At the dawn of Serbian elections

As Serbia heads toward a decisive vote, President Aleksandar Vučić continues silencing his critics. A major voice of dissent has just been taken off the air.

24 Minuta, the satirical show hosted by Zoran Kesić, was pulled from Nova S television in early September, ending a 13-year on-air run—a month before the country heads into pivotal elections. The new owner, Portuguese investment fund Alpac Capital, says the reason is purely financial: the show, according to a statement from Adria News Network (ANN), cost more than €500,000 a year.

24 Minuta‘s removal from the air, just weeks before a critical election, is unlikely to be coincidental. For over a decade, the show built its reputation by sharply parodying Vučić, the SNS (Serbian Progressive Party), and pro-government media. Its cancellation at this politically sensitive moment has prompted journalist associations and opposition figures to question whether the network’s official cost-related explanation is the full story. Meanwhile, Kesić did a full segment on his YouTube channel in Portuguese—yes, Portuguese—with a fado singer performing live in the background, appealing directly to the Portuguese public for empathy and support. (Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkTCTmGM34s)

It’s worth remembering what Kesić’s show actually was, and why its cancellation matters beyond one program’s ratings. Kesić had elevated 24 Minuta into a satirical art form, executed at a level rarely seen in the Balkans, serving as the voice from the sidelines shouting: “The emperor has no clothes!” That’s likely part of why, in May, the European Movement in Serbia gave him its “Contribution of the Year to Europe” award.

Days after Kesić’s cancellation, Dragan Vučelić, a longtime RTS (Radio Television Serbia) anchor, was quietly removed from hosting Kulturni dnevnik after 13 years. Vučelić had been visible at student protests and had publicly backed Kesić, appearing at the September 10 rally in Belgrade where thousands gathered in support of 24 Minuta.

A black funeral shroud has been descending—slowly but surely—over Serbia’s media landscape for the last fourteen years. Hopefully this changes if Vučić falls in the upcoming elections, because the damage his propaganda apparatus has inflicted on Serbian society and its youth cannot be overstated—nor undone in the coming decades. The hatred and misinformation spewed daily by pro-government media have had an enormous influence on public opinion, playing a role in radicalisation, in hostility toward neighbouring countries, and deepening divisions that run right through the core of Serbian society. The consequences are impossible to ignore: a convicted war criminal like Ratko Mladić, responsible for the Srebrenica genocide, gets celebrated as a national hero and role model, his murals painted across Belgrade. Mladić’s funeral, held in Belgrade on September 7 with military honors and thousands in attendance, made Western news, shocking ordinary Europeans. Meanwhile, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen merely calculates what the election outcome might bring, offering not even a slap on the wrist for Vučić this time.

Serbia is not some remote outpost on the outskirts of the European Union—its stability matters to all of us. History has taught us that lesson well.

Zoran Kesić has fallen, but he bounced back immediately. The political stakes are simply too high right now; with elections just around the corner, this is no moment to quit. Undeterred, Kesić is continuing his work independently on YouTube and has launched a Patreon page.

24 Minuta on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@24minutaofficial
Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/24minuta

PHOTO CREDIT : N1