Instead of the new government starting to change the system for the better on the wave of great energy of the citizens after last year's elections, it led society into regression, thus failing the expectations of all those who wanted real changes - the interlocutors of "Vijesti" assessed.
They said this while commenting on the results of a joint public opinion survey by the Center for Civic Education (CGO) and the DAMAR agency, according to which the average score (from one to five) for the first year of the Government's work is only 2,28, and according to which almost half of the respondents think that the country is moving in the wrong direction.
Civic activist Dževdet Pepić said that the government, a year after its formation, practically did nothing.
Time, he says, has been lost, the institution of the citizen has been neglected, so the cabinet of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, according to him, instead of solving urgent systemic problems, continued to work on deepening them.
"All of us who were dissatisfied with the government of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), were not against it only for political and ideological reasons, but also because of nepotism, political employment and the like. However, the current government continued with these practices unabated, and in some segments it increased the pace. That's why the citizens are disappointed - they didn't want cosmetic, but essential changes, which were not there in a year of the Government's work", Pepić pointed out for "Vijesti".
The director of the Pedagogical Center of Montenegro, Biljana Maslovarić, states that in the elections held on August 30 last year, great energy was set in motion, with which citizens demanded changes. However, not only that, according to her assessment, they did not happen, but that the country has been regressing ever since.
"Now we are going into regression, and that always happens after failing to meet great expectations. And then the evaluations of the Government's work are harsher. We expected that there would be a depoliticization of institutions, improvement of the system, significant changes in all spheres... However, from these significant developments, we can only see the opening of a few affairs. The worst thing is that the belief that reforms are possible with these people in power has been exhausted..., she tells "Vijesti".
According to the CGO and DAMAR survey, the departments of finance and social care (2,96), economic development (2,82) and public administration, digital society and media (2,80) are the best rated in the government.
The worst grades were received by the ministries of ecology, spatial planning and urbanism (2,47) and education, science, culture and sports (MPNKS) (2,46).
The executive director of CGO, Daliborka Uljarević, said yesterday at the presentation of the research results, that the majority government is treated as conservative, clerical, revanchist and amateurish.
About 25 percent of citizens think that party membership is important when hiring, while almost 12 percent of them think that religious commitment is important.
Almost half think that the Government's performance is below all expectations, one in three thinks that it is working in line with expectations, while only three percent think that Krivokapić's cabinet is doing its job above expectations.
The survey also showed that almost half of the respondents believe that Montenegro is moving in the wrong direction, while around 35 percent believe that the direction of movement is good.
For the sake of comparison, a little over a month ago - also according to the CGO and DAMAR survey - 45,9 percent of respondents thought that the state's movements were wrong, while a year ago 35,5 percent thought so.
Pepić believes that the Government received bad marks in the latest survey because it disappointed the majority of citizens.
"On the one hand, citizens who were truly in favor of the changes and who voted for them, feel cheated. On the other hand, those who live on the edge of existence and who barely make ends meet, expected that the accumulated problems would be solved more quickly and concretely. It was not easy for this government, but it was able to do a lot in one year," he says.
Pepić thinks that the fear of the state moving in the wrong direction exists primarily because the new government has not reconciled with the management methods of the former regime.
"Political engagements and recruitments continued, so in many places professional and moral staff were not chosen, but suitable ones, who come from the three-member ruling coalition ('For the future of Montenegro', 'Peace is our nation' and 'Black on white' ). The new government killed the hope of the majority of those who wanted real changes... Party interests are still the most important, behind which personal gain is often hidden, so some are trying to get to the seats and keep them in order to employ their own '. There will be no radical changes and no solution to the most important problem - the difficult economic and social situation of the citizens", the interlocutor is convinced.
Maslovarić says that the research results are a clear indicator of the Government's work.
She states that she is particularly dissatisfied with the work of MPNKS, whose, according to her, only "achievement" is the dismissal of 250 school principals.
On the other hand, he emphasizes that the work of the Department of Internal Affairs should be praised, which, as he states, "in the most difficult moments of recent Montenegrin history" managed to preserve peace in the country.
According to the survey, the Minister of Finance and Social Welfare, Milojko Spajić, is the best-rated minister in Krivokapić's government (3,05). He is followed by Minister of Economic Development Jakov Milatović (2,89) and Minister of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media, Tamara Srzentić (2,86).
Prime Minister Krivokapić is among the three worst-rated members of the Government (2,57). Below him are the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Vesna Bratić (2,51) and the Minister of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism Ratko Mitrović (2,47).
Pepić says that Spajić and Milatović got good marks because they are young and offer "some positive perspective", although, according to him, it is questionable what they say will be implemented in practice.
When it comes to the rating of Prime Minister Krivokapić, Pepić says that it does not represent anything unusual.
"If we want to be honest, Krivokapić was pushed to the position of prime minister by the situation, because he had no political experience. In the meantime, it turned out that he didn't know how to play political games," he adds.
Maslovarić believes that most ministers, because of the life they lead, do not have the credibility to be in the government.
"How are you going to demolish illegally built houses and buildings for someone, if you yourself built illegally?" she asks, alluding to the case of Minister Mitrović.
On the other hand, the interlocutor thinks that the "working and smart" in the Government have their hands tied due to the conflict within the parties of the parliamentary majority, which blocks the functioning of the executive power.
"We are still in a kind of status quo. Citizens do not want to talk about who stole more. It is no longer enough - they stole, we will not; the key is who is responsible for the current state of affairs in the country. It turns out that some - those who ruled for 30 years - have been replaced by others, who are also dilettantes in managing the state... I will remember this government as a government that absolutely failed the citizens' expectations", concludes Maslovarić.
If it does not pass, a new vote of confidence in the Government cannot be requested for three months
The Parliament of Montenegro should discuss the initiative of confidence in the Government of Zdravko Krivokapić at the first following session, because yesterday 40 MPs of the opposition submitted a proposal to vote on it by urgent procedure.
In their explanation, they cited a number of reasons, stating that the Krivokapić cabinet is responsible for the deep institutional, health, and economic crisis, as well as the delay in the negotiations on accession to the European Union. The inappropriate influence of the authorities in Serbia and the clericalization of society are also the reasons why the opposition parties submitted the proposal to the Parliament.
The Rules of Procedure of the Assembly prescribe that a law, in this case a decision, "which should regulate issues and relationships arising from circumstances that could not have been foreseen..." can be passed under an urgent procedure. The proposer is obliged, as written in the Rules of Procedure, to state in the explanation the reasons why it is necessary to pass the law in an urgent procedure - which the opposition did in the initiative.
The Rules of Procedure state that if the Assembly accepts the proposal that the law, i.e., the decision in this case, be adopted under an urgent procedure, it sets a deadline in which the competent committee and the Government will determine the position. Decision-making, however, as explained, can be carried out without it.
Before that, Parliament Speaker Aleksa Bečić is obliged to include the opposition's proposal in the first following session. He is obliged to do so by the article of the Rules of Procedure, which states that "upon the submitted agreed proposal of all the presidents of the clubs of the members of the parliamentary opposition, the proposal for the agenda of the session also contains the proposal of one act submitted by the members of the parliamentary opposition".
According to information from Vijesti, it is expected to happen at the parliamentary session where the budget for the next year will be discussed, in mid-December.
The Constitution of Montenegro stipulates that "If the Government has received a vote of confidence, the signatories of the proposal cannot submit a new proposal for a vote of no confidence before the expiry of the 90-day period".
The initiative was signed by MPs from DPS, SDP and the Albanian coalition Jednoglasno, the Bosniak Party, the Social Democrats and Genci Nimanbegu (Albanska lista).
SDP: The government should "fall"; BS: Promptly form a new one
Commenting on the results of the survey, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) told "Vijesta" that no government has had such a low rating since surveys of this type have been conducted.
"That is, I guess, sufficient confirmation of how she worked and an even greater contribution to our position that the government should 'fall' in parliament, which is why the SDP initiated the submission of a motion of no confidence in the government," they state.
The SDP says that the citizens perceive very well that the current government was established not to correct the bad practices of the previous one and create a discontinuity in the way of governing, but to further entrap the public administration system through party appointments and the strengthening of clientelistic methods.
"This government is also recognized as a leader in disobeying laws and procedures, collapsing the civil and secular organization of the state, while degrading the state's position in international relations and the region, and stopping our European path. Fortunately, the end is coming to this Government and to a matrix that was solely based on the concept of any changes, ignoring their character and the nature of the partners with whom you implement those changes", the SDP concludes.
The Bosniak Party (BS) points out to "Vijesti" that the results of the research were expected for them, because the Government did not respond to the task.
"What we notice from this research is that the Government's work was characterized by a revanchist approach. We pointed out and warned about that from the very start. We are not satisfied with where Montenegro is currently moving, and we see that almost half of the respondents feel the same way. That is why we think that it is necessary to start the story of the formation of a new government immediately, because the current one certainly does not have the capacity to lead Montenegro on the path of reforms, European and Euro-Atlantic integrations and a better standard of living for citizens", said the BS.
"Vijesti" did not receive a comment on the CGO and Damar research from any ruling party.
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