Mujović only calls Milatović

Saša Mujović, the holder of the list of the Europe Now Movement (PES) and the Democrats in the recent elections in Podgorica, will invite the President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović to negotiate on the formation of the government in the capital, but not the Citizens' Movement (GP) URA, which is close to the Head of State. for Podgorica (PzPG) in the coalition "For a better Podgorica".

This, the unofficial "Vijesti" has learned, was decided at the beginning of the week at the session of the Executive Board (EO) of the Podgorica PES, where it was also concluded that it will depend on Milatović whether he insists on the participation of URA General Manager Dritan Abazović in the talks.

In the conclusions of the session, which were not adopted unanimously, it was stated that the PES should act "proactively" in the matter of negotiations, i.e. that it should no longer wait for them to intensify, that the responsibility rests with them because they are a stronger partner in the coalition with the Democrats, that a team should be formed for talks...

The conclusions of the IO Podgorica board are the reason why Mujović announced yesterday, as reported by City Television, that he thinks that "respecting the wishes of part of the membership and citizens of Podgorica", we should "renew cooperation with the political group led by Milatović".

"From that aspect, I think that we should send them, and it will probably be in the coming days, a very clear invitation and a very clear question - do they accept our fundamental postulates. If they accept, we can start negotiations. If not, that is, if they insist that Luka Rakčević (GP URA) be the mayor, then we don't have that point of connection, we have nothing to discuss further. I think it is fair to tell the citizens, not to waste their energy, but to prepare for new elections", he said, adding that the first man of Podgorica should be a representative of PES.

Mujović's announcement followed a week after Milatović said that he would invite Prime Minister and PES head Milojko Spajić to a dialogue, due to, as he stated, the issue of European integration and the strengthening of the "civic and European center".

Milatović announced the initiative at a time when negotiations on the constitution of the government in the capital are expected to be finalized, which is why it should be clearer with whom PzPG, close to him, could cooperate.

A day after Milatović's call, and the assessment by some experts of political opportunities that important international addresses assist in the reconciliation of former party comrades, the two exchanged harsh words - Spajić, among other things, accused Milatović of obstructing Montenegro's path to the European Union (EU) and he does not have the authority to deal with these integrations, and the cabinet of the head of state responded that the prime minister showed a lack of "maturity and responsibility that the position" he covers requires.

Although Milatović claims that his call to Spajić has nothing to do with the issue of post-election negotiations, a source from PES assesses that this and Mujović's initiative are connected.

He says that they expect Milatović to invite Spajić for a conversation, and then to answer the PES leader what is the guarantee that the PzPG councilors will not overthrow the possibly agreed government in Podgorica after a few months, and how he thinks they are cooperating if he continues to harshly criticize the work of the executive branch .

"There is skepticism as to how it could work... Milatović needs to explain it. We want to cooperate, but he is an enigma", states the interlocutor.

Mujović's assessment yesterday, that PES partners can be "only those parties that are ready to work for the benefit of the citizens, and not to overthrow the government after a few months and find fault with their coalition partners".

"Those with whom we want to form a government should show a degree of responsibility and seriousness, so that the government is formed in a serious way. To form a city government and a city authority that will seriously tackle the problems, work dedicatedly, and not be a government on paper and pro forma, where we will wait for each other to find some bad details, bad moments, and make that government falls, that is, it becomes a thing of the past after three or four months of work", says Mujović.

The head of state announced that after returning from a working visit to Brussels, which lasted from December 3 to 5, he would invite the prime minister for a dialogue, but he has not yet done so. "Vijesti" from Milatović's office did not answer the question when he plans to do it.

On the other hand, a source from the PzPG announced that they have no comment on Mujović's invitation, and that they are waiting for it to be made official in that political entity.

"We will see... We are a civil option, we are obliged to talk to everyone", he added.

PzPG and GP URA presented a joint negotiation platform last week, in which it is written that the position of mayor should belong to their alliance, but the name of Luka Rakčević, whose election GP URA insists on, is not mentioned. Although both Milatović and the PzPG believe that he is the best candidate for the leader of Podgorica, the PzPG stated that the platform "is not the Holy Scripture", but a starting point.

The elections in Podgorica were held on September 29, and the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) won 19 mandates, the PES-Democrats coalition won 14, the "For the Future of Podgorica" ​​alliance (former Democratic Front) won 13, the "Za bolja Podgorica" ​​list won six, The European Union has three mandates, and the Party of European Progress and the "Revolution" Movement have two mandates each.

The Assembly of the Capital City has 59 councilors, and in order to constitute the government, it is necessary to secure the support of at least 30 of them. The ruling parties can establish an administration even without the two mandates of the GP URA (as many as they got according to the coalition agreement), and with the support of four councilors from the PzPG close to Milatović. In that case, they would have 31 mandates in the Podgorica parliament.

On the other hand, DPS and their traditional partners would not be able to come to power if GP URA and Milatović split. In that scenario, they would lack two or four "hands" in the local parliament.

The constitutive session of the Podgorica parliament is scheduled for November 28, and the deadline for it to be constituted by electing its head expires on January 5, 2025, i.e. 60 days from the publication of the final election results in the Official Gazette (the mayor is elected no later than 30 days from constitution of the parliament). If this does not happen, the president will have to call for new elections.

The government in Podgorica consisted of PES (from which PzPG emerged), a coalition gathered around the former Democratic Front, Demokrata and GP URA.

The Democrats did not know about Mujović's announcement, but they have nothing against it

A source from the Democrats said that the party was not aware that Mujović would announce an invitation to Milatović, but added that they had nothing against it.

On the other hand, the interlocutor from PES says that, before making the official invitation, that party will consult with its coalition partner.

In the game "rotation"

"Vijesti" announced last week, referring to unofficial information, that a "rotation" in leading positions is mentioned as a potential model for the formation of government in the capital, in the case of an agreement between Milatović and Spajić.

According to that information, someone from the "Za bolja Podgorica" ​​list would be in charge of Podgorica for two years, and someone from PES for two years. In that case, the position of head of the city parliament would be covered by someone from the "For the Future of Podgorica" ​​coalition.

In the last elections in Podgorica, PES won eight council seats, and the Democrats won six.