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Protests followed, with participants accusing the authorities of corruption and having “blood on their hands”.
“This is a problem for the government,” says Magda Anastasijevic, the Eastern Europe analyst for the conflict monitor, ACLED.
“Vučić has survived this in the past, he was always able to find a scapegoat and blame whatever problems on them. This was not the case for the canopy.”
On the diplomatic front, he has performed a delicate balancing act.
Membership talks with the EU continue, albeit fitfully, even as Serbia retains close ties with Russia and China – both countries that refuse to recognise Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.
Vučić has warned those links could be severed if the Student List took power.
“When you ask them: will you impose sanctions on Russia? Silence, umming and ah-ing, but no answer,” he told the audience at a pre-election rally.
“You know what the Chinese think, you’ve heard what Vladimir Putin said. So you decide. Think about who has our best interests at heart.”
The final rallies of the campaign saw the SNS stage an event at Belgrade Arena, with Aleksandar Vučić as the only speaker. But on the other side of the Sava River, the Student List attracted a reported 150,000 people in Slavija Square to listen to a mixture of students and candidates.
The contrasting visions were clear to see: the strong, sole leader – or a collective approach. Now Serbia’s electorate must decide which they prefer.
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