Vučić officially takes over as prime minister

Vučić officially takes over as prime minister

BELGRADE -- The new prime minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, on Tuesday officially assumed this office in a handover ceremony attended by his predecessor, Ivica Dačić.

Dačić, who now serves as first deputy prime minister and foreign minister, submitted a report on his work, and presented Vučić with "a replica of the mythical creature griffin, from the monastery of Ravanica."

"May luck follow him and let God help him. It's a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, and it symbolizes the strength of a lion and the wisdom of an eagle," Dačić elaborated.

As he officially took over, Vučić said that Dačić led the previous government well, that there were "no telephone sessions," and that the success of that cabinet was the reason he decided to continue the coalition alliance.

"I thank Dačić for his work in the past two years. Ivica is also a little bit happy, because it is us who will now grapple with the crisis and the suffering," said Vučić, to which Dačić replied, "It's not enough to say, 'a little bit'."

According to Vučić, there would be "no holidays, no Saturdays or Sundays" for the new government, and in that vein, announced that a new decree on official vehicles will be discussed on May 1, which is a non-working state holiday in Serbia.

"After that decision, I expected the first protests of administration employees," said he.

Vučić also announced a change in the working hours of the public administration, which he said would in the future start work "half an hour or an hour earlier". He also said he would not move to a different office, and would also continue to live in his...