He was and still is Vučić’s favorite minister – Sport

Not a few political analysts calculated that 2020 will put an end to the ministerial career of Vanja Udovicic, and that someone else, equal or even closer, close, dear and loyal to President Aleksandar, will take charge of the condition of Serbian youth and sports in the future. I’ll learn, but (officially) the world’s best water polo player of 2010 again swept all real and fictional candidates for his position.

And he remained where he has been continuously since 2013, when those unfamiliar with his grand life ambitions were surprised by the decision of the first man of the Serbian Progressive Party to “pull” him out of the pool water and entrust him with the aforementioned department in the Government.

– There is a close relationship between sport and politics, because we know how to behave in critical situations. Athletes are stubborn, but they are taught to accept advice: the former “eternal” executive explained the reasons and (or) the context of his decision to risk being remembered more for mistakes and scandals on “dry” than for conquering two planets and a continental title with the Serbian (and Montenegrin) national team, three Olympic medals, a slew of club trophies and a handful of individual awards from the days when he wandered in his game between two goals.

And he lost in that “bucket”, because even a simple Google review of his professional life offers a lot of material and compromising stories about broken promises.

– We have developed proposals and possible models for real estate transformation, and the rest of the process is in charge of the departments that deal with the issue of privatization and regulation of property relations. The objective with which we are doing all this is to lay a solid foundation for the development of Serbian sport in the next decade. If we want to have a future, we must change, first of all the habits, but also the whole system; that’s what Udovicic said at the beginning of the first term in the Serbian government, but the pompous announcements by him and Vučić to change the ownership structure (especially) of Red Star and Partizan. a letter on paper, and the state guides them through its people.

And the confrontation with the hooligans of all the colors of the club remained a promise: a crazy joy.

– This is a problem that the whole Government and the State have to face, not just the Ministry of Youth and Sports. It is a problem that encompasses several ministries, where the action of the State in general is required, an attitude that will inevitably lead to the moment in which we will have nowhere to go and in which we will have to cut back – said a graduate of the Belgrade Faculty of Organizational Sciences. Neither he, as the first athlete, nor the police, the judiciary and Vučić did anything to expel once and for all the persecuted or convicted criminals of various profiles, moreover, they often do dirty work for those in power.

The name of the owner of several companies and strongholds of residential / business space (even before entering politics) also ran through the scandals that ended in court. As in the case of the involuntary spending of budgetary funds, determined by the State Supervisory Entity, based on the report of the complainant of the Ministry’s payroll under the “grip” of Udovicic.

– The SAI has unequivocally determined that Udovicic and his associates spent more than 20 million euros unintentionally and unrelated to all procedures in 2018 alone – said the Vice President of the Democratic Party Dragana Rakic ​​on the occasion of the criminal complaint against the former captain of the national water polo team, for abuse of position, while lawyer Dusan Dincic announced “that there are indications that the money was not spent on purpose but simply went to the account and was later withdrawn, as well as that the people in charge of the organization mentioned in the request are linked to the Serbian Progressive Party and government structures ”.

The second request was submitted by Udovicic himself, ie. his ministry, against Sinisa Jasnic, although he publicly denied having anything to do with the accusations against his close collaborator, who was hired as head of the Serbian University Sports Federation, as the organizer of the 2020 Universiade.

Because the aforementioned Jasnić, without the necessary knowledge and decision of the members of the Assembly of the USSS, founded the company “European University Games 2020”, on whose behalf Udovicic’s department paid 143 million dinars.

– The lawsuit was filed by the State Prosecutor’s Office ”- Udovicic explained at the time, but the truth is that the aforementioned body only represents the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the process initiated before the Commercial Court.

– In our country, the rule is that this type of thing is not processed. Even if it does go to court, it usually ends with the rejection of criminal charges for lack of evidence. Even in this case, there would have been no court if the matter had not reached such proportions in public. The fact that Udovicic did not immediately ask for a refund violated the fundamentals. He had to do it because state money was embezzled. There are obviously good reasons for this, and prosecutors should question them, said Dragan Dobrašinović of the Coalition for the Supervision of Public Finance.

However, all that was not enough for Udovicic to be relieved of his ministerial chair, accept some other political role or dedicate himself to his private business.

“Cooling” by Dušan Ivković

– Here is an era of fear, because nobody wants to come to congratulate me. I would not like to point out anyone, but at the basketball players’ farewell I saw Vanja Udovicic who is a handsome boy … I cannot say that he is afraid and that he is not allowed to approach me among other ministers, but I think it is a matter of education but it doesn’t bother me. his behavior – said the famous coach and coach Dušan Ivković on the occasion that Vanja Udovicic did not approach him at the farewell of our basketball team to a great competition and congratulated him on his entry into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Suffering with a smile

During his visit to Serbian athletes at the Minsk European Games, Aleksandar Vučić praised judoka Aleksandar Kukolj and some of his colleagues, and then, unopposed, addressed the origin and character of his favorite minister.

– It is difficult for Vanja to establish which nation she belongs to. I cannot say that he is like all Serbs, because I could hardly say that he is Serbian. The man likes to cry, that’s incredible – said Vučić and asked Udovicic if what he said was true, to which he received the expected amination.

– President, everything you say is true – answered Vanja, born 38 years ago with the name Franjo.

Water polo without the support of your man

The state is regular in paying the prescribed premiums to water polo players (and other state medal winners covered by the reward system), has paid off the great debt of the Serbian Water Polo Association and once helped poor clubs (true, with an obligation to thank President Vučić for the gift), but Udovicic’s colleagues hoped their man would achieve sports categorization, which would give water polo a trophy and sport in financial distress a systemic aid . Some others, also on the same basis.

– These eight or nine medals here (at the 2016 Olympics, note) are not the result of a systematic investment in sport … – is part of the famous monologue of his former ministerial partner Andrija Prlainović after winning gold in Rio de Janeiro, which was criticized by many politicians, including Udovicic.

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