Week in Review: Winners and Losers

Playing it Safe

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic speaks at press conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock after their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, March 11 2022. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC

April will be a month of elections in the wider region. At the beginning of the month, on April 3, Hungarian and Serbian voters go to the polls. Just a few weeks later, Slovenes will go to the ballot box.

Serbia faces a three-in-one election, with voters casting votes for the next president, a new Parliament, as well as the local administration in Belgrade and a number of other municipalities. Yet the Russian invasion of Ukraine has pushed most other news to the margins. As our analysis suggests, in the Serbian case this seems to be working to the benefit of President Aleksandar Vucic and his SNS, who are pitching themselves as guarantors of stability at a time of instability.

Read more: Ukraine Crisis Boosts Serbian President's Election Hopes (March 28, 2022)

Counting Costs

Foreign yachts at the port of Rijeka, Croatia, 20 June 2020. umber of luxurious mega yachts in the history in 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANTONIO BAT

Having seen a modest economic recovery in 2021 after the coronavirus pandemic deluge of 2020, Croatia is now watching nervously to see how the war in Ukraine will impact its economy. There are already clear signs that a range of sectors are set to suffer losses.

The tourism industry is set to take the biggest hit. Around 15% of overnight stays in 2021 were by Russian tourists. Many Russian visitors are already cancelling trips amidst economic uncertainty in Russia and more are certain to follow. Yet aside from the tourism industry, there are also Russian-owned companies in...