As Serbia prepares for a closely watched general election on October 18, analysts and civic groups are pointing to Hungary as a potential model for how sustained street mobilisation can be converted into electoral victory. In April 2026, Péter Magyar's Tisza Party ended 16 years of rule by Viktor Orbán's Fidesz, building on grassroots local networks — known as Tisza Islands — that enlisted tens of thousands of first-time political volunteers across the country, including in rural areas traditionally dominated by the governing party. Serbia's opposition, energised by nearly two years of student-led protests following a deadly railway canopy collapse in Novi Sad in November 2024, faces a similar structural challenge: translating civic energy and widespread dissatisfaction into the local infrastructure, voter outreach, and election-day organisation needed to overcome a ruling party — the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of President Aleksandar Vučić — with commanding advantages in media access and state resources.