Institutions as reality show

The publication of the REM member’s announcement on the site of this independent regulatory body, with all the arguments such as”whose hair length is absolutely identical to both his mind and knowledge of matter” is a good indicator of the new stage of institutional decay in the Republic of Serbia.

There is of course nothing controversial about the fact that a member of the REM Council has a negative opinion about the Minister personally or about his attitude regarding the broadcasting of ”reality programs” on TV stations with a national frequency. It would not be controversial that REM, as an institution, took a firm stand against any interference by members of the Government in matters within their competence and that institution made a statement about it.

On the other hand, when informal speeches of a member of the collective body appear at the place where the decisions are made and the official statements of the REM are announced, and when the”serious” and”frivolous” media both transmit it as important news then the discussion between representatives of public institutions about the programs it turns out to be a reality – an idea in which a real or fictitious conflict between actors should entertained the audience.

Instead, citizens have the right to receive a clear answer from REM whether national broadcasters respect all obligations and rules, and from the Ministry of Culture and Information, whether, as the body in charge of preparing and amending media regulations, considered the introduction of the rules for which the minister publicly interceded.

Similarly, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister (Brnabic, Stefanovic) have the opportunity every Thursday to tell Minister Vukosavljevic personally what they think about his statement in the closed sessions of the

Government, or to publicly raise the issue of his dismissal in the Assembly, explaining what he did not do well. Giving the “friendly criticism” to colleagues through the media is more like maintaining a tension in front of the audience which is watching what is happening on the scene, rather than institutionalizing the problem.