Parody candidate wins admirers in Serbia

Campaigning as a sleazy, loud character who makes wild promises and whose triumph is foretold by fortune tellers, Maksimovic has won over many in crisis-stricken Serbia, which has been plagued by political corruption and is eager for new faces and ideas.

Opinion polls have predicted that Maksimovic could win around 11 percent of the vote Sunday, trailing the powerful populist Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic but beating other established candidates.

Riding on a white horse surrounded by mock bodyguards, Beli and his “Hit it Hard” citizens’ group became a sensation, gathering 20 percent of the vote, which translated into 12 seats in the local assembly.

A year later, Maksimovic says the disarray in Serbia’s political scene means the time has come for Beli — which means “white” in Serbian — to move on to the national level.

Videos featuring Beli doing pushups, sucking a raw egg or treading through a forest like a prophet have been a hit on social media, in sharp contrast to dull, predictable promotional material put out by other presidential candidates.