Worker in Toplica says he was fired for not attending a rally — Aleksandar Vučić: "If that is the reason, all of them will be dismissed"

During his visit to the Toplica district on August 19, 2026, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was approached by a municipal worker from the public utility company "Merošina" who said he had been dismissed because he did not attend a political rally. Vučić responded on the spot: "If that is the reason, all of them will be dismissed." The exchange appears on video that the NGO CRTA published on the social network X.

The worker told Vučić that he had been employed for eight years "on a contract for services" and that his dismissal followed his refusal to go to the rally. Vučić described the claim as "a somewhat silly reason," and repeated that: "If that is the reason, all of them will be dismissed," while adding that if the reason were not true, the man "will not get a new job."

Short confrontation, wider resonance

The brief on-stage confrontation came amid other similar scenes recorded during recent presidential outings. A week earlier, while Vučić was visiting Nova Varoš, a woman from the audience publicly demanded an explanation for why she had not received a job she says was promised if she collected a certain number of votes during the 2020 election.

The Toplica clip circulated rapidly on social media after CRTA posted the recording on X, drawing renewed attention to allegations that employment decisions have been tied to political participation. The president’s remarks, as captured in the video, underscore a tense interaction between state officials and citizens raising workplace grievances.

Neither the video nor the on-site exchange included a formal statement from state institutions about the specific dismissal; the recording itself remains the principal record of the encounter published so far.

Photo: EPA/EFE