Belgrade Archbishop and Cardinal Ladislav Nemet congratulated the Student List on its victory in the Serbian parliamentary elections, it was announced the day after the vote. Nemet particularly highlighted the students' months-long non-violent engagement and stated: "This morning I feel something new in the air, the smell of hope and joy".
The Archbishop assessed that the peaceful expression of the majority's will represents an important value of the democratic community. He thanked the young people and students who, for months, persistently and bravely, without violence, campaigned for the country's future. "I pray that this hope, which the young people have largely fought for, remains in the coming months and years and bears fruit for the good of all inhabitants of our country," Nemet said.
Subotica cathedral priest Dragan Muharem assessed that the social changes won by citizens have opened the way towards a fairer and more democratic society. He said that the outcome of the political changes had surprised him because, due to previous experiences, he had refrained from hoping that such an ending was possible. "The change we wanted, which we expected, has happened," Muharem said.
Muharem highlighted the role of young people in initiating changes and the importance of citizens' participation in public life. He emphasised that by the role of the Church, he does not mean only the church hierarchy and institutions, but also the faithful who participated in the protests and campaigned for truth, justice and the well-being of all people. "The Church was the people in the street," he stated.
He assessed that the faithful had shown how Christian values are not lived only in worship but also in everyday social engagement. However, he warned that the changes will not bring an immediate solution to all problems and that the path towards a more democratic and fairer society will be long.
Several Catholic priests of the Subotica Diocese supported the young people in their activities for a fair and democratic Serbian society with their presence at protest gatherings and messages over the past two years. Patriarch Porfirije of the Serbian Orthodox Church called on citizens on election day, 25 October, to vote according to their own conscience and free will, bearing in mind the common good, and to accept the results of the democratic process calmly and without hatred. The Serbian Orthodox Church has not yet commented on the Student List's victory in the elections.
