Mayhem and violence erupted in the Serbian parliament last Tuesday when opposition members set off smoke bombs. Clouds of black and red smoke filled the air, accompanied by a banner reading ”Serbia has risen to bring down the regime.” MPs from both the ruling SNS party and the opposition clashed physically.

The parliament session began to resemble what the streets of Serbia have looked like for months now, with mass protests continuing to shake the country. The opposition insisted on having only two points in the agenda: the resignation of prime minister Vučević and a Law on Higher Education, a demand of the student protestors. However, the ruling coalition seemed to have had another plan. They pushed through an agenda packed with 60 proposed legal amendments, in an attempt to at least pretend that they are a functioning government. This irritated the opposition, who argues that, after prime minister Miloš Vučević's resignation in January – following the escalation of student-led protests – the government no longer has the right to propose new laws.

Serbian laws foresee that, in the case when the prime minister resigns, as Vučević did, the government operates in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.

Parliament has 30 days to elect a new government or call for new elections. During this transitional period, the government can handle basic administrative duties but cannot make major political decisions. More than 30 days have passed since Vučević's resignation, yet Serbia still has neither a new prime minister nor scheduled elections.