The reconstruction of the Government will not contribute to the stabilization of the parliamentary majority and the political situation in the country, said Social Democrat (SD) MP Nikola Zirojević.
Zirojević, in an interview with the MINA Agency, said that the fact that the current government is quite unstable, therefore the political situation is very worrying.
He stated that the Democrats previously limited their support to the Government until receiving a positive Report on the Assessment of the Fulfillment of Temporary Benchmarks (IBAR), but that after receiving the IBAR, not a word was heard about this limited support.
"After that, we had a rather rigid political stance of the Democratic People's Party (DNP) and Milan Knežević, who made staying in the parliamentary majority conditional, among other things, on the adoption of the Resolution on the Genocide in Jasenovac," Zirojević added.
He said that today the situation is a little different and that the reconstruction of the Government is expected.
"I do not believe that this will contribute to the stabilization of the political situation in Montenegro and that it will contribute to the stabilization of the parliamentary majority itself," said Zirojević.
He stated that he thinks so because what divides the parties of the parliamentary majority will not be able to be replaced by functions and positions.
"Even though the constituents of the coalition for the future of Montenegro (ZBCG), as we hear, may enter the government by the end of this month, I think that this will only extend the term of this government in the short term, which, like the previous two, is certainly doomed to a quick collapse." assessed Zirojević.
He said that he believes that the reconstruction of the Government is already prepared and that he would not be surprised if it happens by the end of July.
Zirojević emphasized that the position of the SD on the issue of reconstruction is clear and that, just as they were opposed to the election of the 44th Government, they will be even more fiercely opposed to the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and DNP entering the Government.
In the SD, as he stated, they believe that political subjects, who represent an ideology that in no way goes with the European path and the Euro-Atlantic character of Montenegro, have nothing to ask for in a government that at least declaratively presents itself as European.
"We think that the introduction of these political entities into the Government sends a very clear message to the citizens, but also to international partners, that the European path, reforms and progress of the state are not a priority, but some other topics that, unfortunately, we witnessed in the previous period in the parliament Zirojevic said.
Asked to comment on Defense Minister Dragan Krapović's statement that, even if the government is reshuffled, Montenegro will still be a reliable partner of NATO, Zirojević said that Montenegro was not a reliable partner of the Alliance for the past four years.
"I confirm this to some extent with the fact that in one period NATO limited our access to the alliance's secret data, because we had certain leaks from the security sector," said Zirojević.
He said that he is convinced "that NATO partners will continue to view Montenegro as an unreliable member and partner and as someone who cannot be trusted".
"I think that we would change such a state of affairs, if it is certainly not done by introducing anti-NATO parties into the government, parties that have very good relations with the president of Russia, by introducing those people who can't wait to receive an invitation from Belgrade or Moscow to appear there Zirojević stated.
He believes that, with the reconstruction of the Government, Montenegro will become an even less credible member of the NATO alliance.
Asked how he sees the potential entry of the Bosniak Party (BS) into the Government, Zirojević said that, although it has been mentioned for a long time, recently the story has quieted down a lot.
"I personally think that BS has nothing to ask for in the Government with these political subjects and that BS has no place there," said Zirojević.
As he stated, what has been the policy of the BS since its foundation does not correspond to the policy of the majority of members of the current parliamentary majority.
"I think that, if they receive an offer to join the government, BS would be wise to reject that message," added Zirojević.
He pointed out that BS, in terms of values, at the moment belongs much more to the parliamentary opposition than to the majority.
When asked if he thinks the Government will last a full term, or if extraordinary parliamentary elections will be organized, Zirojević replied that it is difficult to say, because the political situation in Montenegro can change 180 degrees in one day.
"What we have been able to see so far is that both the Government and the parliamentary majority are very unstable, but that it is maintained, because they are united by only one interest - mere survival in power," said Zirojević.
He assessed that it is difficult for the current government to last until the end of the mandate, for the same reasons that caused the short-lived governments of Zdravko Krivokapić and Dritan Abazović.
Zirojević pointed out that there is a serious crisis of government at local levels, in the capital and Berane, that there is no agreement in Andrijevica and Budva, and that the situation in Berane could potentially be reflected in Nikšić.
"Everything I have stated indicates that this Government will also be in office for a much shorter period of time than anticipated," said Zirojević.
He pointed out that instability in the capital can contribute to this.
According to Zirojević, when power is lost in the capital, it is a serious message, because more than one third of Montenegrin citizens vote in Podgorica.
"I am convinced that after the extraordinary local elections in Podgorica, a completely different political structure will exercise power in the capital and that most of these political subjects who are currently in positions of power in Podgorica will not be there," added Zirojević.
He pointed out that the possible loss of power in the capital will cause nervousness in the ranks of the parliamentary majority and certain political upheavals that could contribute to the Government's mandate lasting even shorter than predicted.
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Asked how he sees the relationship between Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović and the parliamentary majority, Zirojević said that cohabitation works worse than when Milo Đukanović was president and Abazović and Krivokapić were prime ministers.
"I think that is a sufficient indicator of how serious the political situation is," said Zirojević.
He recalled that recently only representatives of opposition parties came to the meeting with Milatović, and no one from the parliamentary majority.
"I think that the relations between them are very bad and that only Montenegro and its citizens can be harmed by such behavior," said Zirojević.
Speaking about the formation of the European Union, which includes SD, the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party, he said that this alliance was created as a response to the current political situation.
As he said, they concluded that it is necessary to bring together political subjects who are civil, pro-Montenegro committed in the sense of Montenegrin statehood, and not in the national sense, and who are absolutely pro-European committed and advocate for a Euro-Atlantic Montenegro and a state where no one will be cramped .
"We agreed on that very easily. We will offer the citizens a completely innovative political offer", stated Zirojević.
He pointed out that they are dominantly offered by new political figures, and all three parties have changed their leadership in the previous period.
"I believe that the formation of that alliance is very important for the political scene of Montenegro and the return of the values that, unfortunately, we lost in the previous four years," said Zirojević.
He said that he expects that the European Union will be a stronger and more serious political factor in the coming period, as the elections come up.
Zirojević, when asked if the formation of the European Union was a kind of deviation from the DPS, said that for a long time a false image of the dependence of the SD on the DPS was created.
"We, as SD, have shown in the previous period in the parliament that our decisions and declarations on numerous issues, some of which were crucial, do not depend on DPS in any way, and we have voted differently from DPS several times" , Zirojević stated.
He said that the fact is that they were political partners in the government until 2020, and that after that they had and still have very close cooperation with DPS.
"This in no way means that it is necessary to look for any deviation," said Zirojević.
As he said, SD is an independent political party, whose decisions are influenced only by party members, activists and officials, and good cooperation with DPS, as the largest opposition party, will not be absent in the coming period either.
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