Since the changes in August 2020, there has been a noticeable shift away from nationalist rhetoric due to high saturation, the analyst and civil activist said. Stefan Djukic.
Commenting on the rather mild campaign for the presidential elections on March 19 for "Vijesti", he said that most of the candidates are now trying to be conciliatory and their programs are mostly similar.
"Furthermore, more extreme excesses, such as attempted violence against the candidate Jakov Milatović in Cetinje, they can only help (in percentage terms) the one against whom the violence was perpetrated," said Đukić.
Incendiary nationalist rhetoric, flag-waving and sharp bickering over church issues marked the 2020 election campaign. The Law on Freedom of Religion, which was adopted by the then DPS government on December 27, 2019, and which was strongly opposed by the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), caused several months of mass protest processions, as well as an invitation from the then Metropolitan of Montenegrin and Littoral Amphilochia citizens to go to the polls and vote against the current government.
Citizens, deeply divided on national grounds, massively carried flags at rallies, and depending on who they supported, they were Montenegrin flags, old Montenegro flags, church flags, and Serbian flags.
The central topic was the church, and while the DPS said that "the law will apply equally to everyone", the opposition replied that "they hit something they shouldn't have" and that they will lose power because of that. That's what happened, so DPS, after 30 years of rule, went to the opposition...
The rhetoric before these presidential elections was mainly reduced to criticism of the Government's work, conciliatory and remorseful messages, as well as promises of a better standard of living.
Stefan Đukić states that at the previously held local elections, in October last year, it was seen that waving flags is no longer interesting.
"Furthermore, since the changes on August 30, 2020, slowly, noticeably, there has been an increasing abandonment of nationalist rhetoric, probably due to a great saturation of it. "Exaggeration in intimidation, misuse of inflammatory terms has abolished their value in society, but also the usability of national features in the campaign," said Đukić.
He believes that, slowly but surely, a different time is coming and a better political atmosphere in which there will be less and less space for extremism and violence.
"And that, after a lot of wandering, is perhaps the best thing about the political changes we are witnessing after August 30, 2020. It took some time for things to stir up before they calmed down, but we will witness such an age more and more," he says. Djukic.
Expert in psychology and communication Srdjan Vukcevic he assessed that the presidential campaign so far has been calm and with less national rhetoric, but in the second round of the election it is possible to see an increase in tensions and harsher words.
"The hidden campaign takes place through mimes and fake profiles on social networks who know very well what their party's task is. It mainly refers to the personal discrediting of the candidate and an attack that is not supported by arguments but by labeling," said Vukčević to the Mina agency.
He said that he hopes that the candidates and parties in the second round of the campaign will maintain a civilized and fair tone in their messages, without making unfounded accusations or spreading incorrect information.
According to Vukčević, that would be in the best interest of all citizens and the democratic process in Montenegro.
"It is a sign of true maturity to run a campaign in accordance with the highest standards of ethics and respect for the opposing parties and their supporters, in order to ensure a fair and democratic election process," said Vukčević.
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