Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia - Financial Times

Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia

* Sign In
* Subscribe

Open side navigation menuOpen search bar

SubscribeSign In

Popular Searches

* What is the latest news on the UK economy?
* Western support for Ukraine
* How will AI be regulated?
* UK inflation vs the world
* How will the UK economy fare in 2026?

* Home
* World
Sections

+ World Home
+ Middle East war
+ Global Economy
+ UK
+ US
+ China
+ Africa
+ Asia Pacific
+ Emerging Markets
+ Europe
+ War in Ukraine
+ Americas
+ Middle East & North Africa
Most Read

+ Putin ties himself to ruling party as war fatigue bites
+ US Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship
+ The great wealth transfer rattling Wall Street
+ America’s stillborn 250th birthday
+ Magnificent Seven stocks shed $2.2tn in Wall Street tech rotation
* US
Sections

+ US Home
+ US Economy
+ US Companies
+ US Politics & Policy
Most Read

+ US Supreme Court rejects Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship
+ The great wealth transfer rattling Wall Street
+ America’s stillborn 250th birthday
+ Magnificent Seven stocks shed $2.2tn in Wall Street tech rotation
+ Donald Trump and how strongman leaders fall
* Companies
Sections

+ Companies Home
+ Energy
+ Financials
+ Health
+ Industrials
+ Media
+ Professional Services
+ Retail & Consumer
+ Tech Sector
+ Telecoms
+ Transport
Most Read

+ The great wealth transfer rattling Wall Street
+ Magnificent Seven stocks shed $2.2tn in Wall Street tech rotation
+ The young Chinese choosing life in ‘ghost cities’
+ Barclays buys Canary Wharf HQ for £750mn
+ EY employee charged with accessing Australian prime minister’s bank details
* Tech
Sections

+ Tech Home
+ Artificial intelligence
+ Semiconductors
+ Cyber Security
+ Social Media
Most Read

+ Magnificent Seven stocks shed $2.2tn in Wall Street tech rotation
+ Heavy corporate AI spenders add staff faster than peers
+ The new AI-based world order
+ What would multilateral ‘AI arms control’ look like?
+ Google caps Meta’s Gemini use as AI demand strains capacity
* Markets
Sections

+ Markets Home
+ Alphaville
+ Markets Data
+ Private markets
+ Equities
+ Bonds
+ Currencies
+ Commodities
+ Crypto
+ Monetary Policy Radar
+ Wealth Management
+ Moral Money
+ ETF Hub
+ Asset management
Most Read

+ Magnificent Seven stocks shed $2.2tn in Wall Street tech rotation
+ Gold heads for worst quarter in more than a decade as retail frenzy fades
+ Private equity fund investors turn to debt-like deals in downturn
+ Yen weakens to 40-year low
+ The new AI-based world order
* Climate
* Opinion
Sections

+ Opinion Home
+ Columnists
+ The FT View
+ The Big Read
+ Lex
+ Obituaries
+ Letters
Most Read

+ America’s stillborn 250th birthday
+ Donald Trump and how strongman leaders fall
+ Is AI an exoskeleton for the mind?
+ Burnham’s radical localism alone won’t fix the UK economy
+ When Groove Armada met regenerative agriculture
* Lex
* Stock Picking Game
* Life & Arts
Sections

+ Life & Arts Home
+ Arts
+ Books
+ Food & Drink
+ FT Magazine
+ House & Home
+ Style
+ Puzzles
+ Travel
+ FT Globetrotter
Most Read

+ It’s not just the super-wealthy using Lombard loans to buy property
+ Has the McLaren W1 redefined the supercar?
+ Zoë de Givenchy’s new tableware is serving Versailles
+ Elle — Legally Blonde prequel is sickly sweet and stifled by nostalgia
+ Head to tail: business grapples with 100% fish initiative
* How To Spend It

MenuSearch

* Home
* World
* US
* Companies
* Tech
* Markets
* Climate
* Opinion
* Lex
* Stock Picking Game
* Life & Arts
* How To Spend It

Financial Times

SubscribeSign In

Popular Searches

* What is the latest news on the UK economy?
* Western support for Ukraine
* How will AI be regulated?
* UK inflation vs the world
* How will the UK economy fare in 2026?

Populism in Europe

Manage your delivery channels here

Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia

Aleksandar Vučić says he plans to step down as president and return as premier after snap elections this autumn

*Vladimir Putin and Aleksandar Vučić at the Kremlin in Moscow last year

© Alexander Zemlianichenko/AFP/Getty Images*

* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on x (opens in a new window)
* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on facebook (opens in a new window)
* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on linkedin (opens in a new window)
* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on whatsapp (opens in a new window)
*

current progress 0%

* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on x (opens in a new window)
* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on facebook (opens in a new window)
* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on linkedin (opens in a new window)
* Trump ally seeks to emulate Putin to stay in power in Serbia on whatsapp (opens in a new window)
*

Marton Dunai in Budapest

Published5 hours ago

Jump to comments section

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free

Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world

Trump ally Aleksandar Vučić has said he would step down as Serb president and possibly seek to return as prime minister after snap elections this autumn — a model inspired by Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

The 56-year-old strongman, who has ruled Serbia in one capacity or another for the past 13 years, has faced growing protests and resentment for his alleged autocratic tendencies, graft and slow economic development.

“Yes, it is logical that we will have elections soon, and when I say soon I mean the next three to four months,” Vučić told a press conference late on Monday. He alluded to previous statements that he may seek the prime minister’s post after the vote and vowed to make “transparent” decisions.

He told a pro-government rally in Belgrade on Saturday that “I will be the president for just several weeks. Then I’ll resign . . . In the upcoming elections, if the party wants that and asks for it, together with you, I will help win people’s trust.”

LOADING

Video description

Anti-Vučić demonstrators continue their protests despite the Serb president announcing he will step down

Anti-Vučić demonstrators continue their protests despite the Serb president announcing he will step down © Reuters

Anti-Vučić protests have been taking place in Serbia for more than a year, sparked by the 2024 collapse of a renovated train station canopy that killed 16 people and quickly became a symbol of alleged government corruption. The station had been renovated by a Chinese company that critics say was not properly scrutinised by authorities before being awarded the contract.

The Serbian leader is one of the few remaining Trump allies in central and eastern Europe. Vučić has echoed parts of Maga rhetoric, attacking Brussels, independent media and foreign-backed “elites”, while praising conservative themes such as family, Christianity and opposition to gender politics.

Serbia has also cleared the way for a luxury development backed by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on the site of the former Yugoslav defence ministry in Belgrade, a building bombed by Nato in 1999 and regarded by some Serbs as a national memorial. The project was later withdrawn after public backlash and investigations into alleged government wrongdoing, including claims that documents were falsified to enable the removal of national heritage protections from the site.

Analysts say Vučić may be using the announcements to gauge the political climate and could