The results of the online survey “Your View on the Student Protests!”, published on 30 December 2024 (a convenience sample of 1,389 respondents), describe the mood of the active segment of the public that chose to complete the questionnaire.
The most striking finding is strong support for the student protests: 90.06% of respondents hold a positive view, while 7.20% assess the protests negatively. At the same time, respondents are highly critical of the situation in the country: 93.52% rate the rule of law and the fight against corruption negatively, 81.71% rate the economic situation negatively, and 88.34% rate the state of the environment negatively. Regarding strategic issues, 70.19% support Serbia’s EU membership, while lithium mining and processing is rejected in an almost plebiscitary manner—86.97% express a negative view.
What, in respondents’ opinion, triggered the protests? The most frequently cited causes are the non-functioning of institutions (28.22%) and systemic corruption (25.63%), followed by the absence of the rule of law (12.96%) and the incident at the Novi Sad railway station (12.31%). A smaller share also mentions the influence of foreign actors (3.96%), indicating the presence of competing narratives.
As a “result” they would be satisfied with, the largest number of respondents choose a change of government (29.16%), while 17.93% hope for a general strike leading to a transitional government. Most do not see the filing of an indictment against 13 people in the canopy-collapse case as fulfilling the students’ demands: 69.47% answer “no,” and 15.41% say it is only one of the demands.
Asked who the desired outcome depends on, respondents most often point to citizens (38.80%), followed by the public prosecutor’s office (13.97%) and students (10.94%). There is an optimistic tone, but without a timeline: 40.39% believe change will happen but do not know when, while 17.85% are unsure and 9.50% do not believe the outcome will be achieved.
The sample structure indicates the participants’ profile: 68.47% men, predominantly aged 36–55, with higher education (62.71% with a university degree or higher), and the largest share of respondents from Belgrade (46.29%).