On 5 October 2000, angry Serbs stormed the parliament building in downtown Belgrade, as smoke poured out of the open windows. Protesting against the attempted theft by Slobodan Milošević (1941–2006) of the presidential election he had called, the protesters effectively ended thirteen years of rule by Milošević and his Socialist Party of Serbia. The events of that day inspired many Serbs with hope. They hoped that the corruption associated with the Milošević era would end. They hoped that the Serbian economy would improve radically, and that the poverty of those least well off would be eased. They hoped for political stability and, as the successful presidential candidate, Vojislav Koštunica (b. 1944), put it, for a normal life.

These hopes have been only partially satisfied. While Serbia still has problems with corruption, Ivica Dačić, the Minister of the Interior since July 2008, immediately took steps to deal with the problem. Although, according to Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), it has improved its rating – in from 106th place in 2003 (the first year that Serbia was rated) to 85th place in 2008 (tied with Montenegro) – Nations in Transit reported in 2006 that nearly every political party in the parliament had lost deputies to other parties as a result of bribes, and that “the fight against corruption has not been a high priority of post-Milošević governments, despite rhetorical commitments” with the result that “corruption remains deeply entrenched at all levels.”