Repairable to get out of the current state

Most of the parliamentary entities will participate in the political dialogue on the appointment of the head of the judiciary, but it is uncertain whether some of the key parties, such as the Democrats, will do so. Alekse Bečić.

President of the Assembly Danijela Đurović (Socialist People's Party - SNP) announced that it will invite party leaders on July 8 to discuss securing two-thirds/three-fifths support of deputies for the appointment of the Supreme State Prosecutor (VDT), judges of the Constitutional Court (US) and members of the Judicial Council (JSC).

Those institutions are in an acting state or on the verge of a complete blockade - the VDT has an acting director, the US is on the verge of a quorum, while the mandate of distinguished lawyers in the SS has expired.

The announcement of the dialogue comes in the midst of disagreements within the government over the issue of the fundamental contract with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), the working version of which was agreed in principle by the Government and SPC teams last week.

Talks about the judiciary were initiated a year ago by the former President of the Assembly Bečić, but they collapsed after only one meeting due to the crisis in the government.

The largest parliamentary entity, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), did not answer "Vijesti" whether they will respond to Đurović's invitation and what expectations they have from the upcoming dialogue.

From that party, they repeatedly pointed to the need to open discussions on the judiciary.

Democrats told the paper that at the session of the caucus on July 8, they will decide whether they will attend the "fake dialogue and at what level".

Head of the Democrats Parliamentary Club Boris Bogdanovic, assessed that there is "nothing more politically hypocritical" than inviting Đurović to an interview.

He states that when the former head of the Assembly Bečić called for dialogue, the leaders of DPS, SNP and Citizens' Movement (GP) URA did not respond to his call - Milo Djukanovic, Vladimir Jokovic i Dritan Abazovic.

"Secondly, Mrs. Đurović called for a dialogue after the statement of the Deputy Prime Minister, who pointed out that Abazović informed the members of the Government with the information that the Democratic Front (DF) is offering to participate in the government 'in depth', with the promise that DPS, SNP and GP URA to provide support for the selection of judicial positions. This leads to the conclusion that Đurović is calling for a fake dialogue, in order to try to cover up the fact that the names of SS members have already been agreed upon...", says Bogdanović.

He points out that Đurović's invitation is hypocritical also because it comes during the process of hearing candidates for members of the SS before the Committee for the Political System, Judiciary and Administration, which, according to him, sends the message that the process is futile "and that it depends on of the leaders of the parties gathered in the White Salon".

Đurović told "Vijesta" earlier that, since she assumed the leadership position in the Assembly, her intention was to initiate a dialogue on the qualified majority.

The announcement that she would call for talks followed immediately after she was invited by a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) to do so. Draginja Vuksanović-Stankovic.

DF confirmed to "Vijesta" that they are interested in a dialogue and that they are waiting for an official invitation from Đurović.

Member of Parliament of that political alliance and president of the Constitutional Committee Simonida Kordić she said that it is very important that it never happens again that the qualified majority is misused.

"In such a way that it is the way for the occurrence of cases like Vesne Medenica, Blaž Jovanić etc. People who should be elected to judicial bodies must have credibility and integrity that will ensure the beginning of the true rule of law in Montenegro. As far as the DF is concerned, the negotiations on a two-thirds majority will be based primarily on what is in the interest of the people and the voters, and that is not to repeat the case of Medenica", she emphasized.

When asked whether the topic of the fundamental contract should be part of the political dialogue, Kordić replied that there is no need to link those two issues.

"As far as we hear, it (the basic contract) is practically a finished matter, and it remains to go through the Government. Judging by the statements we have the opportunity to follow, there is a majority in favor of signing it," she stated.

At the beginning of last week, the government published a fundamentally harmonized draft of the basic contract, the content of which was violently reacted to by the SDP - which threatened to overthrow the government - the Social Democrats (SD), as well as part of the NGO sector.

Head of the parliamentary club of the SNP Dragan Ivanovic, told "Vijesti" that the issue of the basic contract will not prevent talks on a two-thirds/three-fifths majority.

"We don't see any crisis. And the US ambassador to Montenegro supports the signing of the basic agreement. Why are there so many threats to leave the Government because of this issue? If someone wants to leave, let them leave... Dialogue is the only thing that brings good to Montenegro. We at the SNP are fully committed to that. The dialogue should result in the election of the VDT, judges of the US and members of the SS, so that we finally have institutions that will work at full capacity", he underlined.

Secretary General of SDP Ivan Vujović he told the newspaper that the party will attend the dialogue, and that its priorities are the rule of law, reforms, consolidation of the economy...

He says that the environment created by "emphasizing wrong priorities" is not good.

"No one is against solving some issues, including those related to religious communities, but it is very important how, when and in what way we do it... And this is how some people intend to do it, knowing what consequences follow, it is completely destructive. The most important thing for everyone should be to unblock our EU path, and in order to do that we have to reach an agreement in the parliament. The SDP will try, for the sake of the national interest, to contribute to rearranging priorities and acting in a European manner. If that is the case, I believe that the agreement on the unblocking of the judiciary will not be missing either," he said.

GP URA also confirmed to "Vijesta" that they will participate in the dialogue, stating that they hope that all parties will listen to the talks.

"From whom we expect to be constructive factors in these processes, in which there is no place for narrow party interests and daily politics... These are key appointments when it comes to the further integration process of Montenegro into the European Union, but also key appointments when it comes to the progress of the country in question...", announced from GP URA.

SD said that they will participate in all processes aimed at resolving open issues of importance to society, which require a qualified majority.

That, as they pointed out to "Vijesti", does not mean that they will be anyone's "raiser of hands", and even less that their support for any personnel solutions is implied in advance.

"That's why we can freely, quite openly, without any hesitation, announce that SD will not be an obstacle to our integration path to the EU, but neither will it support any solutions and proposals, if there is even a hint of doubt that such a thing could be against the interests of Montenegro. . "Unfortunately, the past two months of activity of the parliamentary majority gives us the right to at least doubt the scope of such a heterogeneous, shamefully formed government, which instead of a program, gathered around armchairs", concluded the SD.

Lekić: This is not the time for political tricks

Demos leader and MP Miodrag Lekić told "Vijesta" that his party will respond to its initiative leading to the unblocking of institutions, especially the judicial ones, which, according to him, is necessary for the constitutional-democratic functioning of the political system and the continuation of European integration.

"Each subject should in turn take public responsibility for results in the state and general interest. Therefore, to publicly determine who acts constructively and in the wider interest, and who possibly acts destructively for some calculative reason. The situation regarding the completion of judicial bodies is clear, and that is why it is not the time for political tricks at meetings, but the time for public work and the truth about the behavior and work of each political subject. The ruling coalition DPS, SNP, GP URA, SDP, the Bosniak Party and other minority parties have a special responsibility for joint management of state policy, including in this case."