Vučić boosts his ratings by stoking fears of Plenković and Thompson

The burial of Ratko Mladić in Serbia, accompanied by glorification and state honors, is presented as more than a ceremony for a convicted war criminal. It is described as the revival of a political weapon, with the past once again being turned into an instrument of the present.

Mladić, who was born in Kalinovik in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Yet instead of confronting that history and showing compassion for its victims, Serbia is again witnessing what the article calls the glorification of a war criminal.

Europe reacted to the burial. Marta Kos, the European Commission's commissioner for enlargement, cancelled a planned visit to Serbia. The article treats that response as a sign that Mladić's death did not close one chapter of the region's wartime history. It may instead mark the beginning of a new campaign in which old conflicts return to political life.

The timing is tied to Serbia's upcoming elections on October 25. Aleksandar Vučić, who plans to exchange the presidency for the post of prime minister, has already indicated the direction of his campaign, the article says. War and nationalist themes, it argues, have repeatedly proved to be a winning combination.