The upcoming presidential elections will be a political life-and-death battle for the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which means that after them the leader of the DPS Milo Djukanovic either retain the position of the head of state and thus give the party a chance to return to power, or the DPS will have to fundamentally change with his defeat.
This is how the interlocutors of "Vijesti" interpret the decision of DPS the night before last to nominate Đukanović for the presidency of Montenegro, and enable him to fight for a third term in that position.
He was in the first from 1998 to 2002, while the second, current one, has been in place since 2018.
Civic activist Stefan Djukic says that they could talk about surprise if Djukanovic's candidacy was presented a month ago. Currently, as he explains, after the "flood", that is, the rejection of the candidacy of the leader of the Europe Now Movement (PES) Milojko Spajić, disagreements in the field that we call the "center", although, according to him, it is not ideological, and serious chances that the candidate of the Democratic Front (DF) will be placed in the second round Andrija Mandic, we cannot, he claims, be surprised.
"Djukanovic would not have run if he had no chance of winning, as it seemed at one point. "Now that possibility is not improbable, and therefore he, as the only member of the DPS who has a significant percentage of support among voters, is trying to reverse a series of electoral defeats," Đukić told "Vijesta".
Political analyst from Belgrade Cvijetin Milivojevic, assesses that Đukanović is currently the only possible choice of DPS. He states that any other candidate of that party would have a hard time competing with the one who makes it to the second round of the election.
"After the DPS lost the elections and the executive power two and a half years ago, it is logical that all eyes are on the possibility that Đukanović will provide a second chance for the DPS by winning the presidential elections. That chance would be the last. In this sense, the candidacy of Đukanović is the only possible choice of that party. There is no other. Any other candidate at this moment would be weaker, and would hardly be able to count on a new electorate. Looking at it this way, this is a kind of battle for the political life and death of the DPS", Milivojević points out for "Vijesti".
The main committee (GO) of the DPS supported the proposal of the party presidency that Đukanović be the presidential candidate in the elections scheduled for March 19, although there was public speculation that someone younger could enter the presidential race.
Responsibility towards the state is stronger than the right to fatigue
Yesterday, Đukanović announced at a press conference that his candidacy was "an expression of responsibility towards Montenegro, which is in serious trouble", and "an expression of concern for the threat to the achievements of the development of modern Montenegro", to which, as he said, he had dedicated his whole life. .
As "Vijesti" wrote, at a meeting with part of the party leadership twenty days ago, he said that young leaders should take responsibility for the presidential elections. A few days ago, speaking about why the DPS did not appoint a candidate, he said that it has been thirty years in the political life of Montenegro, and that someone who has been working in one job for three decades has the right to "feel tired and has the right to reason that maybe it would be better for society if there was a new candidate".
Đukić: It sends the message that DPS is in his hands
Đukić says that Đukanović's candidacy sends a message that he still holds the strongest Montenegrin party absolutely in his hands, and that everything depends on him. Therefore, he adds, this is the point of his campaign - either he will have the presidential helm for the next five years, or the DPS as we know it will disappear and have to be reformed from the ground up.
Đukić explains that Đukanović's candidacy for the DPS means that they do not have a leader who would step out of the shadow of the party leader and that, after his retirement, whenever that may be, there will be a long period of internal searching.
"As far as Montenegro is concerned, we cannot be happy to continue to see the same faces, at the same time faces that have been under serious accusations for decades, who are responsible, directly or indirectly, for crime, corruption, partitocracy... This is not only about Đukanović, but he is certainly dominantly responsible for social opportunities".
Milivojević: The party - that's me
Speaking about why the DPS fails to produce another person who could be a presidential candidate and why everything "revolves" around Đukanović, Milivojević says that this is not a peculiarity of the DPS, but that it also happens in the environment.
"The party - that's me. It is similar in Serbia, and we saw this during the time of the SFRY, when Tito was elected president for life. How fatal it can be after the departure of such a leader was shown in our case... That kind of tying the future of a country and all its citizens to the personality of an irreplaceable leader is something that has not brought results in comparative political history... It is clear to me whether DPS cannot propose anyone else, because they believe that only Đukanović can win".
Asked if his candidacy is proof that there is no one else in the DPS who would have a chance of winning the elections, Đukanović replied yesterday that he thinks they are sending a message to the public "about the wealth of personnel potential".
"Look at what the Presidency of the DPS and the parliamentary club look like, see which newspapers they are, and compare it with the newspapers on the overall political scene, and you will get the answer".
He stated that, if the mandate of the current state policy is extended, DPS would have to wait for 2027 or 2028 as a new chance, but that this is too long and that is why they decided not to calculate, but to come out with their "strongest offer". .
"Our analysis showed that we have to come out with our strongest asset. I don't think I'm surprising you if I say that the president of the party is the party's strongest asset. Not just this one, but every one. That's how it is today, and that's why my candidacy is on the table," Đukanović told the press after submitting his candidacy to the State Election Commission (SEC).
A fateful campaign to save Montenegro?
Đukić says that he assumes that he will embark on another "fatal" campaign for the "salvation of Montenegro", full of polarizing messages, latent hatred and pointing fingers at "the other", who, he states, is always "an enemy, a traitor, a foreign mercenary ”, which means everyone who does not vote for the desired political option.
"This kind of campaign has been natural for Đukanović for decades, and it also mobilizes the voters of his preferred opponent in the second round - Mandić," he adds.
Đukić notes that, at the same time, it should be borne in mind that, unlike before, Đukanović does not have a position in the executive power in his arsenal, nor in the majority of local self-governments, and that he does not have the leverage of that kind of pressure on his electorate. That's why, according to him, it will be interesting to see how it goes this time.
"The candidacy was made official at the very end of the deadline, because only a short campaign can be effective if the messages are polarizing," he says.
Milivojević says that apart from Đukanović's entry into the second round, which, according to him, will probably happen, it will be important for the DPS to "capture" the votes of those who will vote for his opponents, but who will not make it to the second round.
"On the other hand, it is important how those who make up the executive power and the parliamentary majority will behave after we see who will enter the second round, which will be the battle of all battles. Will there be any preliminary agreements between those candidates or not? We saw an unprecedented positive event in the elections in August 2020, when part of the anti-DPS parties kept their word, and when a government was still formed with a higher representative in the parliament", reminds the interlocutor.
He points out that he assumes that the DPS will scare citizens in the campaign, that Djukanović's defeat could mean the end of Montenegro's European path, that it would be a return to the framework of Serbia, etc.
"On the one hand, there will be an attempt to cement the fact that without the victory of Đukanović and the DPS, there is no Montenegro and that the victory of others will mean that Montenegro will be called into question. On the other hand, it will be a question whether the voters will be able to recognize that the power of the DPS has changed, but that Montenegro has not collapsed", concludes Milivojević.
The presidential candidacy was confirmed for Mandić and deputies of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Draginja Vuksanović Stanković.
A man from Nikšić submitted his candidacy the day before yesterday Željko Matijašević, and today, when the deadline for submitting applications expires, it should be done by the deputy president of PES Jakov Milatovic and the leader of the Democrats Aleksa Becic.
Proposal of the leader of the United Montenegro Goran Danilović for participating in the elections, it was sent back for revision.
Đukanović: To win as convincingly as possible and as soon as possible
Đukanović assessed that in 2023, the state is expecting a "comprehensive election cycle" which, as he said, begins with regular presidential elections, and continues "a few months after that" with the holding of early parliamentary elections.
"It is an opportunity for Montenegro to restore the stability and predictability of state policy, commitment to reforms and the functionality of institutions through the wise decisions of its citizens. It is an opportunity for Montenegro to preserve the international prestige that, as a small and insufficiently developed country, it has painstakingly achieved. This is possible, regardless of the very large challenges that have intensified during the last two or three years," said the DPS leader.
Đukanović said that he is entering the election race with the same intention as before - to win as convincingly as possible and as soon as possible.
He stated that his goal is to win in the first round, but that he is ready for the entire election process.
"If the development of events leads us to the second round, I will participate in it with the same enthusiasm and the same optimism, with the conviction that I will win in that electoral round. I think we have a good offer on the political scene of Montenegro. I respect every candidate who has submitted their candidacy so far. I believe we will have an interesting election race. I enter the race with the belief that I will be the winner. I wouldn't predict who could be in the second round. I approach everyone with respect and seriousness, I will do my best to beat them in the first round".
During the submission of his candidacy to the SEC, Đukanović said that he has resided in Montenegro throughout his life and that he only has Montenegrin citizenship.
SD with Đukanović, BS will decide after closing candidacies
The Social Democrats (SD) decided yesterday to support the candidacy of Đukanović.
As they announced, the decision to support is a continuation of "socially responsible policy and policy that has only one goal - the interest of the state of Montenegro and its citizens."
"At no point did we view the issue of candidates in the presidential elections from a narrow party perspective. In the current political situation, when Montenegro is in a deep social, political, institutional, economic and every other crisis, we appreciate that there must be no room for party calculations on this issue, but that each party must be guided exclusively by higher, state interests. In this sense, SD made a decision to support the candidate who has the most chances to win", they stated after the session of the Main Board (GO).
The Bosniak Party's (BS) General Assembly made a decision last night that the party will not have a candidate in the presidential elections.
"In view of the fact that BS will not have its own candidate and in view of the fact that not all candidacies for president have been submitted or confirmed, the GO BS authorizes the Party Presidency to make a final decision on possible support for a specific candidate for president after concluding the candidacies and analyzing the candidates."
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