Care for the people and fighting arrogance; Vučić unveils a five-point plan for Serbia: "No untouchables"

&ldquo;What is most important is that we have not managed to free citizens from the arrogance and overbearing behavior of those in power, from the local to the highest level &mdash; in other words, we have not managed to respond to all self-serving and arrogant officials,&rdquo; Vučić said.The programmatic text by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is being published in full:&ldquo;The world around us is changing. Slower than we might want, but faster than we can consciously and subconsciously keep up with. We accept new information and technologies, but as social beings we are primarily limited by our own experience, nostalgic memories, and a mistaken belief that the era of our youth, in some form, will return. It will not.From the time behind us, we need only to draw lessons, to confront the new era, and to change ourselves. By changing ourselves &mdash; our habits &mdash; we change the future. The future is not determined by our desires, but by work and changes in habits and behavior. This applies to everyone, and especially to us in Serbia.&rdquo; &ldquo;I did not understand that people would accept even worse results in exchange for less arrogance and rudeness, and for more humanity and empathy in each of us&rdquo; &ldquo;Historic achievement&rdquo;The cycle from 2014 to 2026 has been completed. We managed to reduce unemployment from 26% to 8%, which is a historic achievement. At the same time, we increased the country&rsquo;s gross domestic product (GDP) from 32 billion to nearly 100 billion euros. As a result of that policy, the value of what we produce today is three times higher than what we produced 12 years ago. Our economy has been resilient and active during the greatest crises, from COVID to recent wars.However, major changes are needed in order to maintain growth rates and a low public debt level in the years ahead, and to continue improving citizens&rsquo; living standards. Numerous adjustments and changes in economic policy are required, as well as addressing issues in which we have not succeeded in previous years, or which were the result of strong economic growth and, generally speaking, human nature, which we did not sufficiently oppose.In the world, two major powers have separated &mdash; the United States and the People&rsquo;s Republic of China &mdash; while Europe is trying to catch up, increasingly understanding that on its future path it can no longer rely on unquestioned alliance with the U.S. Today, faster than ever, there is a political, military, and even more importantly, economic restructuring of the world.&ldquo;To become an example for bigger ones&rdquo;China and America are significantly ahead in the development of artificial intelligence, although Europe, especially Germany and France, are doing everything they can to join the runaway duo. However, Europe&rsquo;s position is much more difficult and complex, primarily due to the lack of energy and raw materials compared to the two leading powers, and even more because of regulations that limit working hours, give extensive rights to labor unions, and prevent Europeans &mdash; even Germans &mdash; from more flexibly and strongly &ldquo;starting their engines&rdquo; to catch up with China and the U.S.And most importantly, in Europe &mdash; and I mean all of us &mdash; life is currently best, and people believe that by repeating the same, by inaction and resistance to change, they can preserve the same pace of development and, more importantly, the same standard of living. That, of course, is not possible. In Europe we do not have a hunger for progress; we always want more justice, but we have lost in the economic &ldquo;race of the tiger&rdquo; over the last two decades of complete satisfaction. &ldquo;Serbia needs decisive reforms that can be delivered by serious, responsible and experienced people, not any kind of revolutionary jumping around and reckless behavior&rdquo;Serbia is a small country, a modest European economy, and cannot decisively influence the broader global picture, but it can become an example for larger ones. Still, I am convinced that Germans have already understood the message of their experts and that their main focus is now becoming increasing the productivity of their economy, which is something we, on our smaller scale, must also address.Serbia needs decisive and serious structural reforms, reforms of substance, which can only be delivered by serious, responsible and experienced people &mdash; not by revolutionary jumping around and reckless behavior in difficult times.Bold and important decisionsI believe it is necessary, in the coming period, to make bold and important decisions:1. Drastic reduction of the size of governmentThis includes cutting the number of government members, state secretaries, and assistant ministers, as well as their administrative apparatus. More decisively than 12 years ago, it is necessary to abolish numerous agencies, offices, and administrations that exist for their own sake and have no real justification. It is also necessary to further pursue deregulation, for which we ourselves are responsible &mdash; such as unnecessary certification of goods coming from the EU, which makes those products more expensive in Serbia than in the EU.2. Increasing productivity through more work and dedicationWe will have to work more, not less. I am sorry to say this because I know how unpopular it is, but someone must tell people. For months there has been talk about reducing working days and hours, suggesting that shorter working time would bring greater motivation and a better life. That will not happen. We will work more. I will start with myself and show that it is possible, and I will expect the same from everyone else. Germany, as the engine of Europe, in order to withstand industrial and technological competition with China and the United States, will increase working hours and days. Serbia must not and cannot accept irresponsible ideas about shortening working time.3. Bold and comprehensive reform of the education systemThis means greater openness to the world, especially at the higher education level, but also the clear acceptance of a dual education system, without hesitation or appeasement. Preparing young people for the labor market is of crucial importance.4. Comprehensive approach to energy challengesThis includes the use of nuclear energy. For decades we have not built new energy facilities; much has been built, but mostly out of necessity and under external pressure, wars, and sanctions. Today we plan many pipelines, gas interconnectors, hydropower plants, wind farms, and solar plants, but this will not be enough for Serbia&rsquo;s energy stability without the development of both small and large nuclear facilities &mdash; the cleanest and safest energy. Securing knowledge and financing for such projects will be the greatest challenge for the future government, as will managing mineral resources, raw materials, and rare metals.5. Aggressive adoption and application of knowledgeThis includes robotics, artificial intelligence, and modern technologies. Further investment in supercomputers and data centers must not be stopped due to electricity shortages. Data centers are the most important factories &mdash; those that produce intelligence &mdash; and they will be one of the key factors that can give Serbia an advantage over the region.No one should be humiliated or disrespectedAlongside numerous measurable achievements, there are also things we have not succeeded in delivering to citizens. There has been insufficient justice &mdash; not only due to our fault, but certainly not without our responsibility.&ldquo;There are two sides of inequality &mdash; the arrogant and ordinary people. I am on the side of the people, the nation, because no one should be belittled or disrespected&rdquo;&ldquo;However, what is most important is that we have not succeeded in freeing citizens from the arrogance and rudeness of those in power, from the local to the highest level. In other words, we have not managed to respond to all self-serving and arrogant officials, recognizable by the phrase: &lsquo;Do you know who I am?!&rsquo; We have not managed to teach them to wait in line, even when offering condolences at a cemetery, to wait in line in shops, to park like everyone else, to show humility and gratitude instead of arrogance and disregard.There are two sides of inequality &mdash; the arrogant and ordinary people. I stand with the people, the nation, because no one should be belittled or disrespected. We have not succeeded, and I hope we will have the chance to change that and overcome it. For that, I also bear personal responsibility. I always thought that the result on the scoreboard is what defines people, understanding that those results are objectively good. I did not realize that people would accept even worse results in exchange for less arrogance and rudeness, and for more humanity and empathy in each of us.I almost did not mention our opponents from the &lsquo;students&#39; lists&rsquo; in this text &mdash; intentionally. In both the opposition and among the blockaders, over the past year they have shown far more arrogance, vanity, and excess than those in power, while there is no program, plan, goals, or results in sight. And there will not be any.It is time for change, greater dedication and responsibility. Changes not only in building infrastructure and facilities, but also in our consciousness and a more rational view of the world around us. The need for such changes is great; we must not destroy that idea.&rdquo;

Care for the people and fighting arrogance; Vučić unveils a five-point plan for Serbia: "No untouchables"

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