Progressive Party

LGBT activists in Serbia have welcomed an announcement that the government will submit to parliament a draft law on same-sex partnerships before the year is out, but remain cautious after previous promises of new legislation were broken.

The government and the opposition accuse each other, moving the political struggle from institutions to the individual level.

Thus, politics is reduced to personal confrontations between politicians, instead of discussions about ideas and political programmes. In such clashes, the citizens who do not see a political option that can articulate their dissatisfaction are most at a loss.

The current government in Serbia began its mandate in 2016 with Aleksandar Vucic as prime minister.

A year later, Vucic quit to become Serbian president, while Ana Brnabic took over the baton, becoming Serbia's first female and openly gay prime minister.

After taking office, in their speeches to parliament, the two of them made a total of 99 pledges.

The proposal includes a large gathering in Novi Sad and a final rally in Nis.
The reason is the health of the citizens, because President Vucic did not want to endanger the condition of the population in any way, especially because a large number of people are expected at the pre-election rallies of the largest party in Serbia.

In 2017, when Ana Brnabic became not only Serbia's first female prime minister but its first openly gay head of government, the world marvelled at how such a conservative Balkan country could make such a progressive step.

In Serbia, however, few shared in the enthusiasm.

On May 1, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had a message for Serbs fearful for their future finances in the era of COVID-19.

"I am absolutely sure," he told a news conference, "that we will be the No. 1 country on the whole European continent this year in terms of growth rate," and "one of the best in the whole world."

"It's confidential," Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told a press conference on Thursday when asked how many ventilators the country has.

"At this moment, this is treated practically as a state secret in all countries," Brnabic said, but assured reporters that "Serbia has enough ventilators."

One hundred and fifty-nine out of 250 MPs in the Serbian parliament voted on Monday for the establishment of a memorial centre at the Staro Sajmiste (Old Trade Fair) site to remember those killed at the Nazi concentration camp in occupied Belgrade during World War II.

Serbian right-wing opposition party Dveri launched an anti-immigration campaign on Tuesday, warning that the country risked becoming "the biggest migrant centre in this part of Europe" despite statistics that show the vast majority of migrants who enter Serbia pass through quickly en route to Western Europe.

Stefanovic added that if Vucic retires from politics, he will do the same.
"If he retires, I would not hold any public or party position either", Stefanovic said in a New Year's interview with Novosti.