Radovanić: Price growth has nullified wage growth, Government should return the "Stop Inflation" campaign

The government has no sensibility or solution to address the basic problems of citizens' lives. Their attempts to limit prices have failed, and the housing policy seems like a classic deception that citizens have seen many times before, said Mileta Radovanić, Secretary General of the Civic Movement URA.

He points out that the official data showing a constant increase in inflation since the beginning of 2025 is worrying, so it is now 4,7% higher than last year and twice as high as in EU countries.

"Increasing minimum wages and pensions is pointless when citizens' purchasing power is the same or worse and when citizens today cannot buy more than five or six basic food items at the supermarket for 50 euros," said Radovanić.

Radovanić pointed out that the average salary in itself does not show the real financial strength of citizens.

"When we add to that the consumer basket and when we order those two items, then the average salary is 1000 euros for nothing, because when you have living expenses, when you have rising prices, then that tells you how much money you actually have in your wallet," added Radovanić.

He said that when the prices of basic necessities are rising and the prices of real estate are also rising, it is clear what difficult challenges a large number of Montenegrin citizens face every day.

"Purchasing power, consumer basket, price increases, inflation, housing policy, are things that mean life," said the URA Secretary General.

Radovanić said that it is necessary to focus attention on the real lives of citizens and price control, because increasing salaries and pensions without curbing the cost of living does not improve the real purchasing power of the population.

Radovanić reminds that the measures from the program of the Civic Movement URA "Montenegro 365", the action "Stop Inflation" and the initiative "Housing for All", are a concrete and sustainable response to price increases and inflation.

"While the government has no plan on how to protect the standard of living of citizens, we offer a clear set of solutions that ensure stability and security. Especially through the Housing for All program, we point out a pressing problem: there is almost no housing policy in Montenegro, and the issue of a roof over one's head is left to the market and the elements. Our goal is for the state to take an active role in providing affordable housing, because it is not a luxury, but a basic right and a prerequisite for a dignified life. As long as price increases eat up every increase in salaries and pensions, citizens will not feel an improvement in their living standards. That is why the fight against inflation is a key state policy," said Radovanić.