Vučić offers Serbia’s top job to Slovenian Mayor?

Ljubljana Mayor Zoran Janković has come under media spotlight over his relationship with embattled Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić again after Vučić confirmed media reports that he had offered him the job of prime minister, an offer that Janković denies. Vučić also hinted that he sees Janković as his potential successor, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

After the previous prime minister resigned under pressure of massive anti-corruption protests, Vučić put forward a political novice, Belgrade doctor Đuro Macut as his successor on 6 April, telling reporters that he had also discussed the post with his "good friend Zoran Janković".

In response Janković said he planned to serve out the remaining year and a half of his term. "I remain the mayor of Ljubljana," he told POP TV on 9 April, repeating his position at his regular press conference at the City Hall on 8 April.

"It is absolutely too early for anything else, I have not given it any thought, why should I have?" Janković said. "We have a year and a half to go until the next election. I will announce my decision on 9 May next year," the 72-year-old Serbian-born politician said.

Vučić said he and Janković had agreed on his cooperation with the Expo 2027 show, adding that he believed he could play a more prominent role in a future election.

"I wish that Janković were in charge in the future and that I would assist him. We'll see," Vučić said.

The two have had a long-standing friendship and Janković recently sent Vučić a letter of support amid massive student protests, which earned him sharp criticism from the opposition in the city council as well as from some prominent figures in the country. His move also provoked two public protests.

Janković denies being offered PM post

Janković acknowledged that he had dinner with Vučić, along with several other people, on the sidelines of the recent UEFA congress in Belgrade, but that there had been no discussion about his potential involvement in Serbian politics.

"You have to ask [Vučić] why he said that," he responded when asked repeatedly what the talks were about and whether he had indeed been offered a job.

Citing confidential sources, Serbian news portal Nova.rs reported on 7 April that Janković had initially accepted Vučić's offer but then changed his mind. Faced with the claim, Janković retorted that media write what media write.

Collaboration on Expo 2027

Janković did, however, confirm reports that he had received an offer to take part in the Expo 2027 project in Belgrade as consultant. The project has been marred by criticism for being exempt from public procurement rules and the need to acquire operating permits and environment impact assessment.

He informed Vučić he could work pro bono in his free time and has already submitted a draft contract he received to the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption asking it if this would be compatible with anti-corruption law. He said he is yet to hear back from the watchdog.

Appearing as a guest of the Slovenian Business Club, Janković also said his discussions with Vučić and some other people at the dinner in Serbia were concerned with what should be done to preserve peace in the region.

Janković was born in rural Serbia to a Slovenian mother and Serbian father. He moved to Slovenia as a child together with his parents.

He made a name for himself as chief executive of Slovenia's largest retailer Mercator before being elected Ljubljana mayor for the first time in 2006. He has kept the post since except for his ill-fated foray into politics at the national level when he failed to form a government after his party won a plurality in the 2011 general election.

Like Vučić, Janković has faced allegations of corruption, cronyism and shady ways in which public contracts have allegedly been awarded to private partners, but has never been proved guilty in court. Contrary to Vučić's claim that he does, Janković says he does not have Serbian citizenship.

Speculation about Vučić's motives

Vučić's offer to Janković has received extensive media coverage in Slovenia, raising quite a few eyebrows, in particular in light of the allegation made by former MEP Klemen Grošelj that Prime Minister Robert Golob forced him downballot in the 2024 EU election under pressure from Janković and Vučić, allegedly due to his criticism as head of the European Parliament team observing Serbia elections.

While those involved denied the claim, Grošelj now says that the latest statements by Vučić put his theory about Vučić's influence on the ruling party's EU election slate in a new light, raising unpleasant questions about the influence of the Vučić regime on Slovenian politics.

There has been little response from major political players to the latest episode with most of the parliamentary parties declining to comment. The opposition Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS) said their position remained unchanged, meaning that Janković should have left office long ago.

"This is President Vučić's internal spin to send a message about the importance of Zoran Janković. I find it hard to imagine that Serbians would accept him as their PM-designate, especially since he has not lived in Serbia since birth," SDS vice-president and head of the party's Ljubljana chapter Aleš Hojs told the news portal N1.

Meanwhile, Boštjan Anžin, the Belgrade correspondent for the public broadcaster RTV Slovenija, noted that Vučić and Janković have long cooperated. "Janković is often hosted here and was tipped in the past as a potential candidate for Belgrade mayor. He regularly featured as a guest of election campaign events of (Vučić's) Serbian Progressive Party."

He does not believe Vučić sees Janković as his potential successor at the presidency, but "as an operative, for example of a future Serbian government", while he does not think he is a plausible candidate for the post now.