Rise without falls of the departing prime minister: Ana understood how to understand

The media conference after the last session of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Presidency began like most previous ones. Although he was seated all the way to the right, the central figure was, as always, President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić. After the usual ten-minute preamble about the state of the country, Vučić announced the news for which the conference was organized: Ana Brnabić will be the party’s candidate for President of the National Assembly. Then Vučić leaned back and made a dramatic pause, allowing the weight of what he had just said to settle in the room. When he leaned into the microphone again to explain his decision, a wistful, barely noticeable smile played on his face. He spoke slowly, in a manner he almost never speaks about his colleagues:

“Ana Brnabić is my most pleasant surprise in politics. She is the person who has progressed the fastest and the most. I have never seen anyone learn so fast, fight so hard. Fight so hard. In a world that is unfortunately dominated by men, she has fought heroically, like few politicians... It’s hard for me to imagine that as the President of the Republic, I won’t collaborate with her…,” Vučić said, among other praises, as it turned out, for the departing Prime Minister. Soon, he felt the need to further clarify, almost justify, his move.

“Well, my mandate expires in less than three years. Surely you don’t think that we are going to change the Constitution, so that I can be president again. Of course not. We have to get used to being replaceable and to change our energy. If she performs well in the Assembly, Ana can also be president,” Vučić said.

And so Ana Brnabić entered a new episode of playing the character of Vučić’s Dmitry Medvedev—with all that this strange and complex role entails.

All phases of a role

Ever since she appeared at a press conference in October 2015, pulled the president’s (then prime minister’s) close friend Nikola Petrović out of the “Wind farm” affair and bought a VIP ticket to Vučić’s world, until today, Ana Brnabić has patiently and devotedly played her role. Quite the opposite of her famous statement that she “must understand how to understand”, which made her a hit on social media, Ms Brnabić has perfectly understood her role in every phase of her political odyssey. First of all, as a gay woman with ostensibly liberal views, she was a contrast but also quite a refreshment in Vučić’s world, predominantly populated by right-wing, conservative men. And not only that, by her appointment as Prime Minister, she became their boss! The result was a conflict with many members of the SNS, whom she left behind on the ladder like a speeding bullet:

“If something was important, I talked to Vučić about it,” emphasizes Zorana Mihajlović, former Deputy Prime Minister, who sees Brnabić as a person “without any knowledge, capacity, understanding, culture, or manners.”

Let us start from the beginning. Her unstoppable rise to the very epicenter of political power also began at a media conference. It was October 2015, and the public was shaken by the “Wind Farm” affair. The obscure portal Teleprompter published a transcript of a conversation between Lidija Udovički, the wife of Mark Crandall, owner of the company “Continental Wind,” and Bojan Pajtić, then President of the Provincial Government and the Democratic Party. In the conversation, the authenticity of which was confirmed by Pajtić, Lidija Udovički complained to him that Nikola Petrović, the director of Public Company “Elektromreža Srbije” and Vučić’s close friend, demanded two million euros in bribes to connect the wind farm built by the company to the power grid.

Soon after, a conference was organized in the Government of Serbia, attended by, besides Petrović and Aleksandar Antić, then Minister of Energy, the previously unknown director of “Continental Wind,” Ana Brnabić. She then stated that there had been a misunderstanding regarding the interpretation of the old Law on Energy, and that the new law dispelled all doubts. She did not want to comment on the conversation as such, saying that it had nothing to do with the company, and she did not comment on the alleged request for a bribe. Finally, she said that she had resigned because, contrary to the company’s employees, she felt that it was necessary to come out and explain the situation to the public. The affair was successfully put to rest and Ana Brnabić did not have to look for the next job for long.

After the early parliamentary elections, Brnabić entered the Serbian government in 2016 as the Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, a position previously held by Kori Udovički. At that moment, nothing indicated that Ana Brnabić would be anything more than a technocratic addition to Vučić’s second government, hidden behind the appealing title of an expert. She spent a little less than a year in the position of Minister mostly in efforts to digitize public administration. However, despite explicit promises, Vučić ran for and won the presidential elections. At parting, Vučić gave all ministers books as presents and said that the titles were chosen according to a key known only to him. Ana Brnabić received a book about Milan Stojadinović, the pre-war Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Nevertheless, Vučić’s cunning move of appointing Ana Brnabić as Prime Minister, beneficial on several levels, overturned the balance of power in his internal system, but also changed the angle of perception of the Serbian government abroad. However, Ana continued to play her role, but in an entirely different direction. Instead of countering Vučić’s populism and maintaining her original role as a premier for Western markets, Brnabić increasingly became more “progressive” than Vučić himself. Not only did she join the party, but over time she became one of its key hawks, attacking political opponents with unfiltered words.

NIN / Vesna Lalić

Yet, her role continued to evolve. From a political hawk, she subtly transitioned into a “figurehead” within the system, becoming famous for her slips of the tongue, embarrasing moments in live broadcasts, and displaying ignorance.  She understood this role well and readily accepted it, knowing its essence: by playing the weak link in the most important position in the country according to the Constitution, she amplified the power and significance of the true leader, President Aleksandar Vučić.

Now the question arises: what is the essence of Ana Brnabić’s next phase in her political career? The position of the President of the National Assembly, according to Vučić’s words, is merely a stopover on the path to a Putin-Medvedev-style rotation. This would happen in 2027 when Serbia’s current President completes his second term, after which, based on his personal projection, he should return to the position of Prime Minister, with Ana Brnabić taking his place. Until then, Ana will serve as a shield for the SNS interests in the National Assembly. She will continue defending them with the same fierceness, but any attacks against her are expected to be softened by the fact that, unlike her predecessor Vladimir Orlić, she is a woman.

An expert, but an expert in what?

Political analyst Cvijetin Milivojević says that Ana Brnabić’s primary quality is her absolute loyalty to Aleksandar Vučić. 
“When she entered politics, one of the qualities emphasized by Vučić was that she was an “expert.” However, during her three terms as head of the government, it remains unclear exactly what she is an expert in. For instance, people may have varying opinions about Siniša Mali, but it is indisputable that he is a financial expert. I fail to see where Ana Brnabić’s expertise lies, except that she has become a fierce party activist and one of the most venomous voices against government critics”, Milivojević points out.

Milivojević adds that during her time as Prime Minister, Brnabić never interfered in the actual work.
“Instead, she allowed Vučić to usurp the most critical levers of executive power. This is her greatest quality. Although the Government, by law and Constitution, is in charge of domestic and foreign policy, Ms Brnabić deferred this to the President of the Republic, who holds eight ceremonial powers”, he emphasizes.

According to Milivojević, the very way Brnabić entered politics speaks volumes about her moral qualities.

“She entered politics by previously betraying the company she was managing. She worked directly against the interests of her company and was rewarded for that, first by appointment to the Minister’s and later to the Prime Minister’s office. Anyone can part ways with an employer, but it takes a special level of immorality for someone to act as she did,” says Milivojević.

In this sense, adds our source, Ms Brnabić will maintain continuity in the position of the President of the National Assembly.

“Before her, it was Vladimir Orlić, a man with a PhD from the School of Electrical Engineering (ETF) and an excess of bad manners. Ana Brnabić also lacks basic manners. When you look at her vocabulary, the lack of clarity, the excessive need to insult people and engage in arguments—these are not things taught in school or in public service. They are carried over from home,” notes Milivojević.

With the observation that Brnabić has become a textbook example of a party apparatchik, sociologist Đokica Jovanović emphasizes that party dynamics are unpredictable, and one never knows what will happen in the future.

“Someone’s gender or sexual orientation don’t necessarily play a role in politics. Citizens may form opinions based on prejudices, but in party dynamics, interest is the sole driving force. In that sense, it didn’t surprise me that Brnabić was nominated for the position of President of the National Assembly, just as it wouldn’t surprise me if she were a presidential candidate in three years. In this country, ever since Milošević, there’s no room for surprises,” Jovanović points out.