Growing Public Discontent with the Government; Majority Support for Students

As the government fails to halt the growing trend of dissatisfaction and mistrust among Serbian citizens, support for the protests and students remains high even after five months, standing at 59% according to the findings of CRTA’s public opinion research.

At least half of the adult population is dissatisfied with nearly every aspect of the government’s performance; 51% are dissatisfied with the overall results of the government, 61% with its fight against corruption, while the lowest negative rating (48%) relates to social protection and the work of social welfare centers.

Every second person rates President Aleksandar Vučić’s performance negatively. The average (school-like) grade given to him by citizens is 2,6. When asked whom they trust more – the president or the students, every second citizen places their trust in the students, while one in three trusts Aleksandar Vučić.

It is important to note that the research was conducted from April 3 to April 16, during the height of the “offensive” launched by the government in an attempt to demonstrate its strength in the face of student and civic protests (a pro-government rally was held on April 12 in Belgrade).

Despite the government and pro-government media narratives blaming students for the poor economic situation, a majority of citizens (54%) believe the government is responsible. The story of a “color revolution” is credible to just over a quarter of the population (28%), while 61 percent of citizens believe the protests were sparked by anger over the loss of 16 lives due to corruption and negligence. At the same time, it is clear to the public (54%) that the students’ demands have not been met.

There is growing awareness in society about the importance of civic engagement, with citizens primarily seeing voting as a way to contribute to change in the country. Most see the way out of the crisis either in early parliamentary elections (32%) or in a non-partisan expert government with a limited mandate to carry out key reforms (29%).

In contrast, citizens (56%) do not believe that the new government will resolve the country’s most pressing issues. Corruption is seen as the biggest burden by 29 percent of citizens, followed by the ongoing protests (22%), and governance of Aleksandar Vučić and the SNS (18%).

Read the full survey here.

*CRTA conducted the public opinion survey between April 3 and April 16, 2025, on a nationally representative sample of 2,025 respondents using face-to-face interviews.