Vucic at campaign event in Novi Sad

United Serbia lead candidate Aleksandar Vucic spoke at a major gathering in Novi Sad on Friday evening for the first time since the tragedy at the city’s main railway station that claimed 16 lives 2 years ago. The campaign event was staged in the square in front of the Serbian National Theater with a crowd bussed in from other places. The gathering was addressed by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico who was announced to speak at an earlier Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) campaign event but was allegedly prevented from traveling for medical reasons. Fico spoke in broken Serbian, reading off printed pages. Fico praised Vucic's leadership and said Slovakia would continue to respect Serbia's territorial integrity, including on Kosovo. Vucic accused unspecified foreign powers of financing protests following the tragedy, claiming billions of euros had been brought into Serbia to undermine the country. He called on supporters to secure a convincing election victory and promised justice for the victims of the collapse.