The goal of parties that claim to be "authentic representatives" of a nation is not to fight for the interests of those ethnic groups, but to strengthen their own political positions by manipulating the intimate feelings of those people.
So sociologist and program director of the Center for Civic Education (CGO) Petar Djukanovic interprets the fact that, in Montenegro, which is constitutionally organized as a civil state, part of the parties and their leaders plead to be the "authentic representative" of a nation, even though a comparison of the results of the census and elections shows that the members of these groups do not vote exclusively for that party. That is, that in some cases there is a significant difference between the number of members of a nation and the votes received by its "authentic representatives".
The New Serbian Democracy (NSD) has been claiming for years that they have the "exclusive" right to represent the Serbian people. Andrije Mandić and the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević, the same "monopoly" in the case of representing the Bosniak people was seized by the Bosniak Party (BS) Ervin Ibrahimović, while in the case of the Albanian people, several Albanian parties did it.
According to the results of the 2011 census (the results of the census held at the end of 2023 are awaited) in Montenegro there were 28,73 percent of Serbs, 8,65 percent of Bosniaks, and 4,91 percent of Albanians. However, in the last parliamentary elections, held in June last year, Mandić's and Knežević's parties won 14,74 percent of the vote, Ibrahimović's 7,08 percent, and the two Albanian coalitions - the Albanian Forum and the Albanian Alliance - 1,91 and 1,49 percent respectively. votes. It unequivocally follows that not all members of their people vote for those parties.
This is also the case with Montenegrins, for whom representatives of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) have repeatedly said in the past four years that they are not in the government, although some of those in the executive branch have publicly declared that they belong to that nation.
Petar Đukanović assesses for "Vijesti" that the claims of national parties that they are "authentic representatives" of their peoples are not true for the reason that, he says, many of the needs that citizens have are beyond the borders determined by the ethnic dimension. He states that there is a pluralism of political and ideological views among citizens, so, he adds, it cannot be claimed that any national party has a "monopoly" on a certain community.
The interlocutor says that emphasizing ethnic authenticity is the basis of the political strategy by which these parties try to legitimize themselves and mobilize support within ethnic communities, "as a form of their security".
"With this approach, the parties say that they will fight for the interests of that particular ethnic group, as if they are the only ones who really understand them and can protect them. The goal, of course, is to gain support, i.e. as many votes as possible in order to secure and retain political power, which, as experience shows, is used only for the interests of the party, not the ethnic community, nor society as a whole, because this approach is fundamentally destructive for the necessary democratic consolidation of society and the state", says Đukanović.
About whether there are "authentic representatives" of the people, and if there are - who they are, the last time there was a debate last week in the Montenegrin Parliament, at the session where the amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly were adopted, which enabled the election of BS deputies. Mirsad Nurković for the fourth vice-president of the highest legislative chamber.
Vice President of the Parliament Nikola Camaj (Albanian Forum) stated that, although the Constitution was adopted in 2006, someone from a minority nation was elected vice-president for the first time in 2018 and that this speaks of the attitude towards minorities "in the past".
The representative of the Social Democrats (SD) reacted to that Boris Mugoša saying that Camaj made a mistake and that the vice president of the parliament before 2018 was Rifat Rastoder, late official of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Mugoša said that minority parties "do not have the exclusivity to represent any people".
"These are dangerous statements that lead to the classical ethno-federalization of Montenegro. Civic and national are not mutually exclusive. I am never against national affiliation and highlighting it, because it is a primal human thing that we all feel. But civil and nationalist - it is hell for this country. That's why I'm asking you all to be careful and weigh your words carefully," he said.
Camaj replied that the former vice-president of the parliament was not a representative of national minorities and that, based on the Constitution and the law, "they are only authentic representatives who can represent and express themselves only through national parties".
After that, Mugoša wrote on the "X" social network that the topics of nationality are fuel for certain politicians and organizations "for various manipulations of people's feelings" and that they do not lead to what is necessary, "which is value stability."
"I also suggested to my colleague Camaj (and earlier to some other colleagues) that no party has an exclusive right to any people in Montenegro... Such narratives only contribute to the 'Bosnianization' (ethno-federalization) of Montenegro and I will always fight against it..." , he said.
"News" from the parties of Mandić and Knežević did not answer how, bearing in mind that these two claim to be the authentic representatives of the Serbian people, and that not all Serbs vote for them, what differentiates those who support them from those who do not.
To such a question addressed to BS, the party did not answer directly, but said that they are authentic representatives of the Bosniak people and that they base such a position "on a few facts".
"First of all, in the last parliamentary elections in June 2023, BS was supported by 7,08 percent of citizens. This means that, under the assumption of approximately equal turnout of all citizens in Montenegro, Bosniaks, of whom there are 8 percent according to the last census, more than dominantly voted for BS and thus gave it a very high legitimacy to authentically represent Bosniaks and protect the interests of Bosniaks. In this sense, with a very high percentage of votes among Bosniak voters, we in BS have the absolute right to consider ourselves authentic and dominant political representatives of Bosniaks," said the party.
Another, according to them, "a very important difference between BS and other parties" is - program goals. BS, they state, is predominantly voted for by Bosniaks and that is how they determine the party's policy.
"The program goals are classified into general and special. They are generally aimed at the general political situation in the country, where we stand for the rule of law, the improvement of living standards, democratic society, and EU integration. Special goals are defined as protection of minority rights, improvement of infrastructure in areas where Bosniaks predominantly live, promotion of culture and identity and integration of Bosniaks into society without assimilation. Other parties that partly get the votes of Bosniaks, do not have this and similar orientations... This determines our claim that we are an authentic and credible representative of our people", said Ibrahimović's party.
Petar Đukanović says that the goal of the narrative about "authenticity" is to maintain or increase political and related economic power, using the sense of belonging and protecting the interests of one's people through the manipulation of these intimate feelings. According to him, the parties irresponsibly play the card of identity connection and the development of fear and insecurity from real or imaginary enemies, who can threaten that identity. Into this, as he says, emotional manipulation, "they jump in as 'protectors' who should be entrusted with power, promising that only they will provide security and prosperity for a given ethnic community".
"The consequence of the narrative about the authentic representatives of the people is that political life and activities are reduced to the conflict between ethnic communities, instead of universal political and economic topics," the interlocutor assesses.
"Authenticity" comes up when talking about armchairs
Recently, the story about the "authentic representatives" of a nation has mostly been told in the context of negotiations on the formation of a government, i.e. entering it.
Thus, the head of the NSD and the Assembly, Mandić, in July of last year, when the talks on the constitution of the government began, said that the coalition "For the Future of Montenegro" (ZBCG), of which the NSD was a part, was only fighting for the rights of Serbs and that those "authentic Serbian representatives".
His colleague Knežević stated in September 2023, when it seemed that the ZBCG would not enter the cabinet of Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, that they did not want them in the government because they had "clear positions on Kosovo" and because "they fought all the time to defend the interests of the Serbian people in Montenegro".
"True representatives of the Serbs are not those who think they are the worst in the Balkans. I have the right to say that I am the authentic representative of the Serbian people in Montenegro," he said.
At the end of July, the Deputy Prime Minister, head of the BS Ibrahimović, also spoke about "authentic representatives", when his party entered the executive branch. He then said that, based on the results that the BS won in the elections and the data from the census, one can see who is the "authentic representative" of the Bosniaks.
"Authentic representatives" were also mentioned by the Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Albanian Alternative, Nik Đeljošaj, who in November of last year, after Faruk Resulbegović was elected as a judge of the Constitutional Court, said that he was glad that "all the authentic representatives of Albanians and Croats voted for the representative the minority in the Constitutional Court...".
Đukanović: Ethnic issues in the service of dividing the spoils
Petar Đukanović says that emphasizing ethnic differences and presenting political issues through the prism of "us versus them" increases the risk of ethnic distance and even conflict in multi-ethnic societies because it encourages extremist attitudes.
On the other hand, he states that ethnic issues are manipulated and traded in the distribution of power and functions, "because we now have the principle that appointments to functions must be based on a national key, instead of being based on the principles of meritocracy." He underlines that the functions divided in this way are used to satisfy the interests of the party, "so everyone works for himself instead of in the public interest".
"This approach does not make society a truly intercultural, civil and democratic community, but only deepens existing divisions and cements mistrust. By focusing on ethnic issues, which most parties are inclined to, attention is diverted from key development policies, such as economic development, the fight against corruption, and the improvement of education and healthcare. As long as these are priority topics, society will not be able to move forward", concludes Đukanović.
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