In early parliamentary elections, competition from 15 party lists seems unusual, but "acceptable" for our circumstances. Montenegrin citizens love politics as a profession. There are 1.215 candidates on the lists, whom they say are the most educated, the most capable, with visions, great patriots and Europeans..., simply the right offer for voters.
It was not difficult for political parties and movements to write election programs, because they looked up to the Europe Now Movement, which, as a non-parliamentary party, attracted voters with the "Europe Now" program and won power in several cities, including Podgorica. Their success in the parliamentary elections is self-evident, because they announced the "Europe Now 2" program, which, among other things, envisages an increase in the average salary to 1.000, the minimum to 700, the lowest pension to 450 euros, a working day of 7 hours and full employment.
The movement for change, in an effort to win a good result as "returnees" to the political scene, "offered" an average salary of more than 1.000 euros and an average pension of 700 euros, as well as the nationalization of the company. The "Together" coalition, led by the DPS, promises infrastructure projects, a 50 percent increase in wages and a minimum pension of 350 euros. There are also subsidies for tenants and a fund for social housing... Now they would like to devote themselves to the quality of life of citizens, which, as they themselves admit, they have continuously postponed due to other priorities. Although I was not a pensioner at the time, I remember the irregular adjustment of pensions and the subsequent payment in installments, according to the court verdict. With the sudden increase in the number of pensioners, they hastened to replace the old pension adjustment formula with the "Swiss" one, so even the announced "Europe Now 2" increase cannot bring life back to normal. We well remember the freezing of pensions and the shameful "euro requisition" in 2012.
Almost everyone deals with pensioners, apartments and tenants. Some promise subsidies to tenants, some will fight for low interest rates and long terms for repayment of housing loans, and the Democrats and the URA, among other things, offer the "Apartment for All" program, which is feasible, even in our conditions. Would various connections affect the fairness in exercising that right, as we had in the case of retirement apartments, that is a special, hard-to-solve problem? Representatives of the Association "Podstanari" consider all these promises to be classic pre-election stories.
We have promises to "restore" hot meals, winter leave and holiday pay for employees, while some announce an increase in the amount of child benefits and the length of maternity leave (in order to increase the birth rate). The free stay of children in kindergartens is being promoted (at a time when the price per child is increasing from 40 to 50 euros)... and many other things that would make citizens' lives "higher quality".
Although "education is not consumption but a highly profitable investment, which is at the top of the national priorities of developed countries", I haven't heard much about education reform!
Healthcare is talked about little and sporadically, mostly within the framework of official campaigns and verbal spats between the Ministry of Health and medical doctors, which culminated in protests by elected doctors. The victims are the patients! Citizens, of whom about 100.000 are over 65 years old (all are voters), are not offered better health care, which implies timely diagnostics, as many medicines as possible at the expense of the Health Fund and all that "puts patients at the center of the health system". No one mentions geriatrics and palliative care, neither health workers nor politicians! "The world must prepare for the next pandemic, which could be more deadly than the corona virus," warned the head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Gebrejesus (atvbl.rs, 24.05.2023/XNUMX/XNUMX).
None of the politicians touch the rationalization of state administration, savings on certain items in the budget, changes to the Law on Officials' Compensation, or anything that would disturb the comfort and privileges of officials!...
Parental love is stronger and greater than the love of party leaders for voters, but when people of average financial status fulfill their children's needs and desires, they know to say "when I receive my salary" or "until I get rid of my debts". (My generation in the countryside was waiting for the cattle buying season, which, luckily, coincided with the beginning of the school year.) No one in the current election campaign is announcing the fact that the state of Montenegro, in the next five years, needs to repay 2,8 billion euros in debt , as they do not say how they will provide money to fulfill the promises made to the citizens.
According to a recent survey by CGO and the Damar agency, 60 percent of the respondents were of the opinion "that the parties do not keep their pre-election promises". Nevertheless, citizens go to the polls in a disciplined manner, no matter how much they hope for a better life and believe in the stories of politicians!
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