The political crisis in Montenegro is turning into an institutional one, which can have long-term negative consequences for the country, said professor of international relations at Boston University, Vesko Garčević.
Garčević said that after the adoption of amendments to the Law on the President in the Parliament, Montenegro received a short and clear message from the international community.
"The political crisis in Montenegro is turning into an institutional one, which can have long-term negative consequences for the country," said Garčević in an interview with the MINA agency.
He assessed that, as a solution to such a crisis, the majority parties are turning to undemocratic methods that further deepen the existing problems.
"I'm afraid we're approaching a moment when things could get out of hand. Instead of a resolution, we constantly have new complications - it's like when you solve a problem by creating an even bigger problem", said Garčević.
He believes that the representatives of the European Union (EU) sent clear messages when it comes to the decision of the Assembly.
As he added, they want respect for the Constitution and the law, that is, for changes to be made on the basis of procedures prescribed by law, and not on the basis of political calculations.
"The European Commission (EC) will probably evaluate this negatively in the next report. Bearing in mind the events in Europe and the scope of the challenges that the EU is facing, the question is whether and how much patience Brussels will have for us", warned Garčević.
He stated that he does not have the impression that there is awareness of this in Montenegro.
"In the end, bearing in mind the influences from outside, this development of the political situation in Montenegro is being watched with satisfaction in Belgrade and Moscow", announced Garčević.
He said that Montenegro was often criticized by the EC and Western partners because of the captive institutions and partocracy, as a result of 30 years of rule by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).
Garčević stated that the change of government, as announced, was supposed to "liberate" institutions from bad habits from the past, put the quality of candidates before party or ethnic affiliation, open space for critical evaluation of what has been achieved, accept the achievements of previous governments and look at mistakes from the past.
As he said, Montenegro instead got a dangerous populist policy with a strong influence of orthodox clericalism embodied in the Serbian Orthodox Church.
"From captured institutions, we are moving towards the collapse of the institutional framework and the devaluing of legal norms on which the rule of law rests, as evidenced by the proposal to amend the Law on the President", said Garčević.
He said that the attempt to change the Constitution during the parliamentary session renders the existence of any law meaningless.
"But it didn't start now, this is just the culmination of a process. Let's just remember how it was decided to organize local elections on October 23," said Garčević.
He stated that if the Constitution as the highest legal act of a state can be ignored, then every law is subject to free interpretation in accordance with the political will of whoever is in power.
"The excuse that "it's been done before" is a disastrous excuse. Shouldn't that have been changed? Weren't these promises the main messages of the parties that now have the majority?" asked Garčević.
According to his assessment, when it comes to the principle of rule of the new majority, everything is more or less the same as before, except that the effects on the state are now more deadly because the coalition partners cannot agree on how to exercise power.
Garčević, speaking about the statements of some deputies that "It is not good to change the Constitution by law, but it was necessary", said that this comment reveals how the rule of law and the importance of a society based on laws are taken lightly.
"Honestly, I am deeply surprised and disappointed by the fact that some MPs whom I had high respect for decided to be part of this infamous act," said Garčević.
He stated that there is no justification for changing constitutional norms overnight, during the parliamentary session, without a broad public discussion and the procedure provided for by law.
"This kind of action cannot be justified by party interests or some higher goals. The highest goal in a rule of law is respect for rights," said Garčević.
He said that democracy is embodied in the procedure.
As he explained, if the representatives of political parties believe that the president has abused the powers prescribed by law, an initiative for a vote of no confidence and the removal of the president can be launched.
"If there is not a sufficient majority for that, then early parliamentary elections can be organized and political pressure can be exerted to organize presidential and parliamentary elections at the same time, as a democratic solution to the political impasse in which Montenegro is", Garčević believes.
That, he said, would be the way out of the crisis in most democratic states.
He reminded that Israel recently had elections for the fifth time in the last five years, adding that the MPs did not change the Constitution to resolve the political crisis in the country.
"In the United States of America (USA), the democrats did not seek to amend the Constitution after the unsuccessful attempt to remove President (Donald) Trump because they believed that he was abusing his powers," said Garčević.
He said that the likely new Republican majority in Congress can do the same with President Joseph Biden, but that he will not seek to change the Constitution overnight if he does not succeed in his intention.
However, as he assessed, the problem in Montenegro is that the current majority does not agree with early elections, as this would lead to an overcomposition of forces in the Assembly.
"With the entry of the Europe Now movement into the Parliament, most of the parties that are now represented in the parliament would probably lose a certain number of deputies, and some might not pass the census," said Garčević.
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