As the election campaign heats up, existential issues increasingly remain in the shadow of party fights, so most statements come down to who is for and who is against the state, and who defends and who wants to steal holy places.
From those discussions of political players, citizens do not clearly see proposals on how to solve the problem they will face immediately after the elections - how to survive the economic crisis that is already heating up, whether they will save jobs, whether they will have salaries and pensions, whether young people will be able to find work, or they will be forced to leave their country...
The government put all these issues into the Third package of aid measures or "package of wishes", which, according to analysts, is not realistically set and depends on investments, and turned to the tried and tested recipe of division to attract voters, indicating that they are facing "anti-Montenegrin forces".
"The significance of the upcoming elections is unquestionable and unfortunately we are once again facing the front of anti-Montenegrin forces who not only want a change of government, but also a change in the course of state policy. We are the only relevant political force that can lead the country forward and we stand in the defense of Montenegrin interests", said the president of the country and DPS, Milo Đukanović, on Tuesday during a visit to Zeta as part of the election campaign.
With him in Zeta was also the actor of the "Envelope" affair, Slavoljub Stijepović, who is the general secretary of the president of the country, who is awaiting legal proceedings before the High Court.
"In the pre-election campaign, the ruling coalition is sending messages that we have been hearing for the last 14 years, based on referendum frameworks and the division of society for and against the state," political analyst Dragiša Janjušević said recently on TV Vijesti's "Morning Colors".
He says that the opposition is trying to get out of that context and that it is to be expected that the large coalition gathered around the Democratic Front will base its campaign on what has been current for the past six months, namely the Law on Freedom of Religion.
The leader of that coalition called "For the future of Montenegro", Zdravko Krivokapić, started the campaign by visiting Pljevlje and the Sveta Trojica monastery. "It's not a coincidence that Pljevlja and it's not a coincidence that the monastery of St. Trinity - because St. The three are the basis of Orthodoxy", said Krivokapić during the visit.
DPS and DF did not answer the questions of "Vijesti" regarding what they specifically offer to citizens.
The coalition "Peace is our nation" says that the citizens must reconcile in order for the state to be strong and keep pace with the EU countries when it comes to living standards.
"Our officials will work exclusively for salary and nothing beyond salary. Where there is no corruption at the top of the pyramid, there is no corruption in its structure either. We showed this in Budva, Kotor, Herceg Novi and Berane. We will prove it at the state level as well. We will create a "White Book on Privatization" and show what the fate of companies, workers and their valuable assets is. Everything that was stolen must be returned to the state and citizens, and wages to the workers. We will stop the forestry mafia and the devastation of the forests", they replied to "Vijesta".
They say that they will stop further borrowing, increase the minimum pension and salary and create conditions for wage growth and introduce illegal work into legal flows.
They state that Sunday will remain non-working, that they will return benefits to mothers, child allowance and compensation for unemployed parents.
They say that VAT will be reduced from 21 percent to 7 percent for catering services, and the reverse amount will be allocated to 5-star hotels.
"We will introduce progressive taxation, additional tax on luxury, extra profit of monopolists... They add that they will return workers to factories by bringing in credible investments, will create conditions for fish, fruit and vegetable processing, wood processing, cement production, textile industry, legalization on realistic and fair terms ....
"In addition to the highway, we will build a modern four-lane road between Tivat and Budva. By strengthening the importance and role of local self-governments, we will return the deprived right to municipalities, and give Kotor the status of a city. We will provide one-time assistance of one average salary to all households with three or more members, or minimum salary to all households with one and two members. "The state will subsidize the full amount of wages for employees whose work is disabled," they claim.
The Black on White coalition says that their program includes an uncompromising fight against corruption and organized crime, reform of the economic, health and education systems and environmental protection.
"The Black and White Coalition advocates that ability and profession come before party eligibility, and that diploma and knowledge are valued, not relative and godfather protection," MP candidate Zoran Mikić told "Vijesta". He announced that the first laws he will propose will be about the origin of property and lustration and the opening of secret files. "We will invest the money from the fund that is created by confiscating illegally acquired property in the development of health and education. We will initiate the termination and revision of harmful contracts for the state," said Mikić.
The new concept of economic development, he adds, focuses on the green and not the gray economy, reduction of electricity prices, special tax breaks for artisanal and micro-enterprises. Also, the reduction of taxes and contributions on wages from the current 67 percent to less than 50 percent, the establishment of the Collective Purchase Center to support agricultural producers and protect domestic producers...
"We are advocating for the formation of an Alimony Fund so that the state can help single parents and solve the problem of non-payment of alimony, to abolish VAT on basic products and equipment for babies, for the formation of a Housing Fund for young married couples," said Mikić.
He adds that there are greater investments in scientific research projects, depoliticization of education, free textbooks for founders, reconstruction and construction of the Clinical Center. One of the measures for the health system is to increase the allocation for health to 6,8 percent of GDP on an annual basis.
"When it comes to the field of environmental protection, we have prepared specific laws and measures here as well. We are advocating for the adoption of the Declaration on the prohibition of further construction of MHE and the review of concessions already granted. We prepared the Law on the Protection of Forest Treasures with the aim of preserving our forests from further devastation. We are advocating for the branding and promotion of Montenegro as an ecological country with the aim of making ecology a national brand," Mikić said.
A little party, a little state functionaries
In the previous days, the highest officials and the first two men of the DPS, Milo Đukanović and Duško Marković, ran around the country... Đukanović visited Portonovi and the Simo Milošević Institute on Tuesday, and then he talked with local party activists and businessmen.
On Tuesday, Marković was in Budva and also, after visiting the municipality, talked with colleagues from the municipal DPS. He promised the new government that the government would help them pay their salaries from the budget reserve. The opposition called that move hypocritical, and Konjević said that it was a direct misuse of state resources.
Konjević: The easiest way to overcome divisions is to create the conditions for everyone to have a decent job
SDP Deputy President Raško Konjević assessed yesterday that the easiest way to overcome the divisions in Montenegrin society is if conditions are created for everyone to have a decent job. SDP has been insisting on economic issues for months.
"SDP - Strong Montenegro", he emphasizes, has a clear policy, in which building a strong economy is above all else and they have set four key goals. The first, as he says, is an average salary of 700 euros until the end of the mandate of the next Government in 2024, a reduction in the workload for employers from 64 to 53 percent, the return of the general VAT rate to the level of 19 percent and ensuring that the minimum wage is at least 300 euros .
In order to achieve these goals, he believes, a responsible government that works in the interests of citizens, "not privileged tycoons," is needed.
"Today, we do not have a salary of 700 euros because we are paying a high price for systemic corruption and because our gray economy is almost 25 percent of GDP. In this way, over 500 million euros are poured into the pockets of tycoons, and not into the budget of the state and citizens," said Konjević.
He reminds that today the key tax debtors are "privileged tycoons under the protection of DPS who owe citizens over 300 million euros."
Konjević points out that the general rate of VAT must be returned to the level of 19 percent, as this will help citizens and the economy.
"A similar measure was recently taken by the strongest European economy, Germany, with the aim of helping business operations due to the corona virus pandemic," Konjević concluded.
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