Serbia's New Assembly Should Begin With Talks on Opposition Roles

On Sunday Ana Brnabić called the constitutive session of Serbia's new National Assembly for 17 November and, in the same breath, complained that the Student List had not contacted her about how posts in the house would be shared. Coming from the outgoing speaker, whose own majority was often accused of running parliament as a one-party chamber, the complaint is easy to dismiss. It should not be dismissed entirely.

The point Brnabić is making

Her substantive argument is that the governing majority has traditionally offered deputy-speaker posts to opposition groups and left the chairs of some committees, such as foreign affairs and European integration, to the opposition, and that these things were agreed before the first sitting. Whether or not that tradition was always honoured in spirit, it is a good one. A parliament in which the minority holds real positions is harder to turn into a rubber stamp, whoever holds the majority.

Why the new majority is cautious

The Student List has reasons for distance. Its MPs have pledged to resign if they break their commitments, and the movement has said its decisions belong to its own group, not to deals struck in corridors. After a campaign fought against the old way of doing politics, a quiet meeting with the outgoing speaker could look like business as usual. Dejan Šoškić's remark that the elected group owns its mandates and decides independently reflects that instinct.

A better way to do it

There is a way to honour both concerns: hold the talks, but in the open. The list could publish its proposal for deputy speakers and committee chairs before 17 November, invite the SNS and the smaller groups to respond, and explain its choices. That would show voters that the new majority intends to change how the Assembly works, not only who runs it.

The constitution gives a winning majority a great deal of power over parliament. The test for the Student List is whether it uses that power differently from its predecessors. Starting with a transparent offer to the opposition would be a strong first answer.