Although the leader of Democratic Montenegro (Democrats) Aleksa Becic recently claimed that there are no disagreements in that party, in the last month and a half there were several examples that indicate the opposite - that he, the vice president of the party Dragan Krapović and its general secretary Boris Bogdanovic they go one way, and their colleagues from the Party Presidency Momo Koprivica, Vladimir Martinovic i Nikola Rovčanin to others.
The differences are most noticeable in the public statements of the two camps about whether there is a crisis in the government of which they are a part, but, according to the unofficial information of "Vijesti", there are also behind closed doors - at government meetings Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement). This is confirmed by the answers that "Vijesti" received from Krapović yesterday, and from Koprivica and Martinović in mid-March regarding the events at one of the sessions of the executive power.
However, Krapović claims that he did not notice "sides in the Democrats" or disagreements.
Koprivica, Martinović and Rovčanin did not answer "Vijesta" questions about whether there are disagreements between them, on the one hand, and Bečić and Bogdanović, on the other, and if there are - what they refer to and whether they could lead to a split in the Democrats.
"Vijesti" has learned unofficially that Koprivica and Rovčanin held several meetings with local Democratic officials in several cities, where they allegedly explained the differences in their views with the top of the party.
Koprivica (Deputy Prime Minister) and Martinović (Minister of Tourism) allegedly on several occasions at the sessions represented positions contrary to those of Bečić (Deputy Prime Minister), Krapović (Minister of Defense) and other Democrat ministers - Danilo Saranovic (Minister of Police) i Tamara Vujović (Minister of Culture), did not join them in voting or made decisions without consulting them.
According to the newspaper's unofficial information, one such case happened on March 3, when Koprivica and Martinović, allegedly without talking to their colleagues, voted for dismissal Zoran Brđanin from the post of police chief immediately after the material about it was posted on the "Members of the Government" WhatsApp group. In addition, at the same time, they also supported the conclusion by which the Government tasked Saranović with announcing a public invitation for acting (acting) director of the police.
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The two did not answer "Vijesti" whether it is true that they voted for the dismissal of Brđanin immediately after the material was posted on the WhatsApp group.
The same question, sent to the Press Center of the Democrats, was not directly answered by Krapović, who said that the electronic session held on March 3 was called between 22 and 22.30:XNUMX p.m., that it was not announced to Saranović, that the minister was not consulted about it, and that it was not prepared proposals for decisions and conclusions. Krapović claims that the session was not announced to him either.
"I thought it was wrong to prepare and convene the session in such a way, I waited for the Minister of the Interior to vote beforehand, and I consulted with him and only then voted. How others acted, you have to ask them", says Krapović.
Koprivica and Martinović allegedly, unlike most of their colleagues from the Democrats, did not speak at the marathon session of the Government, held on the night of March 12-13, where the executive branch, on the illegal proposal of Prime Minister Spajić, was elected Aleksandar Radović for acting chief of police. The two told "Vijesta" on March 13 that this was not true.
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"That is not correct information, just an insinuation. And a huge part of the discussion is covered by the label 'internal', and then the microphone is not turned on, so it is not included in the minutes," said Koprivica.
Martinović said that he "denies the information that he did not speak".
However, Krapović claims that the two did not participate in the discussion.
"At the session in question, only members of the Government from the security sector spoke from Democratic Montenegro, my little one, Vice President Bečić and Minister Saranović," he said.
According to the unofficial information of "Vijesti", Koprivica and Martinović allegedly supported the adoption of the minutes from that session of the Government on March 14, the day after the appointment of Radović, although Krapović had a different opinion and asked for a warning to be included in the document that voting for the appointment of the police chief on the Prime Minister's proposal constitutes a criminal offense, as well as that the agenda of the session has been exhausted.
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The two did not answer to "Vijesti" whether they did it. On the other hand, Krapović indirectly claims - that they are.
"I am the only member of the Government who expressed an opinion on the proposed minutes. "Bečić, Saranović and colleague Vujović did not attend the same session," he said.
That the Democratic officials are not on the same course is evidenced by their statements about the tightening of relations between that party and Spajić's Movement Europe Now (PES), after Radović was elected as the director of UP. That is why the Democrats pledged their support to the Government until the expected receipt of the Report on the Assessment of the Fulfillment of the Temporary Benchmarks in Negotiations with the EU (IBAR) in June.
While he is part of the Democratic functionaries, among whom he is a member of parliament Momcilo Leković, claimed that the appointment of Radović was a gross violation of the law and spoke of a crisis in the government, some others, like Rovčanin, sent more conciliatory messages, saying that the current government is "a reflection and image of August 30, 2020", when the three-decade regime of the Democratic Party was replaced Socialists (DPS), and that new elections should be held in the regular term - 2027.
Martinović's messages were on a similar background, despite the fact that his colleagues announced a lawsuit against the Government for the appointment of Radović, which Saranović then filed.
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"I am of the opinion that a compromise should always be reached, that a compromise solution and dialogue are always the way to success. Montenegro must not and cannot stop on the way to the EU, because we have the strong support of our international partners. "All these things we are talking about can, in my opinion, be resolved with a certain dialogue and exchange of arguments in a decent and civilized way", said Martinović.
He and Koprivica did not answer "Vijesta" whether the essence of the dispute between the two parties in the Democrats is in the statements of Rovčanin and Leković, i.e. in the fact that one is in favor of remaining in the government at all costs, and the other that they will decide on it depending on (no ) of obtaining IBAR. Rovčanin did not answer the same question either.
Krapović responded to that question by saying that there are challenges in the functioning of the government, that the Law on Internal Affairs has been violated, that illegal conclusions have been reached, and that the Presidency of the Democrats has noted this.
"... No one had any objections to the conclusions (of the Presidency), and in this regard I believe that we have found a measure of political response in accordance with the interests of the state of Montenegro, and not the partial interests of the party. Given that no one had any objections, I conclude that there are no differences in views, and everyone is obliged to act in accordance with the decisions of the authorities... I did not notice the parties in the Democrats, and therefore no views were communicated regarding the subject of your question." , he assessed.
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The duo was not at the Presidency when support for the Government was announced
According to the unofficial information of "Vijesti", Koprivica and Martinović did not attend the session of the Presidency of the Democrats, where that party decided to limit its support to Spajić's cabinet. According to the newspaper, they justified their absence.
The two did not answer to "Vijesti" why they did not come to the session.
To the same question, Krapović answered by saying that it has never happened that all members of the party attend the meetings of the party bodies. That, he says, is simply not possible.
"I really don't know what the reasons are, because I didn't ask to see the records, but I know that all the members of the Presidency - both those who attended and those who were absent - were sent the conclusions from the session of the Presidency in writing, and no one had any idea about them. one remark", he states.
"I didn't notice any disagreements because none were reported"
Asked whether there are disagreements in the Democrats between Koprivica, Martinović and Rovčanin on the one hand and Bečić and Bogdanović on the other, Krapović says that since the establishment of the Democrats (2015) until today, differences in views have been communicated "openly and transparently on the bodies of the Democrats".
"I myself had different views, and sometimes different attitudes towards some of the decisions. Sometimes I was in the majority and sometimes in the minority. I guess that's democracy. After the decisions were made, each member of the body consistently and responsibly represented and implemented them. Until this moment, I have not noticed a single disagreement within our political entity, because it was not even announced," he states.
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