"The system is on the verge of implosion!" German MPs: Vučić must listen to the protesters!

German parliamentary parties are currently very busy with the electoral campaign for the early parliamentary elections to be held on February 23. But the parliamentary groups in the Bundestag found time to talk to DW about the months-long protests in Serbia, which, according to many, could change the political landscape in this candidate country for membership in the European Union.

More European Union, less China

The spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag's Foreign Policy Committee, Jürgen Hardt, told DW that the accident in Novi Sad and the protests that followed are a clear sign that Serbia needs to change something in its foreign policy orientation. "Serbia relied heavily on Chinese money and know-how in the past, and that is now being paid off." The collapse of part of the roof at the Novi Sad train station, which is part of the Chinese Silk Road project, falls directly on the Serbian government. "The mismanagement and corruption were more than obvious ," said the representative of the party that is likely to form the new government in Germany.

Hardt, who, like the rest of his party, as formulated in the election program, is committed to closer ties between the Western Balkans region and the European Union, is sending a clear message to the authorities in Belgrade: "The Serbian authorities must listen to the protesters: less China, more European Union. The future of Serbia is in the EU. This should also be reflected in the actions of the Christian Democrats."

"The people of Serbia should know"

Asked about his stance on the protests in Serbia, the Green Party rapporteur for the Western Balkans in the Bundestag, Boris Mijatović, first of all condemned the violence against demonstrators and attempts at intimidation. "The information that gangs are beating protesters to the point of hospitalization is deeply worrying. The right to assembly and freedom of expression are the cornerstones of any democratic society. Serbia, as a candidate country for EU membership, has a duty to guarantee these freedoms to its citizens in order to maintain its credibility as a partner of the European Union," Mijatović recalled.

During his term, he has visited the region very often and was an observer in the recent elections in Serbia. Referring to the tragedy in Novi Sad, Mijatovic said that "the people of Serbia have the right to know how this tragic accident happened and who is responsible. My party stands in solidarity with the citizens of Serbia who demand justice for the victims and the trial of those responsible," Mijatovic told DW.

Vučić's system on the verge of explosion

Josip Juratović, the long-time rapporteur for the Social Democratic parliamentary group for the Western Balkans, believes that the protests that have been taking place in Serbia for weeks are different in their structure and organization from previous ones. For this reason, he says that Aleksandar Vučić's days in power are numbered. "What I have been saying all along is happening right now - the Vučić regime will explode. He is fighting against rabid wasps and he can no longer win this battle ," predicts Juratović, who has so far not spared criticism of the authorities in Belgrade in his statements.

"Nothing helps him anymore, neither external nor internal allies, nor his famous public acting," Juratović told DW in a statement. For Juratović, who after decades on the benches of the Bundestag will no longer be running in the next elections at the end of February, the movement in Belgrade is special in another way. "While the whole world is surrendering to autocrats, students in the Balkans have found a way to get rid of their autocrat. Vučić cannot win this battle," says the social democrat politician who hopes that the countries of the Western Balkans "will finally escape the political mafia."

Peter Beyer, a long-time rapporteur for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for the Western Balkans and a good expert on the situation in the region, is a little less specific than his party colleague Hardt. "We are monitoring the situation closely. Of course, the topics that dominate the election campaign in Germany push other topics into the background, but we would be very naive not to follow what is happening in our neighborhood." He explains: "Yesterday in Berlin, on the sidelines of the CDU party convention, I spoke to Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali about, among other things, the protests and asked him how the situation is in the country and what we will do next," Beyer said.

He stressed that stability and democracy in Serbia are also important to Germany and that the right to protest is a fundamental democratic right. "I also reminded people that they should have the opportunity to speak out. Of course, this excludes any kind of violence. I called for an effort to find answers together with the people on how to strengthen democracy in the country and achieve stability," Beyer told DW./ DW