A student-led movement in Serbia is mounting a high-profile challenge to the long-standing dominance of President Aleksandar Vučić and his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in the upcoming parliamentary election on October 25. Drawing inspiration from the successful campaign of Peter Magyar in Hungary earlier this year, the students aim to capitalize on widespread public dissatisfaction that has grown since the collapse of a railway station canopy in November 2024, a tragedy that sparked prolonged protests and intensified scrutiny of government corruption.

Vučić and the SNS have maintained control over Serbia’s political landscape since 2012, consolidating influence across the judiciary, media, and other key institutions similar to the approach taken by Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party in Hungary. The recent disaster has heightened public outrage, fostering hope that new political forces might disrupt the established order. The student movement has modelled aspects of its campaign on Magyar’s Tisza party, emphasizing restoration of institutional independence, anti-corruption measures, and accountability. They have also engaged with voters outside major urban centers through bicycle tours and rallies in smaller towns.

However, significant differences in strategy and leadership distinguish the Serbian students from Magyar’s campaign. Whereas Magyar ran a highly personalised and front-facing campaign, the student movement operates with a flat, leaderless structure and making decisions collectively. Their candidate list largely comprises academics and professionals such as professors, lawyers, and economists, many lacking prior political experience. Magyar, by contrast, was a former government insider with ties to Hungary’s ruling party, which some analysts suggest aided his electoral appeal.

Despite the resonance of their anti-corruption message, the students face entrenched challenges. Opposition critiques of government misconduct are hardly new in Serbia, and while the train station collapse intensified the stakes by linking corruption directly to loss of life, initial public anger has diminished. The movement’s key electoral goal is to mobilize non-voters—estimated at around 40 percent of the electorate—rather than significantly peel off support from the SNS.

The SNS maintains a formidable grassroots network with reportedly over 700,000 registered members, securing broad social and economic patronage. Party membership often correlates with access to public sector employment, creating strong incentives for many voters and their families to support the status quo. Proposals from the students to create specialised anti-corruption institutions and seize illicit wealth risk alienating these constituents by threatening entrenched patronage structures.

The student movement’s platform represents a push for profound change rather than incremental reform. While Magyar’s campaign presented a narrative linking elite enrichment to pressing quality-of-life concerns, such as deteriorating healthcare, Serbia’s students ask voters to embrace a less familiar alternative without the backing of an established track record. Vučić, in contrast, continues to highlight his government’s record on economic development.

Ultimately, the outcome of the Serbian election will depend on the students’ ability to turn out historically disengaged voters and on whether the SNS’s core supporters remain motivated to vote. The election presents a critical test of whether new political actors can break the long-standing hold of an entrenched ruling party in a democracy facing significant institutional constraints.