In the movie "Groundhog Day", the arrogant meteorologist Phil Connors goes to the small town of Punxsatoni from where he reports on this holiday. In the following days, he realizes that the date has not changed, he is forced to relive the same day over and over again, questioning his life and priorities.
If you were to choose the moment for the scenario from "Groundhog Day" in Montenegro, then it could be 27/28. December.
For two years in a row, Montenegro is experiencing the same day, only the actors have switched roles.
At the end of 2019, in the afternoon hours, the then majority of 45 deputies - DPS, SD, minority parties plus the opposition SDP - adopted the Law on Freedom of Religion, which was followed by protests from priests, believers and supporters of opposition parties.
At the end of 2020, also in the afternoon hours, again a narrow majority of 41 deputies of the new government voted to amend this law, which deleted the disputed provisions on property, which was again followed by protests, now supporters of the former government.
While DF deputies insulted DPS and SDP deputies in 2019 and threw a bottle at Ranko Krivokapić, this year the protesters gathered in front of the Assembly insulted and cursed Dritan Abazović and the new government.
Both claim that the Law and its amendments are unconstitutional. They refer to the history of church and state, the righting of historical or recent injustices.
The latter shouted "We don't give the state", the first started protest processions under the slogan "We don't give the saints" which, along with the citizens' frustration with the thirty-year rule of the DPS marked by corruption, crime, and nepotism, led to the downfall of Đukanović's party in the parliamentary elections.
And while this comparison should serve as a reminder to future political elites that decisions that divide Montenegro should not be made by a narrow majority if stability and prosperity are desired, everything else that happened in Montenegro in the last 12 months was new and far from what symbolizes the movie "Groundhog Day". In fact, 2020 will be remembered as the year when the long overdue DPS fell.
Although he stated immediately after the adoption of the law that he was "not happy" about it and that he would not interfere in the internal affairs of Montenegro, an announcement quickly arrived from the entourage of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that he would attend the installation of the Christmas tree in Pljevlje.
Metropolitan Amfilohije of the MCP, through Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church, said that he would not allow any politician to make the litany meaningless. In the first quarter of 2019, Vučić's comrades added fuel to the heated atmosphere in Montenegro - the former head of Serbian diplomacy Ivica Dacić with statements about stripping Serbian citizenship of those who support the Montenegrin regime in Serbia, former Minister of Defense Aleksandar Vulin in military uniform came to lay a wreath on the grave of Pavlo Bulatović...
During that time, Metropolitan Amfilohije led peaceful protests on Thursday and Sunday evenings and put out fires in Montenegro that were started by DPS and DF - undisguised political branches of Vučić.
Prime Minister Duško Marković called Amfilohi the leader of the opposition in Montenegro, while President Milo Đukanović called those who went to the rallies a "crazy movement".
In the shadow of the drawing and crossing of the tricolor, the arrest of the mother of one of the leaders of the Democratic Front, Milan Knežević, for obstructing and belittling the police during the search for vandals who attacked police officers during earlier protests, there remained, belatedly, the indictment of SDT Milivoj Katnić in the "Koverat" affair ” against Duško Knežević and Slavoljub Stijepović, who has not been on the list of members of the DPS Presidency since February, while Milan Roćen became the president of the Political Council, which was once formally headed by Svetozar Marović.
In the shadow of lithium and, later, of the coronavirus epidemic, there were talks without results by Prime Minister Marković on the Alliance for Europe, to which a large number of civil society organizations, media, SDP and URA responded.
Since mid-March 2019, when the first case of covid-19 was officially registered, the epidemic briefly suppressed political and other events.
With the criticism of the Government for publishing the names of citizens in isolation and the political filtering of doctors who are members of the NKT, headed by a high official of the Government and DPS Milutin Simović, the Center for Civic Education (CGO) and part of the public is already in the second half stated on April that the fight against corona has turned into an election campaign of DPS.
The police took Bishop Joanik into custody because of the gathering in honor of St. Basil, which was invited by DF MPs. Just nine days later, the police silently observed the sporadic celebrations on May 21.
In April, according to Reporters Without Borders, Montenegro ranked last in the region in terms of freedom of expression, which was also contributed to by the arrests of journalists for allegedly causing panic. The government also behaved arrogantly according to the report of the influential American Freedom House, which placed Montenegro in the group of "hybrid regimes", and the June unofficial document of Brussels on the situation in chapters 23 and 24 clearly indicated that with such a judiciary, it is not possible to move towards the EU.
The Commission then pointed to the unconstitutional third mandate of Vesna Medenica and the president of six other courts and the worrying "principled" legal position, to the long acting situation in the Judicial Council and the Prosecutor's Office, to the non-existent function of the "chairman" of the Constitutional Court.
The situation depicted in these reports and the mass rallies, which were not seen in the history of Montenegro, after a short and tense campaign, resulted in the defeat of the DPS in the elections on August 30, which during the summer additionally shot itself in the foot, by trying to change the will of the voters. in Budva.
Reluctantly, Đukanović gradually and after two weeks admitted defeat, even though his party, as stated by the OSCE, once again had an advantage through the abuse of institutions for party purposes.
Among other things, he blamed Vučić and the inclusion of Serbia in the elections in Montenegro for the defeat. At the end of the year, the outgoing Government declared Serbian Ambassador Vladimir Božović persona non grata, using his statement that the Podgorica Assembly represents "liberation".
The new majority, led by Zdravko Krivokapić, Aleks Bečić and Dritan Abazović, who were attacked by Đukanović's propaganda for allegedly betraying Montenegrin interests, signed an agreement at the beginning of September in which they undertake not to launch any initiatives in the direction of changing the flag, anthem or coat of arms, that they will respect all assumed international obligations, improve cooperation with the NATO alliance, and implement all reforms necessary for EU membership.
Metropolitan Amfilochia died on October 30 as a result of the coronavirus. On the same day, it was announced that the majority parties would support the expert government of Prime Minister Krivokapić, who had already been "rocked" by Andrija Mandić, Milan Knežević and Nebojša Medojević. That trio became louder than the DPS critics of Krivokapić's "apostolic" government, which they voted in on December 4. The new government was first reserved, and then more and more open, received support from the western centers.
The controversies surrounding the appointment of Vesna Bratić as Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports due to her previous views on social networks, such as the one that Montenegrin women were getting married in black "out of grief for Kosovo", were forgotten after the Government's decision to borrow 750 million euros and to "shut down" "Montenegro Airlines".
While the Minister of Capital Investments Mladen Bojanić says that "the big frog must be swallowed immediately" and that this, as in the case of issuing Eurobonds defended by the Minister of Finance Milojko Spajić, is a consequence of the irresponsible policy led by the DPS, their opponents claim that the ministers are playing like "chickens in the kitchen".
What is positive is that the new government, unlike the DPS, does not ignore part of the public's views.
Economy Minister Jakov Milatović quickly gave up his intention to re-introduce working Sundays, while Health Minister Jelena Borovinić-Bojović quickly realized that those who celebrate religious holidays cannot be privileged compared to other citizens when it comes to freedom of movement during the epidemic. Neither will 2021 be politically uninteresting, nor will it represent the survival of the same - as in "Groundhog Day".
The announcement of this is represented by the departure of police chief Veselin Veljović from the position of police chief, the arrest of the director of the Real Estate Administration Dragan Kovačević (SD) and former health minister Budimir Šegrt on the order of GST Milivoj Katnić.
We are waiting for the congresses of the DPS, the Bosniak Party and the SDP, where the leadership will be chosen, local elections in several municipalities, including Cetinje and Nikšić, the population census, the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of a "coup d'état", in a situation where Vesna Medenica formally, she will no longer be the first lady of the judiciary...
Bonus video:
