BELGRADE — Serbia's fractured but energised opposition movement escalated its campaign against President Aleksandar Vučić's government on Monday, announcing a coordinated general strike following what organisers described as the largest demonstration in Belgrade in over two decades. Tens of thousands packed Republic Square and the surrounding boulevards on Saturday, renewing calls for snap parliamentary elections and accountability for the November 2024 Novi Sad railway canopy collapse that killed 15 people and ignited months of civic unrest.

The protest coalition, which includes student unions, trade organisations, and opposition parties such as Serbia Against Violence and the Party of Freedom and Justice led by Dragan Đilas, convened an emergency session Sunday night and issued a joint declaration demanding that President Vučić set a date for early elections no later than July. Organisers said the general strike, set to begin Monday morning, would initially target state institutions, universities, and transportation hubs in Belgrade, Novi Sad, and Niš.

The Serbian government responded with measured defiance. A spokesperson for the ruling Serbian Progressive Party dismissed the strike call as 'political theatre orchestrated by foreign-funded NGOs,' and state broadcaster RTS framed the weekend rally as smaller than opposition claims. Independent crowd-monitoring organisations, however, estimated attendance well above 80,000, making it one of the most significant shows of public dissent in the region in years.

European Union officials in Brussels issued a statement through the office of enlargement commissioner Marta Kos expressing concern about the political situation in Serbia and urging 'dialogue, restraint, and respect for democratic norms.' The statement stopped short of directly endorsing the opposition's electoral demands but noted that Serbia's EU accession path depended on demonstrated rule of law and freedom of assembly.

Analysts in Belgrade said Monday's strike would serve as a critical test of the movement's staying power. 'Saturday showed they can fill the streets; Monday will show whether they can sustain economic pressure,' said political scientist Srđan Bogosavljević of the IPSOS Serbia polling institute. With local elections in several municipalities due later in the year, the stakes for both the government and the opposition have rarely been higher.