By: V4 Agency
The issue of demographics is becoming the most important political issue, and discussing demographics means talking about survival, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated at the 4th Demographic Summit in Budapest.
President Vucic said that the Serbian government had learned a considerable amount from the last summit, and has since introduced several measures, gleaned from Hungary’s example. He also said the results are already visible, but this is not an area where immediate results can be expected.
The Serbian president also touched upon the subject of Hungaro-Serbian relations saying that a lot of energy has been devoted to improving the relationship of the two countries. Alexander Vucic said:
Hungarian PM Viktor Orban did not have an easy task, but he had the courage to build up an excellent relationship with the Serbs.
He illustrated the change in relations between the two peoples with an example: 10-15 years ago, if Hungary competed in any sport, the Serbs always cheered for the opponent, but now, when Hungary is playing against anyone else, “we certainly support the Hungarians”, and this behaviour is true for the vast majority of Serbs.
“There will be some who laugh at me for this, but it is a perfect example of how to change the nature of ties between people and how to mend those ties,” President Vucic pointed out.
Also citing an example regarding demographics, he said that a photo of someone’s dog on social media gets a lot more likes than a picture of their children. “Try it for yourselves!” the Serbian president said, adding it is no longer appropriate to talk about children and family values today, because we may encroach on the values of others. Instead we talk about what kind of hairdos someone has made for their dog. “You can laugh at that too, but I don’t at all think it’s funny that we’re heading in that direction,” the Mr Vucic said.
Mr Vucic believes that “liberal political Marxism” leads to people paying attention to certain things that alter one part of their lives, causing them to lose another part.
He also touched on rule of law that, in his opinion, has become an issue with which “insubordinate” countries can be reprimanded. Once the expectations regarding this issue are met, the next topic du jour is fighting climate change, which is indeed a major issue for Serbia and Hungary, as well, but is this really more important than demographics and the future of nations?” Mr Vucic said.
“Is there anything more important than our children?”
the Serbian president posed the question, adding that climate change has also become an issue with which non-compliant countries can be disciplined.
Mr Vucic also mentioned that over the past decades, Europe has been contributing increasingly less to global economic growth and that in a few decades, a sole African country, Nigeria, will have exceeded the population of the European Union or the United States.
“It is high time to act and to react to what is happening,” President Vucic said.