Whether the reconstruction of the Government will be announced, and if so, how that process should look, will depend primarily on the moves of the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić (Movement Europe Now) according to the "triangle" Democrats - Bosniak Party (BS) - Democratic People's Party (DNP).
This stems from unofficial conversations "Vijesti" had with representatives of several ruling and opposition parties.
According to the coalition agreement on power, the reconstruction should be completed by the end of the year, with the entry of the constituents of the former Democratic Front (DF) into the executive power - DNP Milan Knežević and New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Andrije Mandić.
However, due to the strained relations in the ruling majority, primarily between the Europe Now Movement (PES) and the Democrats, and Spajić and Knežević, several scenarios are possible.
One that is being speculated about is that the Prime Minister excludes the Democrats from the cabinet and replaces them with opposition BS. That scenario would allegedly be realized with the remaining part of the Democratic officials in the Government - the vice president of the executive branch Moma Koprivica and maybe the Minister of Tourism Vladimir Martinović, who have been working against the party leadership for several months. Koprivica is reputed to be the most serious candidate for the Minister of Justice if the current minister Andrej Milović, whose dismissal was proposed yesterday by Spajić, be dismissed.
Another possibility that is being talked about is that the Democrats remain in Spajić's cabinet, but that the "quota" of the positions they cover, not counting those of Koprivica and Martinović, is reduced, and that those positions are given to someone else. According to "Vijesti"'s unofficial information, the Democrats would deny support to the Government in that case. That party clashed with Spajić over the issue of staffing in the security sector.
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With the eventual exclusion or departure of the Democrats, Spajić's cabinet would not be in danger of survival if it received the support of BS Ervin Ibrahimović. "Vijesti" unofficially learned that this party did not receive a formal offer from Spajić to participate in the government.
"Vijesti" announced in mid-February that the actions of BS and the Government at that time testify that this party is one of the potential candidates for a position in the executive branch. Namely, BS hardly criticized the work of Spajić's cabinet, which, on the other hand, appointed some of that party's cadres to government positions.
However, one of the problems in the story with BS is whether their entry into the Government would be accepted by the DNP. In March, Knežević announced that he would not agree to it if BS MPs voted for the dismissal of Mandić from the position of head of parliament.
"... You cannot play one half for Partizan and the other half for Zvezda", he said then.
BS voted for the dismissal of Mandić, but he was not dismissed. The NSD leader said after the move by BS that he had nothing against Ibrahimović's party entering Spajić's cabinet.
If, potentially, the Democrats and the DNP, which have seven and four MPs, respectively, "fall out" of the government, it could survive with the support of BS with six parliamentarians, but in that case it would have the minimum support necessary for survival - 41 vote, provided that all deputies vote in accordance with the decisions of their parties. The current majority consists of 46 MPs.
The eventual entry of BS into power should be preceded by an agreement on amending the coalition agreement. The meeting of the leaders of the ruling coalition, where disputed issues are resolved, has not taken place since mid-May, "Vijesti" was told.
According to the newspaper's unofficial information, Knežević's party is waiting for their demands to be met and then to start talks on reconstruction, which the interlocutor says he thinks will not "go so quickly".
At the end of May, the DNP suspended support for the Government until several demands were met, after Montenegro supported the adoption of the Resolution on the Srebrenica genocide at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. The DNP stated that the adoption of the resolution on the genocide in Jasenovac by the end of June at the latest is a prerequisite for them to even consider the option of further support for Spajić. They said that after the adoption of the resolution on Jasenovac, a few more things should be implemented - to get details about the announced program "Europe Now 2", to make the Serbian language official, to ensure that criminal offenses in the field of organized crime do not expire...
However, their MPs voted last week for the legislation needed to obtain the Interim Benchmarks Fulfillment Report (IBAR) with their colleagues from the ruling majority.
Mandić's and Knežević's parties raised the issue of reconstruction at the end of last year, saying that the procedure should take place after the New Year holidays, a few months after that or in the first half of 2024. They emphasized that they don't see why they shouldn't get the opportunity to contribute through reconstruction to "solving all those challenges facing the 44th Government".
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In the coalition agreement on power, it is written that the reconstruction is planned no later than the voting of the budget for 2025, which means - by the end of this year. It was stated that "in accordance with the consistent and complete observance of all provisions of the agreement", the Prime Minister undertakes to implement it.
The document states that the coalition "For the Future of Montenegro" (ZBCG), whose members were NSD and DNP, will receive five seats in the Government after the reconstruction. The vice-presidential position for infrastructure, as well as the departments of transport, education, tourism and spatial planning and urban planning, are intended for that association. NSD and DNP currently support the Government without participating in it.
Until the reconstruction takes place, the agreement stipulates that the constituents of ZBCG, "in order to make the transition of the department as simple as possible", propose state secretaries in the ministries they should receive, which has been fulfilled.
Spajić's government currently has 19 ministries and 23 members.
Spajić: Milović damaged the reputation of the Government and the majority
In the proposal for Milović's dismissal, Spajić stated that the Government undertook a series of activities aimed at accelerating economic growth, European integration and strengthening the rule of law, and that the largest number of members of his cabinet expressed "full commitment to those priorities through professional and personal engagement."
On the other hand, he states that Milović was on several occasions "not in line with what the Government's priorities were", and that "by his actions without prior consultation with the President and members of the Government, he damaged the overall context and reputation of the entire Government, as well as the parliamentary majority with whose support he was elected to the position of Minister of Justice".
"Given that Milović did not respond adequately to expectations and tasks, and that it is extremely important for the legal and political system that the function of Minister of Justice be performed by a person with the highest degree of trust from the executive power, I am convinced that the necessary steps have to be taken and accede to the dismissal of the Minister of Justice. Otherwise, further performance of the function would further threaten the interests of Montenegro from the aspect of internal and foreign policy, as well as the values of the 44th Government, which are related to meritocracy and the strengthening of democratic and depoliticized institutions," the proposal reads.
Spajić called on the Assembly to dismiss Milović "by urgent procedure".
The Prime Minister announced the night before yesterday that he will seek the dismissal of Milović, who previously invited him to do so, accusing him of leading the party, the Government and the country into the abyss. Spajić claims that Milović teamed up with the head of state Jakov Milatović and launched a "coordinated obstruction" of the Government.
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The Assembly cannot dismiss Milović "by urgent procedure", as requested by Spajić, because only laws can be adopted that way. "Vijesti" was told by the Government that "urgent procedure" is mentioned in such requests in order to let the head of the Assembly know that the executive power wants to finish the process as soon as possible, and that it is up to him to decide when he will do it.
DNP MP Maja Vukićević said last night on the show "Reflektor" on TV "Vijesti" that the proposal on the dismissal of Milović could be included under the item elections and appointments of the sixth session of the parliament, which is open, but for which the agenda has not been determined. continuation term.
One deputy explained unofficially to the "News" that the head of the Assembly could propose that, although the point of elections and appointments is always the last on the agenda, Spajić's request should be discussed first.
Mandić: Svađe should wait for IBAR to be received
The head of the parliament and NSD, Mandić, said yesterday, commenting on the request for the dismissal of Milović, that he was worried that "in a political game, in political heat, someone can simply 'break things around the house'".
"I wanted to invite all political actors... we all have different opinions, but we have one goal towards which we are moving and we have the public views of all those who are moving towards that goal, i.e. who are in charge of doing that work on behalf of the citizens of Montenegro, that don't complicate things and refrain, because any discussion or political argument should wait until we first receive a positive IBAR, and then let everyone tell each other what they want," he told Prvoj TV.
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