Pro-Trump Serbia Leader Blames ‘American Deep State’ After Election Defeat - Newsweek

The long-serving president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, has alleged that interference from abroad and the "American deep state" caused his election defeat to a student-led opposition movement.

Vucic, a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, conceded defeat following a tightly contested parliamentary election that pitted his right-wing Serbian Progressive Party against university students who accused the government of corruption.

"The Students' List has won," Vucic said at his party's headquarters on Sunday as he blamed Serbia's independent media and alleged interference by unnamed European countries.

"I want people to know that this was the legitimization of a revolution carried out by the people with direct support from various European countries and the American deep state, the one that opposes President Trump," Vucic said, without providing evidence.

Belgrade-based political analyst Nikola Mikovic told Newsweek on Monday that Vucic conceded electoral defeat in a manner similar to that of former Montenegrin leader Milo Djukanovic in 2020 and 2023, as well as Hungary's Viktor Orban earlier this year.

"Like them, he could also promote a narrative of foreign interference, but this would have no consequences for the country's overall foreign policy, just as it did not in either of the two neighboring countries," Mikovic said.

"Foreign actors remained largely passive during the elections, as any outcome would have served their interests," he added.

Vucic had served as president of the Balkan country for two terms, meaning he could not seek reelection.

He resigned last month and led his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) with the goal of returning to the post of prime minister, which he left in 2017.

After two years of protests that followed the collapse of a canopy in front of Novi Sad station, which killed 16 people, Vucic called snap elections.

The tragedy became a signal of discontent at Vucic's rule, highlighting accusations of corruption among officials.

In conceding, Vucic projected that the Students' List would win between 135 and 140 seats in the 250-member parliament, with his coalition securing about 105 seats. He said that his SNS party won about 1.7 million votes compared to the Students' List's 2.2 million.

Mikovic said that as an opposition leader, Vucic will certainly pose a much greater threat to the new authorities than the old opposition did to him. That opposition has also been eliminated as a result of the Students' List victory.

"The student-led movement's victory over both the ruling party and the opposition undoubtedly serves as a model that similar movements around the globe will draw on in their struggles against pseudo-autocratic leaders in their own countries," he added.

Vucic has engaged in a charm offensive to woo Trump's support, praising his "America First" approach and presenting the American president as having support in Serbia that he does not enjoy elsewhere in Europe.

In an interview with the conservative outlet Breitbart in May, Vucic said that support for Trump in Serbia was over 75 percent, although other media outlets disputed this figure.

Vucic has also presented his presidency as an opportunity for better U.S.-Serbian relations and received a flattering interview on Triggered, a podcast hosted by the U.S. president's eldest son, who visited Belgrade last year.

He has employed Trumpworld lobbyists who have described Serbs as "pro-Trump Christians" as opposed to the Muslims in nearby Bosnia and Kosovo who suffered under past Serbian aggression.

The Guardian reported that the outgoing Serbian leader had pushed officials in Belgrade to help advance a plan promoted by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, to build a $500 million hotel complex in Belgrade.

The plan sparked protests, and as senior figures from Vucic's government faced charges of abuse of public office, Kushner announced the scrapping of the planned complex.

Vucic denied wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of pursuing "fabricated cases."

Mikovic said the new government would almost certainly seek to strengthen ties with the EU and the U.S., especially if the Republicans suffer defeats in the midterm elections on November 3.

"Vucic's rhetoric suggests that he will likely join Orban and other populist European politicians who enjoy Trump's support but will now find themselves in opposition to what they often label 'globalist-led structures,'" he said.

The election in Serbia coincided with a ballot in Brazil in which another Trump-aligned candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, lost to the leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Other MAGA-leaning populist parties in Europe are also facing tricky electoral tests.

Spain goes to the polls for a general election on November 29 in which the right-wing party Vox is enjoying a surge in the polls in third place, with about 19 percent backing it—up from 12.4 percent in the 2023 election.

Ahead of France's election in April 2027, Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right party National Rally, is ahead in polls with about 36 percent—a rise from earlier in the month.

Also up for election next year is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was once closely tied with Trump but has recently criticized the U.S. president after he said she had "begged" him for a picture at the G7 summit.

Her personal approval rating is one of the highest among west European leaders, but her far-right Brothers of Italy party faces a challenge from the far right, via a movement led by retired Army General Roberto Vannacci. Italians are scheduled to go to the polls in December 2027.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Tobias Meyjes and Shakeema Edwards.