Đukanović remained on the "defence of the state and the party": He claims that he proposed to retire

Personnel changes should provide a new face for the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), announced last night the president of that party, Milo Djukanovic, who was re-elected to that position, although, as he says, he proposed to retire.

"We had long conversations, and we came to the conclusion that this is the optimal formula at the moment when the DPS is in this position, and Montenegro is undergoing trials, when it is attacked in a brutal way by nationalism, by populism, by the tragicomic ignorance of people who today carry out some important state affairs", said Đukanović at the press conference after the Congress where four vice-presidents were elected.

Former Minister of Science Sanja Damjanović, former Director of the Clinical Center Jevto Eraković, Mayor of Podgorica Ivan Vuković and MP Abaz Dizdarević were elected vice-presidents of DPS. There was no place for the former deputy president of the DPS, Duško Marković, at the top of the party, which Đukanović explains by saying that, if changes are to be made, it is logical that the youngest should not be changed, but the slightly older ones.

When asked if he blames Marković for the election result since he is not at the top of the party, Đukanović replied that when it comes to the DPS, part of the public is always looking for something that is hidden and they are trying to refresh the idea of ​​a conflict at the top of the DPS.

"They want to realize the undisguised goal of part of the public and weaken the DPS and open space for other parties. It seems that a part of the public could only be satisfied with the fact that DPS does not exist. I have to disappoint them, we are working very intensively to regain our relevance", said Đukanović. He did not say whether Marković was given another position in the party.

"There is no tendency, no one judged either Marković or the Government. Another principle was proposed. We want changes", said Đukanović, who has been at the head of the DPS since 1998.

This time too, he had no opponent for the position of party president.

According to unofficial information from "Vijesti", Marković was elected president of the Political Council of DPS.

The previous president of the Political Council was Milan Roćen.

The political council was promoted as a new party organ at the DPS congress in 2015, and the former vice-president of the party Svetozar Marović was elected as the first president, who was convicted a year later as the head of a criminal group that, in eight corruption scandals, damaged the budget of the Municipality of Budva for more than tens of millions of euros.

Former Minister of Defense Predrag Bošković was elected Secretary General of the DPS, which is a novelty in relation to the previous statutory provisions of the DPS.

Answering the question of what he expects in the local elections in Nikšić in March, he said that he is optimistic, although the short time is a limiting factor.

"DPS is very stable according to research, but we want to move forward, to increase the rating. The ruling coalition is helping us a lot in this and to better understand some of the advantages of DPS", said Đukanović.

At the beginning of the congress, he said that DPS accepted the election result, which was contributed to by "manipulation of religious sentiments" and open hybrid war.

The new majority, as he said, is a coalition that serves the interests of other countries, primarily those that own Montenegro and see it as part of the "Serbian world", and globally as part of the "Russian world".

"We are the strength of our country. After 30 years, the DPS should have gone into opposition, so that the parliamentary minority recognized the election results and showed that it respects the electoral will of the citizens," said Đukanović.

He added that he is most worried about those who see the DPS as the last obstacle that needs to be removed from the path of achieving "their retrograde nationalist big-state interests and goals".

He accused Serbia of encroaching on the sovereignty of its neighbors following the same recipe from the 90s.

"Supposedly, the Serbs in the region are threatened, so they need the protection of Serbia. With which that country actually threatens the sovereignty of its neighbors. This time, the Serbian Orthodox Church was brutally introduced to the political arena in Montenegro. "As proven to be the most vicious instrument of Great Serbian nationalism, the instigator, executioner and advocate of the most monstrous genocide in Europe in the modern era," said Đukanović.

Perović: Anti-Church tones confuse people, quarrel brothers

The rector of the Cetinje seminary, Gojko Perović, said yesterday that the anti-church tones that could be heard from the Congress of a nominally civil and secular party confuse people, quarrel brothers and cause social damage.

He told the MINA agency that the President of Montenegro, Milo Đukanović, "is tireless in creating and deepening divisions." "He did not understand the citizens of the country whose president he is, just as he does not understand his own Montenegrin history," Perović said.

He stated that the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), although it has a national sign, is the church of all believers regardless of their nationality.

"As Montenegro is the state of all its citizens, regardless of their identity, even though the name of our country is, among other things, the name of a nation," said Perović.