Patriotism in Serbia with the Serbian People’s Party
Hello Mr Jovan Palalic, you are the Secretary General of the Serbian People’s Party. Can you tell us about your party, its history, values and activities?
The Serbian People’s Party was founded exactly ten years ago. The main reason for its foundation was to introduce to the Serbian political scene a party with a clear conservative and patriotic programme, at a time of great crisis in this ideological area of Serbian politics. The fundamental programmatic principles that we established then, and to which we still adhere today, were to link patriotism and the preservation of the heritage of Serbian identity with modern times and challenges. Today’s Serbian generation should cultivate a strong nationalist spirit and preserve the right to independent politics, important foundations of our identity, with modern development, modern technologies, the requirements of continuous learning and self-improvement, as conditions for survival in a complex and competitive world. In addition to the important issues of defending the family, Christian values and the rights to freedom of Serbs in the Balkan region, we are promoting strong economic development based on small and medium-sized enterprises, entrepreneurship, modern technologies in agriculture and technical sciences, where Serbian experts and our universities are among the best in the world. Being proud of the past and looking to the future is our main ideological party slogan.
What issues and projects are you currently working on?
The main challenge currently facing the Serbian People’s Party is the preparation of the election campaign for the local elections to be held on 2 June. Our main objective is to promote our candidates and our local programmes. One of the important facets of the programme is the focus on the development of local communities, and through the actions of our candidates, the promotion of Serbia’s local potential. The development of the State, its progress and its stability begin in small communities, which are often neglected in favour of major national issues. In this campaign, the Serbian People’s Party wants to focus on these. We are convinced that we will achieve victories with our traditional coalition partners, with whom we form the majority at national level, and that we will continue to successfully implement programmes for the development of Serbian towns.
What is the situation for patriots in your country?
The Serbian political scene is mainly divided into three major blocs. The first is made up of the Liberals, Greens and Social Democrats, whose main objective is to implement the Brussels programme. The second bloc is the far right, which is totally opposed to the West and is inclined to promote various conspiracy theories and isolationism in its polemic with everything that comes from Europe. The third major bloc is made up of the parties that make up the current majority in Serbia, which seek to pursue a rational policy, protecting the fundamental values of the nation and its right to decide freely and independently on its path through history. Of course, within this bloc, although bound by the common goal of preserving Serbia’s freedom and enabling its economic development, there are differences. The Serbian People’s Party, to which I belong and which works with the parties in the “Identity and Democracy” bloc, has different views on certain important issues to the Serbian Progressive Party, the party of the President of Serbia, which belongs to the European People’s Party family. However, faced with the challenges posed by the extremely left-wing and right-wing positions in Serbian politics, we felt that all patriotic forces who clearly see Serbian interests, Serbia’s position in Europe and the current global turmoil should come together.
Why is cooperation between patriots in Europe important?
The cooperation of all patriots in Europe is above all necessary to preserve the nations of Europe in this global crisis and to enable them to develop even more strongly in the future. I have deliberately put it this way, because the concept of Europe shared by the patriotic parties is different from that of the leftists and liberals. Our starting point is our nations, which together are building a common home – Europe – through cooperation and mutual respect, whereas our liberal and left-wing opponents in the corridors of Brussels do not see their own homeland. Their policies have led European states into economic crisis, increasing insecurity through mass migration, and the Europe they created is becoming marginal on the world political stage. The economy is shrinking, European power and appeal are diminishing, and identity is being lost in the promotion of mass migration and extreme ideologies such as ‘woke’. To halt this catastrophic trend, it is necessary to bring all the patriotic and conservative forces together in a bloc and overcome individual differences in order to bring about change in Brussels and restore the European order on a natural and sound basis.
The last elections were marked by demonstrations by the liberal opposition, which contested the results. What is your analysis of this situation?
The main aim of the demonstrations by the left-wing and liberal opposition in Serbia after the parliamentary elections at the end of 2023 was to destabilise the country at a time when the Serbian government and the President are firmly committed to pursuing an independent and sovereign policy. Under the pretext of electoral irregularities, these opposition parties launched actions which, at times, took on a violent character. Their demonstrations were supported by social democratic, liberal and environmental groups in the European Parliament, which gave the whole affair a clear ideological tone. The main objective was to overthrow the legally and legitimately elected government in Serbia, to subject the state to the orders of Brussels, to abandon the fight for Kosovo and to sever all economic ties with Russia, from which we import 100% of our gas, which would have completely ruined our economy. Our government wants to pursue an independent policy, considering only our interests and not those of Brussels or any other major power. This is the Serbian tradition, this is the Serbian identity, and they have finally triumphed, the demonstrations having failed.
The European Union continues to support the pro-Albanian separatist government of Kosovo and Metohija. Why is Kosovo important to Serbs and what do you think about the future of the region?
Serbia’s problem with the European Union over the Kosovo issue lies in the fact that left-wing, green and liberal European governments took part in the bombing of Serbia 25 years ago. The aim of this bombing, carried out by the Democratic US administration of then President Bill Clinton, was to bring about the separation of Kosovo from Serbia. And all the pressure that Serbia is now under from these governments to accept the illegal secession of Kosovo has its origins in the aggression against Serbia in 1999. To justify the illegal bombing, Serbia must accept its consequences, namely the separation of Kosovo. However, these European governments cannot understand that the Serbs will never abandon Kosovo. This is a place where the Serbian nation was born, where there are 1,300 churches and monasteries, many of them part of the world’s cultural heritage. The fact that these governments support the independence of a territory that is becoming radicalised Islamically, where terrorist cells of former Islamic State fighters exist, shows the extent to which their actions are essentially anti-European. Today, the authorities in Pristina are persecuting the Serbs and violating their fundamental rights, and the countries of Europe are dishonouring themselves by accepting this entity into the Council of Europe, a house of human rights. The Serbs have already waited centuries to return to Kosovo, and I am happy to see this spirit in the new generations of Serbs. We can grant the Albanians a large degree of autonomy over Kosovo, but never independence. Kosovo is Serbia. The future of the Balkan region certainly lies in greater connectivity and cooperation, which requires a better understanding of Europe itself. The Balkans are part of Europe, and if current European governments continue to neglect them, this complex region will be further influenced by forces from outside Europe, further weakening Europe as a whole and affecting its security.
