The fact that the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) is part of the new ruling majority burdens the process of electing the head of the judiciary and creates fears that this party may weaken the chief special prosecutor. Vladimir Novović in the fight against crime - said the leader and deputy of Prava Montenegro, Marko Milacic.
He said in an interview with "Vijesta" that Novović cannot carry out such a complex and dangerous job in isolation, without the support of the judiciary, the police and the rest of the prosecution.
Milacic, among other things, said that the opposition that won the elections in 2020 has many arguments to triumph again, and that is why its unification is emerging as an important topic.
"Because sending the same and similar messages from different entities that are running, burdens the voters, indicates a lack of vision, wastes energy and confuses. The potential for unification is extremely high in terms of political circumstances, and I hope that all of us in the opposition will find the ability to exploit this ripe situation", he said.
Until now, the real Montenegro has not explicitly defined the "Open Balkans" initiative, which, as a zone of free movement of people, goods and services, was formed by Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia. What is your party's position on that regional project, and does it think that Montenegro should join it?
Montenegro is not an isolated island in the Balkans. Serbia, Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro are in the same status of European integration, and they should certainly act more harmoniously before the EU. I believe that "Open Balkan" is a good platform for such a performance. It seems that this project would help protect Montenegro and other countries from being neglected in the process of European integration, as well as other important international initiatives. I believe that joining the "Open Balkans" would help Montenegro in terms of economic, political and international integrity.
Part of the opponents of the initiative says that we should still focus on the negotiations with the EU, and speed them up by achieving results in the fight against crime and corruption, for which the first prerequisite is the election of the head of the judiciary. Will you, as a member of the opposition, vote in the Assembly with the new parliamentary majority for some appointments in the judiciary?
True Montenegro will resolve these issues at the party's organs. So far, there are no conditions for this type of agreement, nor has such a conversation been officially opened by the bodies of the Assembly. The fact that the current government included DPS in the ruling majority puts a strain on that process. In any case, we will determine our position at the party bodies when the level of that process matures.
How do you assess the work of the new chief special prosecutor Vladimir Novović and the acting Supreme State Prosecutor Maja Jovanović?
When it comes to the work of Mr. Novović, Prava Montenegro repeatedly supported the new chief special prosecutor and his activities. There is a certain fear that through the influence of the DPS in the new majority, that man will not be weakened in the fight against organized crime, because it is not possible to do such a complex and dangerous job in isolation, without the support of the judiciary, the police, and the rest of the prosecution.
As for Ms. Jovanović, we have not seen the determination compared to that shown by the Chief Special Prosecutor. Perhaps part of the reason can be sought in the temporary nature of her position. In any case, the supreme state prosecutor must have greater initiative in "cleaning up" accumulated anomalies, compromised staff and irregularities in the prosecution.
Will you be ready to support some proposals of the new Government, even though you were a fierce opponent of its formation?
True Montenegro is a fierce critic of the policy of affirming the DPS, for which this government is responsible. I believe that these criticisms partly influenced and shook some protagonists of the Government. It seems as if heavy clouds in politics have loomed over Montenegro, which threaten to destroy everything that generations have sown while fighting against the DPS. On the other hand, Real Montenegro fires rockets in public, at that kind of danger, clouds and politics. If those rockets work, we will not have the same exclusive attitude, but in that variant, as all the time until now, we will focus on preparing for the elections, which are the fairest solution. Getting citizens used to any kind of clouds, a state of political storm and irregularity, will not and cannot be the policy of True Montenegro.
Do you see any potential for unifying opposition forces?
The opposition, which won the elections on August 30, has many arguments to win again. This is why unification emerges as an important topic, because sending the same and similar messages from different entities that are running, burdens the voters, indicates a lack of vision, wastes energy and confuses.
The potential for unification is extremely high in terms of political circumstances, and I hope that all of us in the opposition will find the ability to exploit this ripe situation.
If we had not prolonged the "overthrow" of the Government, the DPS would have been even stronger
Do you feel political responsibility for the collapse of the former government?
The only responsibility I feel is the responsibility for prolonging the process of "overthrow" of the Government. According to my information, that work should have been completed in mid-January 2022, immediately after the adoption of "Europe Now". If there were no energetic activities of Prava and if it happened then, today we would have a much more advanced phase of the return of DPS. We gave all our political energy to prevent and stop that process, which not all colleagues from the current opposition can boast about.
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