Serbian parliament goes up in smoke

Earlier this week, Serbian opposition MPs detonated smoke bombs, hurled eggs, and sprayed fire extinguishers in parliament. It looked like a heavy metal concert gone off the rails. Their combustible display left at least three injured. One lawmaker even suffered a stroke and remains in critical condition.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic denounced them as no better than football hooligans. That, of course, is unfair to the hooligans. After all, brawls in Serbia’s parliament are nothing new. Just last November, a budget debate devolved into fistfights. Opposition MPs then justified their outburst by accusing Vucic’s government of dodging responsibility for a train station roof collapse that killed 15 people.

Indeed, despite threats of criminal prosecution, opposition leaders remain defiant. Radomir Lazovic, co-leader of the Green-Left Front, fired off a fire extinguisher from his seat in the chamber. But he defended their vandalism as a justified response to 13 years of government violence, corruption, and electoral fraud.

Serbian politics defined by frustrations and fights

Serbians are notoriously fractious — as the Bosnian wars they ignited attest. And these parliamentary pyrotechnics might seem extreme. But they’re hardly unique. Georgian lawmakers seem to think fighting is just debating by other means. Taiwan’s legislature has seen more flying fists than a Bruce Lee movie. South Korean lawmakers once brought chainsaws to a debate. And US congressmen have resorted to canings and duels.

The resistance

Serbian students have borne the brunt of systemic failures that fueled opposition MPs’ rage. Their long-standing protests now include daily vigils for victims of the rail station collapse. A quixotic synergy has emerged between them and opposition MPs as they demand justice and government accountability.

But they must rue their fecklessness. Because they have no reason to believe student protests, worker strikes, or parliamentary vandalism will make a dent. Vucic has the survival instincts of a cockroach.

Frankly, the Serbian opposition seems trapped in political irrelevance. So nobody should be surprised if they continue pulling stunts like this to vent their frustrations. But this is hardly cause for clutching pearls. Democracies can be messy, and sometimes a little smoke is the only way to get people to see what’s really happening.

Zivela Srbija!