At the moment when the President of Serbia announced the name of the Prime Minister-designate, the websites containing Đuro Macut’s biography crashed due to traffic overload. Most citizens had no idea who Macut was, but in the hours and days that followed, they read that he is a “world-renowned doctor” who could position himself as a “bridge to the opposition and the students involved in the blockade”. In pro-government tabloids - especially those known for targeting, hate speech, and attacks on anyone who disagrees with the President Vučić - Macut was portrayed as the “ideal choice to facilitate dialogue and ease tensions” and as a man who “strongly supports the policy of a free and independent Serbia”.
Vučić and Macut at a rally of Serbian Progressive Party in Jagodina, January 24, 2025; four days before PM Vučević resigned.
Whom does Prime Minister-designate Đuro Macut actually support?
In December 2023, ahead of the parliamentary and Belgrade elections, endocrinologist Đuro Macut signed a declaration of support for the electoral list “Aleksandar Vučić - Serbia Must Not Stop”.
His name also appeared in media reports from a gathering in Jagodina at the end of January, where President Vučić launched a counter-campaign against students and citizens protesting across Serbia and demanding accountability for the deaths in Novi Sad.
Macut was one of the speakers at the President’s rally, where he used the opportunity to praise the government’s investment in the healthcare system and, in particular, to praise President Aleksandar Vučić.
His name also appeared in media reports from a gathering in Jagodina at the end of January, where President Vučić launched a counter-campaign against students and citizens protesting across Serbia and demanding accountability for the deaths in Novi Sad.
Macut was one of the speakers at the President’s rally, where he used the opportunity to praise the government’s investment in the healthcare system and, in particular, to praise President Aleksandar Vučić.
Đuro Macut speaking at the SNS rally in Jagodina
“We must continue fighting to ensure that young doctors and their experienced colleagues in hospitals remain in constant contact, that we strengthen the medical workforce in Serbia, and improve health insurance - that is, make treatment available to everyone. And this vision has been one of Aleksandar Vučić’s visions in the recent period,” Macut said on January 24 in Jagodina.
In early March, Macut appeared again in the headlines of tabloids after visiting a group of young people camping in front of the Presidency building, presenting themselves as “students who want to learn” and allegedly demanding the resumption of classes at universities. This group has also been supported by government officials and media - those same outlets that for months have been discrediting, targeting, and demonizing the students involved in blockades and the citizens supporting them at protests. The same camp in front of the Presidency building and the same group were also supported by veterans of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), a formation whose members were convicted of war crimes and involved in the conspiracy to murder Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in 2003.
In early March, Macut appeared again in the headlines of tabloids after visiting a group of young people camping in front of the Presidency building, presenting themselves as “students who want to learn” and allegedly demanding the resumption of classes at universities. This group has also been supported by government officials and media - those same outlets that for months have been discrediting, targeting, and demonizing the students involved in blockades and the citizens supporting them at protests. The same camp in front of the Presidency building and the same group were also supported by veterans of the Special Operations Unit (JSO), a formation whose members were convicted of war crimes and involved in the conspiracy to murder Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić in 2003.
Macut in Ćacilend.
Although presented as a non-partisan figure, Đuro Macut is, like President Aleksandar Vučić, a member of the Initiative Committee of the Movement for the People and the State. This is a movement Vučić has been announcing for years and formally initiated following the escalation of public outrage and the crisis triggered by the collapse of a canopy in Novi Sad amid allegations of widespread corruption.
After President Vučić proposed him as the candidate for the new Prime Minister, Đuro Macut stated that he would not speak publicly about his plans before his keynote address in the National Assembly of Serbia.
After President Vučić proposed him as the candidate for the new Prime Minister, Đuro Macut stated that he would not speak publicly about his plans before his keynote address in the National Assembly of Serbia.
President Vučić with PM designate Macut
Instead of him, outgoing Prime Minister and president of the Serbian Progressive Party Miloš Vučević spoke to the public.
“I think it’s a good decision that he’s staying out of the media until the keynote address is ready, especially since he doesn’t come from the world of politics - it gives him a chance to relax and focus on what’s most important. But Đuro Macut, let me tell you, is a doctor and professor who doesn’t come from politics, but he has been a part of public life, and he made his political positions very clear - both at the gathering in Jagodina and in his statements on certain issues,” Vučević said during an appearance on TV Pink.
During the same appearance, Vučević also said that the new government will have the same number of ministries as the outgoing one, that “there are people who deserve to remain ministers”, and that he “believes there will be many new faces”.
The new candidate for Prime Minister, therefore, does not hold the position of a mediator, but rather of one side in a dialogue that does not exist. He also does not come with the vision and independence, but his figure and future politics are crafted and legitimized by the highest ruling party officials and the tabloids. He is even not allowed to present himself to the citizens of Serbia.
“I think it’s a good decision that he’s staying out of the media until the keynote address is ready, especially since he doesn’t come from the world of politics - it gives him a chance to relax and focus on what’s most important. But Đuro Macut, let me tell you, is a doctor and professor who doesn’t come from politics, but he has been a part of public life, and he made his political positions very clear - both at the gathering in Jagodina and in his statements on certain issues,” Vučević said during an appearance on TV Pink.
During the same appearance, Vučević also said that the new government will have the same number of ministries as the outgoing one, that “there are people who deserve to remain ministers”, and that he “believes there will be many new faces”.
The new candidate for Prime Minister, therefore, does not hold the position of a mediator, but rather of one side in a dialogue that does not exist. He also does not come with the vision and independence, but his figure and future politics are crafted and legitimized by the highest ruling party officials and the tabloids. He is even not allowed to present himself to the citizens of Serbia.
