Serbian leadership was shrewd. They did not place sanctions on Russia, and they got Russian gas cheap.

This, in turn, got companies from Europe, Asia, and North American to build factories there.

The cost of living is lower than other European nations, and their average salary is on par with the Canadian one. Many Americans and other foreigners moved there because of the opportunities.

So for all the talk about how important sanctions were against Russia, foreign companies reaped the benefits of Serbia’s stance, and so did Serbs.

With the Student List ousting Aleksandar Vučić, the move will be to align with the EU and slap Russia with sanctions.

Which, in turn, will increase the price of gas, shut the factories, and then, of course, Serbia falls back to the days of high unemployment and a brain drain as people flee for better opportunities.

It wasn’t as if leadership wasn’t highly problematic: the problem was they shared a bounty with citizens, which often, makes their citizens turn on them in the bargain.