How a Premier May Become a Strongman in Serbia: QuickTake Q&A

The April 2 presidential election in Serbia, a country with strong cultural and religious ties to Russia that’s seeking to join the European Union, is shaping up to be an internecine tug-of-war. Opinion polls show Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, who manages to straddle the nationalist and pro-EU sides, is a heavy favorite and may win enough votes to avoid a runoff. That has triggered warnings from the opposition that he may overstep his power and try to institute one-man rule. Why so much interest in what previously had been a mostly ceremonial post?

Vucic pushed aside incumbent President Tomislav Nikolic, a less-popular member of the prime minister’s Serbian Progressive Party, pressuring him to forgo running for a second five-year term because he feared he might lose. Vucic’s critics say his real plan is to use the presidential post to install a loyal party member to lead the government and then wield power behind the scenes.