'Tent campaign' across Serbia: how the SNS turns gatherings into an election campaign
Tents, music and speeches: the ruling SNS organises local rallies and presents them as the start of an election campaign ahead of elections that, according to announcements, could be in October or November.
From Topola to Niš, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) is erecting tents and organising ceremonial local gatherings that officials shape as a precursor to an election campaign. Parliamentary elections have not yet been officially called; there is public speculation about the timing, and President Aleksandar Vučić has announced they can be expected in October or November — but not during the summer.
At many of these events the same message is heard: voters should mobilise because “elections are ahead of us,” and the party’s victory is presented as necessary to preserve the state. The phrase often heard at SNS gatherings is: "Elections are ahead of us, please prepare yourselves." Leading the field is the president of SNS, Miloš Vučević, who often appears together with members of the Government.
Tents across towns, the same message
In recent weeks SNS tents have been set up in places such as Topola, Futog, Odžaci, Žitište, Valjevo, Laćarak, Subotica, Loznica and Niš. Ministers such as Zlatibor Lončar, Dragan Glamočić, Bratislav Gašić, Darko Glišić, Sara Pavkov and Siniša Mali appeared at the gatherings; President Aleksandar Vučić attended certain rallies.
The speeches combine appeals for continuity with warnings about the alternative. As the leader of SNS said at the rally in Topola: "And now, with elections — big, important elections — only a few months away, I came to ask you not to allow everything we have achieved in the last 15 years to collapse. Let us not take things for granted or assume that things cannot get worse. They can get worse. After all, those very people who organise blockades have shown us how much things can deteriorate," he said.
During his visit to Futog two months ago, Vučević told those present to prepare for the elections and gave a pledge to the president and former leader of SNS, Aleksandar Vučić: "Vučić, we promise you: we will win in Novi Sad and across Vojvodina." Minister Lončar, meanwhile, told some rallies: "And you know yourselves — without Vučić there is nothing, let’s not fool ourselves. So, think about this and talk to everyone, because there are only two choices: to help Vučić or to allow Serbia to sink again into ruin."
The gatherings often combine political speech with music, song and the traditional circle dance — "kolo" — creating a festive atmosphere that organisers use to increase the visual perception of support. Political analyst Bojan Vranić assesses that SNS is deliberately decentralising its tents from a single park to the whole region: "In SNS iconography, the tent saved Serbia. Now SNS is literally decentralising those same tents across Serbia, sending the message: Here, everyone now has their own tent where they can save Serbia and rally under it. Another thing is that it looks good from a media and production-value perspective. If 200 people turn out on a town square in some small place, it's a significant number, but in front of the camera it doesn't look impressive; however, when 200 people gather inside a tent, it looks full — a festive atmosphere prevails," Vranić said.
Whether tents are primarily a grassroots mobilisation tool or a strategy to create the impression of mass support, the gatherings show how the ruling party is transforming local events into an organised pivot toward a national election, which, according to signals from the top of the state, may come in October or November.
Photo: press material from the event
