Social Democratic Party (SDP) parliamentary status is not threatened, because the party recorded a strong growth in support after the decision to run independently in the upcoming elections, and not in a coalition with the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).
This is what the holder of the electoral list of SDP "For our house" and the mayor of the capital Cetinje told "Vijesta". Nikola Đurašković.
He stated that the SDP offers voters, among other things, the improvement of the health system, curbing inflation, the introduction of free kindergartens and the construction of apartments for young couples and tenants, claiming that they have a plan for the implementation of all these programs.
What kind of result do you expect in the elections on June 11, given that some public opinion researchers are predicting a fight for parliamentary status for the SDP?
I remind you that the SDP refused three guaranteed mandates within the coalition. That, in itself, says two things. Firstly, that we are not threatened with entering the Assembly, and secondly - that it is much more important for us to act freely and fight for values than for armchairs.
We stepped forward bravely, and I am sure that the citizens will recognize and reward that courage. We are firmly convinced that the citizens need, at a time of general turmoil on the political scene, to have a clean offer in the form of a party that has been standing in defense of Montenegro for a third of a century. Our five to ten percent are a much greater guarantee of the defense of our house than someone else's 15 to 20 percent. We have proven that from the nineties until today.
The SDP does not bear the burden of the officials who were arrested, because they "took out" from our common house. Unfortunately, there are such people both in the government and in the opposition, and they behave in the same way - without a single word of apology to the citizens. It doesn't matter if it's (Radu) Milosevic, (Branimir) Gvozdenović, (milu) Božović or (Svetozar) Marovic - their parties behave in the same way.
What, specifically, does the SDP offer to the voters, and how do you plan to earn their support in a situation where the competition promises an increase in wages and pensions, the eradication of unemployment, the opening of factories...?
There are a few key things. Improving the health system. We will no longer have the most expensive and unaffordable medicines in the region, long waiting lists, nor will our fellow citizens beg to raise money for the treatment of their children. We will introduce, as we did in Cetinje, free kindergartens throughout Montenegro. It costs approximately 11 million euros, and the state can and must finance it. We will not allow religious schools to be more important than public schools.
Inflation is out of control and needs to be curbed, and we will contribute to this through the reduction of excise duty on fuel. We will protect citizens from greedy bankers, we will propose to the Parliament the adoption of measures to protect users of banking services. We will launch a program of building apartments for young couples and tenants. We will provide 25 million euros and thus build 1.000 apartments per year, with rents up to a maximum of 150 euros. We will enable a simple and fair legalization of buildings without a building permit.
And, the most important thing - we will not allow anyone to return us to the past, to deny our state and identity, to threaten other religions and nations, to destroy the existing Constitution of secular, civil and independent Montenegro.
How do you plan to realize the above promises?
We have a plan for each of the programs. Compare the prices of medicines in Montenegro with those in Croatia, Serbia or BiH. The models are clear and there is no need to invent hot water.
In Cetinje, we already presented that children are our priority, and announced free kindergartens from next year. This is not a figure at all that would create a problem for the state, maybe some 11 million euros per year... Models of housing policy, which will enable young people to first rent long-term, and then buy apartments that can be built with the support of the state, on state land and with exemption duty, which would make them much cheaper than those on the market, something that has been successfully implemented in the countries of Western Europe for over three decades.
We will also create conditions for the continuation of the construction of the cable car to Cetinje, after this largest capital project in 2023 is almost built from Kotor to Lovcen.
If the SDP enters the parliament, do you see the possibility of cooperation with the parties that should be the main constituent of the future government - primarily with the Europe Now Movement (PES)?
The SDP can only be in that government that works dedicatedly and honestly for our house, that sees it in the EU, and not closed in the Balkan alliances. To the government that will provide our children with an education similar to that of their peers in the EU, quality health care available to all, development that will mean a better life for all, not just a few.
A policy that means a firm alliance with the Democratic Front (DF), which appoints a warmonger to a responsible position in Podgorica (Emil) Labudovic or a nationalist type (Vladislava) Dajković, cannot be our partner. In order for them to cooperate, a clear departure from such behavior must be made...
With us, citizens can be sure - either the government will be in the interest of our House of Montenegro, or the SDP will be a strong opposition to such a government.
You were part of the narrow majority of those who voted for the party to go to the elections independently, and not in an alliance led by the DPS. Why was an almost equal number of members of the Main Board of the SDP in favor of the coalition, and are you concerned that such intra-party division could lead to a split?
This is already the fifth election at the state level in which the SDP is running independently, so there is nothing surprising about it. It is necessary that there is an untainted sovereignist offer, which, together with the Liberal Alliance, has protected Montenegro since the nineties.
The SDP is really a democratic party, but I understand that in the context of our political scene it looks "strange".
When you have newly founded parties, without ideology, where the deputy president, who is also the president of the country, in agreement with other parties, tries to replace his party president, then it is difficult to accept that you have an SDP that has lasted for 33 years, that has changed six presidents and where decisions they pass democratically and then everyone implements them equally.
What will be your answer if SDP does not pass the census?
Since the decision to go independent, we have received unprecedented support from citizens from all Montenegrin areas, and the SDP is experiencing strong growth. It is our obligation to be worthy of that trust and realize everything we promise in the campaign. We have new people, but the same values... No matter how the elections end, we will proudly protect the values that bring us together. Only people with clean hands can change Montenegro. The SDP has been clean for almost 33 years, and it will continue to be.
SDP President Raško Konjević will step down from the leadership of the party after the elections. When will the new head of the SDP be elected, and are you interested in that position? If not, who do you see as the new leader?
The SDP statute provides for a party congress after the parliamentary elections. I have already announced that I plan to perform the duties of the mayor of Cetinje with the utmost dedication until the end of the mandate. The SDP has a strong generation of new, educated people, much more politically capable and tougher than its political competitors. I have no doubt that we will elect a leadership that will successfully lead both the SDP and our house Montenegro in the future.
Raising your voice against someone else's service is not a mistake, but an obligation
Do you think that the SDP would enjoy more support today if, in the past two and a half years, some high-ranking officials had not fueled the political atmosphere with rhetoric about "treason" and "traitors", which was also directed at the coalition partners of the SDP in Cetinje?
I do not deny that the SDP also had mistakes, it is always possible to do better, or at least differently. However, these are not the mistakes you suggest. If you have a majority that behaves as a political servant of the government in another country, it is your duty to raise your voice against it. And not that you take money from them, "for marketing", like certain media.
I remind you that the Democrats called the deposed Prime Minister (Dritan) Abazović very derogatory names, indicating his vassal relationship to the authorities in Serbia, so today they are in a coalition. We are proud to have been the strongest resistance to such a policy, and we will be again.
I do not appropriate the party's successes of the Capital
You refused to attend the dialogue organized by the head of state Jakov Milatović, saying that "a meeting without a topic is involvement in the campaign". Did you, as the mayor, get involved in the officials' campaign by announcing that the capital is working on the preparation of a program "that aims for all Cetinje children to have free kindergarten"?
Unlike Mr. Milatović, who is the president and does not participate in the elections, I am the holder of one election list. At the same time, I never once tried to put something that our joint success in Cetinje into party frameworks.
While the deposed government is rampant in abuses, Abazović bought his place on the list of Democrats by making the entire state apparatus available, and some people are bothered by the fact that Cetinje works dedicatedly for its citizens. I wish we had more space to present what we have done in this period, in addition to the almost 40 million inherited debt...
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