One year after a catastrophic canopy collapse at Novi Sad's main railway station killed 16 people, Serbia is bracing for major anniversary protests amid a political crisis that has deeply shaken President Aleksandar Vučić's government. The tragedy on November 1, 2024, ignited a sustained, student-led protest movement that has evolved from a cry of grief into a nationwide challenge against what demonstrators call systemic corruption and state negligence.
The year of turmoil has exposed deep vulnerabilities within a government that has long staked its legitimacy on large-scale infrastructure projects. Writing for The Guardian, Srdjan Cvijić, president of the International Advisory Committee of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, described the Vučić government as resembling a "political Ponzi scheme: borrowing legitimacy through spectacle while deferring its collapse." Cvijić argues that the canopy's fall did not create the crisis but rather "exposed it," turning pre-existing cracks in the state's foundation into dangerous fissures.
The Novi Sad station, reconstructed for a new high-speed rail line and ceremonially opened twice, was a symbol of the government's modernization drive. One of its reopenings in March 2022 featured both President Vučić and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, showcasing a partnership critics say is defined by a shared disdain for democratic institutions. The disaster fueled public perception that speed and political gain were prioritized over safety, a claim bolstered by other incidents, such as the opening of a motorway tunnel where safety rules were suspended in favour of stationing permanent emergency crews at its entrance.
The government's response to the ensuing protests has been severe. Since a major demonstration in Belgrade on June 28, police have been accused of beating and chasing peaceful protesters, with nearly 1,000 citizens arrested. The state has also been accused of employing an "anti-protest movement" of loyalists and hired thugs to intimidate demonstrators, a tactic critics say is borrowed from the Kremlin's playbook. This crackdown has occurred as the government's popularity wanes; a recent poll shows 53% of Serbs believe the country is moving in the wrong direction, a significant slide from the previous year.
Compounding domestic pressure are external economic challenges. Inflation remains high, and US sanctions against the majority Russian-owned Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), which took effect on October 9, now threaten the country's energy stability. With a restive population and a government increasingly reliant on its pro-Russian, nationalist base, the situation remains volatile. As anniversary protests loom, it is clear that the status quo has been irrevocably shattered, with neither the opposition nor the student activists willing to return to the political stage-management of the past.
Background of the Student Protests in Serbia
The protests that began after the Novi Sad tragedy are the latest and most sustained in a series of popular uprisings in Serbia since 2016. For nearly a decade, President Aleksandar Vučić's rule has been marked by what critics and international observers describe as significant democratic backsliding and state capture. Opposition groups and civil society organizations accuse the ruling party of controlling the media, judiciary, and state institutions, effectively hollowing out democratic checks and balances. Consequently, the street has often remained the only viable forum for public dissent, with each wave of protests—against election fraud, environmental issues, or violence—serving as a training ground for a new generation of activists.
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