The online survey “Let’s hear each other! Your view on the protests in front of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia,” conducted on 11 July 2020 (N=372), shows that respondents’ dissatisfaction is not tied to a single government decision, but to a broader sense of institutional collapse. In open-ended answers, the most frequently mentioned themes are corruption, autocracy, party-based employment, weak rule of law, a “media blackout,” as well as specific scandals and the selective application of laws.
Reasons for supporting the protests vary, but most often boil down to two lines: political (a “captured state,” dysfunctional institutions, elections without trust) and pandemic-related (contradictory measures and government communication). At the same time, a portion of respondents express reservations: the protests are “unorganized,” lack clear leadership, and carry the risk of spreading infection, alongside fears that violence and “infiltrated elements” provide the regime with an alibi for repression.
In the open question about the protest’s objective, the dominant demand is for a change of government and a systemic shift, but the noticeable number of answers like “I don’t know” or “there is no goal” signals that the energy is strong while political articulation is weak.
Ratings of actors during the protests reveal clear polarization: liberal-oriented demonstrators receive more positive assessments (22.52% “very positive,” 30.83% “positive”), while conservative-oriented demonstrators are more often rated negatively (23.06% “negative,” 16.09% “very negative”). The most negatively rated figures are President Aleksandar Vučić (a total of 85.79% negative/very negative), Prime Minister Ana Brnabić (84.72%), Interior Minister Nebojša Stefanović (83.38%), and Police Director Vladimir Rebić (82.31%).
The media picture is equally sharp: RTS is rated negatively by 76.41% of respondents, Pink by 84.45%, while N1 receives a strongly positive score (77.48% positive/very positive). Finally, the electoral perspective is telling: 41.82% say they would not vote because “there are no conditions for regular elections,” interpreting protest as a substitute for institutions that are not functioning.
Methodological note: this is a self-selected online survey; the findings describe the views of participants/respondents but are not representative of Serbia’s overall population.