Sad in November.

In his first speech to parliament on April 15, Macut said that youth-led protests are a natural expression of discontent, but criticized tactics such as blocking roads and schools.

"When you deny others the right to education and movement, you become a usurper of others' freedoms," he said, pledging support for youth inclusion, but only within the legal and constitutional framework.

He vowed to reopen universities, saying Serbia is "tired of blockades and divisions."

Macut also pledged to maintain Serbia's current foreign policy stance and reiterated continued support for ethnic Serbs in Kosovo.

Since Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, which Serbia still does not recognize, there have been ongoing tensions between the two countries.

These tensions are mainly related to ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, who do not recognize the authority of Pristina and have attempted to maintain parallel governance structures with the support of Belgrade.

The European Union has been leading the dialogue between the two countries since 2011, with the aim of normalizing relations between them.

Among the 30 cabinet members, 10 are new faces.

The new Minister of Education, Dejan Vuk Stevanović, is the only professor at the Faculty of Education who has publicly opposed the student-led blockade from the beginning.

He is a frequent guest on pro-government media and has criticized both professors and students who demand accountability for the tragedy in Novi Sad.

The new Minister of Information, Boris Bratina, is widely known for his anti-European rhetoric and for advocating a ban on the Pride Parade.

He was filmed shouting "Serbia and Russia - we don't need the European Union!" at a rally in Belgrade in 2009, where he also burned the EU flag.

Officially, Serbia says its strategic goal is membership in the European Union, which is the largest investor in the country.

"I don't have a completely positive view of the EU, and perhaps this is where I differ from others. I wouldn't encourage excessive enthusiasm for the EU, as it has enough problems," Bratina told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Balkan Service on April 14.

The opening of new chapters in Serbia's EU accession negotiations has been blocked since December 2021.

Bratina has called the Pride Parade a "cortege of the sick" and said that such events do not belong to the culture he describes as "deeply heterosexual" in Serbia.

The organizers of the Belgrade Parade had requested the withdrawal of his candidacy.

Like his boss, Bratina is a member of the Movement for the People and the State.

Opposition members and analysts do not expect major changes in Serbia's domestic politics or international position, as the country continues to refuse to join the West in sanctioning Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and maintains historical and cultural ties with Moscow.

Serbia is likely to remain China's preferred partner in the Balkans and continue the "iron friendship," as Vučić describes it, of relations with Beijing.

"The fact that the new prime minister is a member of Vučić's newly formed movement clearly shows that he is not a politically independent candidate," says Zoran Stojiljković, a professor at the Faculty of Political Science in Belgrade.

"He will be a kind of 'puppet' leader, as he lacks significant political experience and does not guarantee autonomy from the Serbian president," he adds.

On April 6, the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament, Ana Brnabić, called Prime Minister Macut "brave, calm and stable – everything the Serbian Government needs now."

Outgoing Prime Minister Miloš Vučević added that Macut is someone "who can open social dialogue."

But some opposition leaders have described his appointment as symbolic.

Dragan Djilas of the Freedom and Justice Party said that Vucic is "buying time" by appointing someone who "will not choose ministers, will not shape policy and will not make decisions."

The Serbian Center Party added that "it doesn't matter who leads the Government when it is clear that Vučić is in charge."/ REL