Obućina for ETV Portal: There will be no mercy, but there will be justice, Serbian citizens hope promises will be kept

Journalist and editor at Nova S Television, Jelena Obućina, has opened news programmes for years with her sharp introductory monologues, precisely and surgically dissecting the state of affairs in Serbia under Aleksandar Vučić’s regime.

Many of her lines have become iconic, but one in particular has remained etched in the public’s memory. She uttered it in 2025, at the height of student-led and civic protests, and these days it sounds more relevant than ever.

- There’s no turning back now, and no one wants to. Except those in power, but they’re - bye-bye, Ćaci - Obućina said at the time.

Following the student list’s victory in Sunday’s parliamentary elections and the end of the Serbian Progressive Party’s and Aleksandar Vučić’s long-standing rule, Obućina says it is easier to breathe in Serbia.

- But we will be able to breathe freely once the change of power is formally completed - she told ETV Portal.

Serbia, she emphasises, hopes that everything will unfold as promised.

- There will be no mercy - but there will be justice - Obućina declared.

She added that it had been a pleasure to present the first evening news broadcast in freedom, but that she was still waiting for a programme that would begin with a live broadcast of a trial.

- But I’m still waiting for the one that will begin with a live broadcast of a trial. We’re on the right track - Obućina told ETV Portal.

The student electoral list, „Students Are Winning“, emerged victorious in the parliamentary elections held on Sunday. The list’s lead candidate, Dr Ilija Srdanović, declared on election night that Serbia had won, saying he was proud of people who had known how to say „no“ to a tyrant.

This brought an end to the long-standing rule of the Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vučić.

- We have brought freedom not only to the citizens who voted for us, but also to those who were trapped, unhappy and blackmailed, those who were on the other side of the ballot. We have brought freedom to everyone - Srdanović told ETV Portal following the election victory.