Why the reconstructed Government grew by almost half: Party interests prevail over public interests

With the reconstruction of the Government, Montenegro received a more cumbersome state apparatus and overlapping jurisdictions, and, in addition to the citizens, the big loser from this process will be the Europe Now Movement (PES) itself, which is doing this out of political inexperience with the aim of maintaining the positions of the authorities.

This was assessed by the interlocutors of "Vijesti", commenting on the scope of the reconstructed Government Milojko Spajić, which, in addition to the prime minister, has 26 ministers and seven vice-presidents, two of whom are also ministers, or a total of 32 members. Until Tuesday, the Government had 23 members.

The Bosniak Party (BS), which received one vice-presidential and five ministerial positions, and the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP), which received two vice-presidential and three ministerial positions, became part of the reconstructed government.

Docent at the University of Donja Gorica Nikoleta Djukanovic told "Vijesta" that Montenegro is now getting a more cumbersome state apparatus, which is contrary to all the decades-long aspirations to optimize public administration and to be a real service to citizens.

She pointed out that in this kind of reconstruction there are overlapping jurisdictions, so, in addition to the number, it will be a challenge for the members of that Government how they will regulate these overlapping jurisdictions.

"Until now, we have had the opportunity to be constantly called by the Europe Now Movement (PES) to obtain IBAR, which, I will remind you, followed the violation of procedures regarding the adoption of important legal solutions, to which the EU turned a blind eye to us, with messages that the rest process must be carried out in compliance with all rules and principles. We now continue in the same manner, not looking for messages received from international addresses, satisfying only the particular interests of individuals", said Đukanović.

She pointed out that it seems to her that we are now "inflating a dangerous bubble", and that it will be an extremely dangerous moment for Montenegro to burst that bubble and consolidate society, given that, as she said, "we do not have institutions built to hold the national interest protected".

She said that, apart from the fact that the appointments are made in non-existent departments, the act of reconstruction is in great contradiction to all the promises made by PES before the elections.

"Namely, preventing further partyocracy, party employment, nepotism and the like requires a different action, not such a cumbersome government. If the parties really want to support the Government in implementing reforms, they can do so without occupying fictitious functions and departments."

She said that it has always been characteristic of Montenegro that the systematization of jobs in ministries is created in relation to the people who need to be employed, and not in relation to the needs and interests of the state or a specific department.

She pointed out that such a trend has now reached incredible proportions, that even the prime minister's cabinet is composed in relation to people or parties that have to reward by function, and not according to needs, state interests and priorities.

Program associate at the Center for Civic Education (CGO) Nikola Đurašević told "Vijesti" that the reconstruction of the Government has already positioned Montenegro among the infamous record holders in the Government's unwieldyness, but also "exposed that it is an unscrupulous distribution of the spoils in which the principles, programmatic orientations and value links of the constituents of the new majority are very easily trampled."

Prime Minister Spajić explained the reconstruction of the Government in Parliament and "unity in diversity", and the President of the Assembly Andrija Mandic with the fact that now the parliamentary majority is close to two-thirds with 52 deputies, which is necessary for possible changes to the Constitution.

"Perhaps it seems to some that the advantage of such a government is stability, expressed numerically through the deputies who supported it, but stability also led to stabilocracies, and often to worse regimes. In addition, I believe that in the long term this kind of government will not be able to deliver what the majority of citizens expect from it, and therefore it will not be sustainable despite the harmony shown in the distribution of seats", Đurašević pointed out.

Đurašević assessed that overlapping the responsibilities of certain departments, inventing new and tailoring existing ministries to satisfy cheap party interests is far from the practices of democratic authorities that work dedicatedly for the public good.

"During the pre-election campaigns, citizens were promised an improvement in living standards, a reduction in working hours, the principle of meritocracy in employment, optimization of state administration and many other things that are already standard in developed societies. Instead, we see a government that grabs only for itself and throws populist crumbs to the citizens, destroying some pillars of the system along the way. That is why we will not feel the benefits of this government, especially not in the long run", said Đurašević.

Mirza Krnić from the Preokret movement announced yesterday that the reconstruction of the Government will not bring a new quality in the functioning of the system and that is what is of primary importance for the citizens.

"The fact that the PES, the Democrats, the New Serbian Democracy, the Democratic People's Party and the Bosniak Party agreed on the division of portfolios only means that they have found a modus operandi of dividing the cake of power and additionally strengthening their positions in order to stay in power as long as possible, and in the pre-election forgot the promises as soon as possible, and what can be hinted at from the national narratives that more and more of them are reaching for more and more often", announced Krnić.

He said that the establishment of full functionality and fairness of the system, and respect for the principle of equal availability to all state services, regardless of national, political or other affiliation, will remain even further away from citizens.

"This government is made up of constituents, some of whom have a decade-long practice of party bribery and who are now receiving political amnesty for the earlier usurpation of all the privileges they enjoyed during the decade-long government: from the apartments they received from the state to party employment and bribery of party cadres," Krnić said. .

Director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) Nevenka Vuksanović yesterday announced that the reconstruction of the Government showed that political actors were guided by party interests and securing positions for as many people as possible, which led to coalition surprises that prioritized interest over ideology and values.

She announced that the most numerous government is not an economical solution, and that according to its structure it deviates from the civil concept of the state, "and this is an imperative of the civil sector for the sake of preserving the Euro-Atlantic route of Montenegro".

"The reconstruction of the Government should bring stability, but political actors prioritized party interests, which resulted in an 'à la carte' Government with unclear ideological values..." Vuksanović pointed out in a statement for the PR Center.

Đukanović: The country does not gain through reconstruction, but loses

Nikoleta Đukanović pointed out that Montenegro does not gain anything by reconstructing the Government in this form, but rather loses.

"We testify that this is an alliance of those who were founded on different programmatic and ideological principles, and the only cohesive element is the occupation of ministerial positions and the distribution of state money, citizens' money."

Đukanović assessed that it is important for Montenegrin society that minority parties always participate in government, but it is an unsustainable solution that parties with different ideological principles form alliances, and that those who share diametrically opposed views regarding fundamental values ​​cooperate with each other:

"This has been the reason for the failure of all governments since 2020, and I believe that it will be the reason for future conflicts and dysfunctionality in this government as well. The citizens will lose the most from this process because it is an experiment that should serve a group of people trying to stay in power, not reconciliation, meritocracy and the like."

She pointed out that, apart from the citizens, the big loser from this process will be the PES itself, which is doing this out of political inexperience, with the aim of maintaining the positions of the government, which will be shown by the local elections in Podgorica.

"Unlike PES, the parties that are now entering the government are doing so only to misuse state resources for the next election cycle," Đukanović assessed.