Movement for the People and the State
The Movement for the People and the State, which was initially referred to as the People's Movement for the State, is a political movement in Serbia. It was initiated in March 2023 by Aleksandar Vučić, the President of Serbia and then-president of the Serbian Progressive Party. Vučić defined NPZD as a "supra-party movement" that would include political parties, such as SNS and the Socialist Party of Serbia, and other political movements, associations and individuals. He organised rallies to promote the movement in 2023 and 2025.
NPZD was announced in June 2023 but as of 2025, it has not released its programme. Journalists and political scientists have reported it could take populist and centrist positions. Alongside Vučić's SNS, the Social Democratic Party of Serbia, Movement of Socialists, United Serbia, PUPS – Solidarity and Justice, Serbian Party Oathkeepers, and Greens of Serbia have expressed an interest in joining the movement. Inside SPS, there has been both support and opposition of the movement; Ivica Dačić, the president of SPS, supports the party's inclusion in the movement. All the aforementioned parties, including SPS, contested the Belgrade City Assembly election as part of the Belgrade Tomorrow electoral list, in which they won 64 out of 110 seats in the City Assembly of Belgrade. The movement was officially registered in March 2025 and opened its first offices in Niš in September 2025. the movement's founders include Đuro Macut, the incumbent prime minister of Serbia.
History
Background
The Serbian Progressive Party was founded in 2008 as a split from the Serbian Radical Party. It was led by Tomislav Nikolić until the 2012 elections, when he resigned from the presidency of SNS after being elected president of Serbia. Aleksandar Vučić succeeded him as president of SNS, and in 2017, Vučić succeeded Nikolić as President of Serbia after being elected in the 2017 Serbian presidential election.Following the 2022 Serbian general election, Vučić hinted at the potential creation of a political bloc or movement that would act as the rebranded SNS. The news magazines Nova and Vreme compared the announced project to the All-Russia People's Front, saying: "the only common goal of the blocs is to strengthen personal ratings". Media initially referred to the movement the Movement for Serbia, Serb Bloc, and My Serbia. Since then, the People's Movement for the State and the Movement for the People and the State have been the working names of the movement.
Formation
On 8 March 2023, Vučić announced the formation of the NPZD. He also said SNS would not be dissolved and that the NPZD would act as a "supra-party movement". Vučić organised rallies to promote the movement in Vranje on 11 March and in Pančevo on 19 May. Miloš Vučević, the Minister of Defence, succeeded Vučić as president of SNS on 27 May.Initially, it was announced the movement would be formalised on Saint Vitus Day ; however, shortly before that date, Vučić announced NPZD would be formed by September 2023. In August, Vučević and Darko Glišić, the president of the executive board of SNS, announced NPZD would be formalised later that year. At the session of the main board of SNS, which was held in October 2023, there were no mentions of the NPZD. Shortly after the session, Vučić announced the NPZD would be formed "in the coming period". Parliamentary and Belgrade City Assembly elections were held in Serbia in December 2023. In the parliamentary election, SNS regained its parliamentary majority, while the Belgrade City Assembly election resulted in a hung parliament. Election observers declared electoral fraud had occurred on election day.
Vučić revived the discussion about the NPZD's formation in February 2024, saying the movement "should continue the economic growth of Serbia and defend national and state interests". He did not, however, announce when the official formation of NPZD would take place. Analyst Dejan Bursać described NPZD as a "marketing trick") and an attempt to divert from the discussion of the European Parliament adopting a resolution on the irregularities that occurred in the 2023 elections. Đorđe Vukadinović of Nova srpska politička misao said the same.
For the 2024 Belgrade City Assembly election, SNS formed a joint electoral list called Belgrade Tomorrow with its previous partners, and the Socialist Party of Serbia and Serbian Party Oathkeepers, on 7 April. The electoral list also included the Social Democratic Party of Serbia, Movement of Socialists, United Serbia, PUPS – Solidarity and Justice, Healthy Serbia, Greens of Serbia, Serbian Radical Party, and Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians. Vučević said with the list's creation, the movement was effectively realised. Journalist Zoran Panović agreed and noted that it was done despite not having an official announcement. Vladimir Pejić, the executive director of opinion poll agency Faktor Plus, said the elections were a "dress rehearsal" for the movement. In the election, the Belgrade Tomorrow electoral list won 52 percent of the popular vote and 64 out of 110 seats in the City Assembly of Belgrade.
In an interview in December 2024, Vučić announced the movement would be formed on 15 March 2025 and that he would not preside over it. A rally promoting the movement was held on 24 January 2025 in Jagodina. In March, Vučić said the movement would be formed by 28 June. The first initiatives regarding the formation of the movement began on 23 March. Among the founders of the movement were Đuro Macut, who later become the Prime Minister of Serbia, and Béla Bálint, who went on to become the Minister of Science. On 28 March, the Movement for the People and the State and Movement for the People were registered in the Business Registry Agency, with stated goals of "raising awareness about the significance of state and people's sovereignty", "commitment to prosperity, progress and modern state organization", and "promotion and affirmation of possibilities to contribute to the development of people's consciousness".
Shortly after being registered, NPZD held rallies in April and May 2025, in Belgrade and Niš using the slogan "We Won't Give Serbia Up". A rally promoting the movement was intended to be held on 28 June but this never occurred. By this point, Bojan Klačar of CeSID said the movement could be observed "as a synonym of the governing party" and as a new political entity. In September 2025, NPZD opened its first office in Niš. In the same month, in an interview with Insajder, Minister Demo Beriša said NPZD could participate in the next Serbian parliamentary election.
Ideology and platform
Vučić and Vučević described the NPZD as a "state-building movement". In June 2023, Vučić announced the NPZD would publish its political platform "in 10 or 15 days", but as of 2025, the platform has not yet been published. Nataša Anđelković, a BBC News journalist, said the movement's orientation has not been strictly defined. Political scientist Vujo Ilić described the movement's formation as the "epitome of catch-all politics".Journalists and political scientists have reported the possible positions NPZD could take. According to the newspaper Danas, the movement would likely promote "responsible national and civic positions" and economically liberal policies. Nova reported the movement would be positioned in the political centre, that it would support the accession of Serbia to the European Union, and that it would oppose sanctions on Russia related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The political scientist Věra Stojarová noted that NPZD could adopt populist elements due to its proposed name.
Deutsche Welle reported the NPZD would represent the "third way" in Serbian politics. Bojan Klačar, the executive director of CeSID, told Blic the movement would likely ideologically lean to the political centre-right. Balkan Insight has described the movement as centrist. Euronews said with the creation of the movement, politically extremist and pro-Russian individuals could be excluded from taking part in the movement. Regarding this, Vučić said: "We will not let you destroy Serbia, neither you extremists on the left, nor you extremists on the right. We want to go straight into the future."
Organisation
At its rallies, the NPZD has used the slogans "Serbia dreams and its dreams come true" and "We Won't Give Serbia Up". Nova reported the movement would not officially have a president but that Vučić would act as its representative; Danas reported Vučić would preside over a body that would include leaders of other political parties. After he was elected president of SNS, Vučević said Vučić would lead the NPZD. In December 2024, Vučić denied he would preside over the movement and said it would be headed by independent individuals.Potential members
Political commentator Predrag Rajić said: "the most logical thing for the movement would be to include ruling parties"; he named the SPS, SDPS, PS, and JS as potential members. Political scientist Zoran Stojiljković said the NPZD could also include minor parties like the Serbian Renewal Movement and supporters of Vučić who were not previously directly involved in politics. Danas reported PUPS and the Strength of Serbia Movement could be potential members of the NPZD. Klačar said the bloc could exclude far-right parties. Vučić stated the bloc "also needs Bosniaks, Hungarians, Roma, Slovaks, and Romanians in it", and that it would also include independents. He also saw SPS as a potential member. Goran Vesić, the Minister of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure, said non-governmental organisations could also take part in the movement. Aleksandar Šapić, the mayor of Belgrade, said that he would not join the movement.At the party conference on 10 March 2023, SNS stated its support for the formation of the NPZD, while after Vučević was elected president of SNS, it was confirmed SNS would take part in the movement. Rasim Ljajić, the leader of SDPS, said: "it is logical for his party to be part of the new movement", while SPS, JS, PUPS, and the Democratic Alliance of Croats in Vojvodina expressed their support for the creation of the movement. In an August 2023 interview for Politika, Ljajić said: " certainly expects talks with our coalition partner, the Serbian Progressive Party" and that he sees the potential of the movement to be the "barrier to any extremism, especially right-wing extremism". Milan Stamatović's ZS negotiated with SNS about joining the movement in October 2023. The SSZ initially declined to take part in the movement, but in February 2024, Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, the party's president, confirmed negotiations about the party joining the NPZD were held. Klačar said with the addition of Đurđević Stamenkovski and SSZ, the NPZD could receive votes from the right-wing bloc. Aleksandar Vulin, the former president of PS, also said in February 2024 that PS would join the NPZD if it received an invitation.
Ivica Dačić, the leader of SPS, said with the NPZD's formation, cooperation between SPS and SNS could increase. A faction of SPS opposed to joining the NPZD, with individuals such as vice-president Predrag J. Marković, who has said SPS would lose its identity if it joined the NPZD. Vladan Zagrađanin also said if SPS joined, it would "renounce everything that it had built up over the years". Branko Ružić also opposes joining the movement. Đorđe Milićević and Snežana Paunović have also been supportive of SPS joining NPZD. During a visit to Germany, Milićević called on Serbs who live in Hamburg to support the movement. Paunović said SPS joining the NPZD would not "threaten the party's identity" and that they would "put ideological differences aside to achieve a common goal".. Dragan Marković, the president of JS and a coalition partner of SPS, also expressed his support for joining the NPZD. The Zeleni, another partner of SPS, expressed their willingness to join the NPZD in February 2024.
Opposition parties such as the New Democratic Party of Serbia, Party of Freedom and Justice, Democratic Party, Dveri, and Movement of Free Citizens criticised the NPZD's formation or declined to take part in it. Enis Imamović, a Party of Democratic Action of Sandžak member of parliament, said: "the movement does not provide answers to other questions of vital importance for Bosniaks"., while the Justice and Reconciliation Party said it would consider participating in the movement. We – Voice from the People refused to comment on the matter.