IMPULSE Keeping Focus: Reporting developments in Serbia Hot Summer in Serbia as Protests Take Place Throughout the Country and Pressure Mounts on the Government to Hold Snap Elections Key points: ɂ Large protest of 140 000 citizens held on the Slavija Square in Belgrade on 28 June, some of the speeches create controversy due to nationalist comments ɂ Protests and blockades take place throughout Serbia after 28 June, followed by increased police brutality and mass arrests ɂ Polls show the government lagging significantly behind the student list and the opposition parties, but a unified opposition front remains distant Protest on 28 June briefly raises the issue of nationalism within the student movement A large protest – estimated to have gathered 140 000 citizens – was organized in the Belgrade Slavija Square by the student movement on 28 June 2025, which is marked as the Saint Vitus Day(Vidovdan) by the Serbian Orthodox Church. The holiday carries a lot of symbolic weight as it is associated with the 14th century battle of Kosovo, a centerpiece of the modern Serbian national identity. Several speeches at the protest were marked with nationalist rhetoric, because of which they were criticized by multiple liberal and pro-EU commentators, politicians and journalists. Claims that“nationalism has taken over the student protest” could be heard. However, this rhetoric did not repeat in the following weeks, which were instead marked by a new round of protests and instances of police brutality. Some commentators pointed out that the nationalist elements, alongside liberal ones, have been present within the student movement from the start and that the protests have consisted of a broad and ideologically heterogenous coalition. According to one interpretation, in a country where, thanks in part to the strong anti-Western propaganda by the media close to the government, trust in the EU is less than 40%, an ideologically consistent alternative to the regime cannot be expected. Hot Summer in Serbia as Protests Take Place Throughout the Country and Pressure Mounts on the Government to Hold Snap Elections 1