“You don’t just leave the mafia”: Zdravko Ponoš challenges Vučić’s claim that no SNS officials have defected

Critics argue that student-led protests and broader civic movements are gradually eroding the regime’s legitimacy

Serbia Center (SRCE) leader Zdravko Ponoš has sharply criticized President Aleksandar Vučić’s repeated claim that not a single official of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) has defected, despite mounting political pressure, public protests, and corruption allegations over the past year.

Vučić has repeatedly stated in public appearances that all SNS officials have remained loyal, even as they allegedly faced media attacks, threats, physical assaults, and pressure directed at their families.

Commenting on Vučić’s narrative, Ponoš used unusually blunt language, arguing that loyalty within the SNS is not voluntary but enforced.

“You don’t just leave the mafia,” Ponoš said, suggesting that the SNS functions less like a political party and more like a closed, interest-based structure.

According to Ponoš, only a small number of individuals have managed to leave the party, and those individuals were people who, in addition to wealth, allegedly possessed compromising material that could protect them from retaliation.

Media estimates cited in the report indicate that the SNS controls a vast political and administrative network. This network includes more than 170 national and provincial MPs, over 4,000 local councilors, hundreds of mayors, municipal presidents, and senior local officials, dozens of ministers and state secretaries, and thousands of members serving on public boards and local councils. Despite widespread allegations of corruption and abuse of power, no senior SNS figure has publicly defected. This absence of defections reinforces Vučić’s argument of party cohesion while simultaneously fueling skepticism among critics.

Vučić has highlighted Zorana Mihajlović’s return to the SNS as a symbol of unity within the party. Mihajlović herself has stated that she returned after becoming “more mature,” restoring what she described as a “special relationship” with Vučić, whom she praised as both “a good man and an exceptional statesman.”

Opposition figures, however, interpret her return differently. Ponoš argued that Mihajlović never truly left the party, but instead assumed the role of a temporary dissenter whose eventual return was orchestrated to serve the party’s public image.

Ponoš further contended that certain figures linked to the SNS are now exposed to international scrutiny, including the possibility of United States sanctions, particularly those connected to energy monopolies and major infrastructure projects.

“They are already politically burned and ideal for sacrifice,” Ponoš stated, arguing that Vučić could use such individuals to simulate an anti-corruption campaign while shielding himself from responsibility.

Political analyst Dragomir Anđelković described the SNS as an interest-based cartel, arguing that such structures are abandoned only when their collapse becomes inevitable. Similarly, political scientist Zoran Lutovac stated that the party’s strength lies not in popular support but in state capture, media control, and clientelism. He added that defections would occur only if they were acceptable to the opposition, which, in his view, they currently are not.

Another analyst, Srećko Đukić, noted that leaving the SNS often entails the loss of employment, privileges, and legal protection, making defection a high-risk decision for insiders.

Critics argue that student-led protests and broader civic movements are gradually eroding the regime’s legitimacy. According to opposition figures, the continued absence of defections reflects fear and self-preservation rather than genuine loyalty, and serves as an indicator of deep systemic corruption rather than political strength. /Danas/