Serbian Top 7 Untrue Political Statements Made in 2017

Milka Domanovic, from the Serbian fact-checking website Istinomer, has selected the top seven untrue claims made by Serbian politicians in 2017.

The Istinomer team give various grades to evaluate the truthfulness of publicly-made statements, and on this occasion it has selected those with the highest marks for untruthfulness, and those that are so untrue they are ridiculous, called "short legs".

1. Vucic: "The constitutional task of the president of the state is to control the government" (Grade: short legs)

Milka Domanovic from Istinomer noted that Aleksandar Vucic's move from prime minister to president following the presidential elections in 2017 meant he now has a more ceremonial role, rather than directly controlling government.

Vucic said on March 6 that there had been a rise in VAT collection and announced that public sector pensions and salaries would increase. He said that there was room for investment in hospitals, schools and roads. In that context, he said that as president he would control the government and that it is "the constitutional job of the president".

"In order to prove that the president can legally influence the government, Vucic stated before the elections that the constitutional work of the president of the state is to control the government. However, there is no basis for this either in the constitution or in the Law on the President, where the competencies of the president of the state are clearly outlined, and where there is no mention of government control," Domanovic explained.

 2. Vucic: "I told the truth about Savamala the first day" (Grade: untrue)

Vucic told Serbian media in February that he told the truth about the overnight demolition in the Savamala...