Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has outlined a reform agenda spanning government, education and energy, and said a decision on whether to call early elections would be made within 10 days.

In an opinion piece published in the Kurir tabloid on May 6, Vucic said Serbia must undertake “brave and serious reforms” and change the way the state functions, despite what he described as strong economic results in recent years.

The plan centres on five key areas, including a reduction in the size of the public sector, deregulation to boost productivity, overhaul of the education system, major energy investments including potential nuclear power and increased spending on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data centres.

Vucic said the government had failed to shield citizens from what he described as “arrogance and selfishness” within state structures, adding that people might accept weaker economic results in exchange for more responsive governance.

The proposals include cutting the number of ministers, state secretaries and public agencies, which he said often serve “an end in themselves”, as well as removing regulatory barriers such as additional certification requirements on European Union goods.

He also called for increased labour productivity, rejecting ideas of shorter working hours and warning that Serbia must work more to remain competitive with major economies.

On education, Vucic proposed a comprehensive reform aimed at aligning training with labour market needs, including greater use of dual education systems and closer integration with international institutions.

In the energy sector, he said Serbia must invest in new infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines, renewables and potentially nuclear power plants, describing nuclear energy as essential for long-term stability.

The plan also emphasises investment in robotics, supercomputers and data centres, which Vucic described as critical for maintaining Serbia’s technological competitiveness.

Vucic said that since 2014, when he first took office as prime minister, unemployment has fallen from 26% to around 8%, while gross domestic product has risen from €32bn to nearly €100bn.

His announcement signals the informal start of election campaigning, as speculation grows about when the president will call a vote.

While parliamentary elections are not due until 2027, Vucic has repeatedly signalled the possibility of holding an early vote, potentially later this year. He has also hinted he may seek to return to the post of prime minister after his presidential term ends in May 2027.

Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party has dominated politics for over a decade, winning a decisive victory in snap elections in December 2023, though the vote was followed by opposition allegations of fraud and mass protests.

The government has recently emerged from a year of anti-government protests led by students, which erupted following the deadly collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024 that killed 16 people.