Vučić's fall, Filipče's congratulations, new fuel prices and the K-15 holiday bonus

Serbia after Vučić

The man who ran Serbia for more than a decade conceded defeat himself: roughly 1.72 million votes for his list, roughly 2.2 million for the Student List, which takes a majority in parliament. The winner is a list with no leader, made up of doctors, professors, actors and one engineer who had warned before the canopy in Novi Sad came down. The first image of the new night was the gendarmerie pulling out of Belgrade under stones and whistles, after months of guarding Ćacilend, the pro-Vučić camp. Toppling a government is one thing. How a list without a leader will govern, we have yet to see.

Sanctions and Republika Srpska

One of Vučić's first messages after the defeat was aimed at Moscow: "By March or April you will have sanctions against Russia." Whether that is a forecast or his first card as opposition, nobody knows yet. Serbia has so far refused sanctions, while Macedonia introduced them back in 2022 and ended up on Russia's list of "unfriendly countries". Across the Drina, Republika Srpska voted for Vučić: 1,543 to 335 in Bijeljina. Dodik now has to work with the very government he campaigned against.

Filipče counts someone else's victory

SDSM leader Venko Filipče rushed out his congratulations: "Orban fell. Vučić fell. We all know who is next." He named no names, but the message was clearly addressed to Hristijan Mickoski's government. Except that in Serbia the winners were students who spent months protesting in the streets, not an opposition party from a neighbouring country. Macedonia's regular parliamentary elections are not until 2028. What will the opposition offer until then, other than congratulations on other people's elections?

Fuel, the holiday bonus and a promised third operator

The Energy Regulatory Commission announces new fuel prices today, valid from Tuesday. Brent closed the week at 116.72 dollars a barrel, about six percent up in a single week, and diesel is already more expensive than both grades of petrol. In the private sector, the minimum K-15 holiday bonus under the new base comes to about 19,415 denars, but the amount depends on the day the company signs its decision, and the deadline runs out on 31 December. Deputy Prime Minister Nikoloski, meanwhile, announced on Facebook a third operator using Starlink, with prices "much, much cheaper" than the existing ones. The operator starts with Skopje, with a deadline of March. How much it will actually cost, nobody is saying yet.

A pistol in Bogovinje, drunk drivers on the roads

In Bogovinje, a 16-year-old "accidentally" shot a 15-year-old with a pistol. Father and son turned themselves in to the police and handed over a pistol with an empty magazine, but the Interior Ministry's statement leaves out the most important part: whose pistol it is and how it ended up with a 16-year-old child. In less than a day, meanwhile, the roads saw four drunk drivers: a 58-year-old was killed, five people were seriously injured, and one driver with 2.22 per mille hit three boys and fled. Every one of those readings was taken only after the crashes had already happened.

Trust in the courts and police chiefs in Florida

For Justice Day, Justice Minister Shasivari declared that "trust is earned through deeds". A European Commission figure shows how far off that is: the share of citizens who rate court independence as good fell from 28 to 21 percent in a single year. At the same time, the heads of the Public Security Bureau and the Financial Police, Janev and Ivanovski, are at a police conference in Orlando, among 16,000 professionals. The press releases boast of "commitment". What they will bring home, nobody says yet.

Power, parking, a park and live ammunition

Vrtekica, Ramni Gaber, Pagaruša and part of Dolno Količani in Studeničani are left seven hours without electricity while the grid is rebuilt, and there is an outage on Hristo Tatarčev street in Aerodrom too. Residents of Kisela Voda are asking for zoned parking and a new stop for bus line 24, and the municipality promises solutions "as soon as possible". Deljadrovci is getting a park with slides and a gazebo, but Ilinden municipality hasn't said what it costs or when it will be done. In Ohrid, the police reserve force scheduled live-fire exercises at Bejbunar for Sunday morning, and the notice went out the evening before. Is one evening enough warning?

Delčevo, the good part of the day

An 18-year-old from Delčevo found 114,000 denars, about 2,000 euros, someone's ID card and passport on Makedonija boulevard, and took the lot to the police station. With nobody watching. For once, the Interior Ministry had someone to praise instead of someone to charge.

Sport: Macedonian handball in Europe

The last two champions of the EHF European Cup are Macedonian, and Ohrid and Alkaloid are through again this season with two wins each. Vardar, meanwhile, brought home its first Champions League win from Nantes. In the NBA, Dončić passed LeBron with 52 points, and Mbappé settled El Clásico with his hundredth goal.

In the heavier part of the day, the numbers say more than the statements: 21 percent trust in court independence, a pistol in a 16-year-old's hands that the Interior Ministry won't say whose it is, and fuel prices waiting to be recalculated after Brent at 116.72 dollars. In Serbia, a government fell in one evening. Here, the questions are still waiting for answers from the institutions, not congratulations.