Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević announced today that he is resigning from his post due to the developments in Serbia, which has been the scene of student protests and blockades for more than two months following the tragedy of the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad Railway Station, Anadolu reports.
Vučević said at an extraordinary press conference in Belgrade that the entire government is in resignation, or in a technical mandate until a new one is elected.
Stressing that he is proud of the economic successes during the past nine months at the helm of the government, Vučević said that the tragedy that occurred on November 1 in Novi Sad, in which 15 people lost their lives, cast a shadow over the past year and the mandate of his government.
“From that moment on, Serbia seemed to be stuck in that accident. Unfortunately, we have once again seen political abuses of the tragedy and attempts by someone to politically capitalize on the accident,” Vučević said.
He pointed to the necessity of calming passions, ending divisions, and normalizing the work of institutions.
He condemned the violence, including last night’s incident in which a female student was injured in Novi Sad.
“The party I lead must show the highest degree of responsibility, to bring new laws to Serbian politics and show that it is the most responsible, and therefore, after this new event in Novi Sad, my irrevocable decision is to resign as Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia,” Vučević said.
He added that he spoke about this this morning with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and that he also accepted his decision to resign.
Vučević announced that Novi Sad Mayor Milan Đurić would also resign from his position today for the same reasons.
“May this lead to the calming of passions, to the restoration of political and social dialogue that Serbia desperately needs,” Vučević concluded.
He added that he and Mayor Đurić bear objective responsibility for what happened in Novi Sad and that they are willingly paying the “political price.”
Photo: Federalna
