Serbia's Next President Brings Tradition of Tirades

As the inauguration looms of Aleksandar Vucic as Serbia's new President, some of his statements as Prime Minister's will long be remembered for their angry and undiplomatic tone - as will his marathon press conferences and TV appearances.

Vucic was re-elected Prime Minister in April 2016 after his Serbian Progressive Party won the parliamentary elections, and he immediately challenged MPs in parliament to a feat of endurance with a six-hour delivery of his program on August 8.

"I've read only 8 per cent of it by now, which means I'll be reading it until 1am," Vucic warned the MPs after one hour, adding that he would stand up while reading.

Opposition parties then left the session, although the right-wing Serbian Radical Party stayed behind, so that its leader, Vojislav Seselj, could mock Vucic.

"Maybe you should bring diapers," Vucic responded, warning another MP from his party, Aleksandar Martinovic, that he should listen more carefully.

"Martinovic, do not look at your phone, I can see you on the screen," Vucic lectured Martinovic from the podium.

Vucic has since kept up the style of hours-long public appearances and in one of them, on February 14, on public broadcaster RTS, he interrupted the journalist no less than 45 times while she was trying to question him.

After winning the April 2 presidential election, he is due to assume the head of state's post in the next few weeks.

His sarcastic, testy, relations with journalist are likely to remain much the same.

"Congratulations to them for having discovered America, all [of them are] Columbus," he said on November 2016, referring to journalists from the daily paper Danas who had reported on how his brother, Andrej, has been actively meeting officials of Vucic...