Serbia’s New Parliament Meets With Cabinet Still Unknown

The first session of the new parliament in Serbia opened on Monday, August 3, with confirmation of the mandates of the newly elected MPs, although the composition of the new government and its coalition partners will not be announced for some weeks, until August 25.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, head of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, said on July 31 that there were four possibilities for a new government, though all involve the leadership of his party. They were "to go with the Socialists and the minorities; with [Aleksandar] Sapic and the minorities; with the Socialists, Sapic and the minorities; and alone with the minorities," Vucic said.

He added that the decision will be taken around August 15, and that the goal is to form a government by August 25.

In parliamentary elections in Serbia held on June 21, the ruling SNS won an overwhelming majority of seats - 188 out of 250 - making the formation of a coalition government purely a matter of form.

The previous junior coalition partner, the Socialist Party of Serbia, won 32 seats, while the far-right Serbian Patriotic Alliance, SPAS, led by a former water polo player, Aleksandar Sapic, won 11. The other 19 seats went to ethnic minority lists representing Hungarian, Bosniak, Macedonian and Albanian communities.

Elections were held in the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and amid an opposition boycott. Most opposition parties that held sets in the previous assembly refused to participate in the elections, claiming the conditions were not fair.

Vucic has already held talks with all the parties in parliament, but there is still no official information about the list of new ministers. The President has announced only that new government will be bigger than the previous one in...