As time goes on, the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) will be less and less an undesirable partner for other parties, and it is not impossible that the ruling Europe Now Movement (PES) may one day, depending on the development of political circumstances, bring it into power as a replacement for the constituents of the former Democratic Front (DF).
This stems from the answer given to "Vijesta" by a methodologist and professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences (FPN) in Belgrade. Milos Besic, to the questions until when the DPS will be "forbidden fruit", i.e. an undesirable ally to the parties that removed him from power in 2020 and some of those that have been created in the meantime, and what is the duration of the narrative about non-cooperation with the party Danijela Živković.
Those political actors blame the DPS primarily for not really "reforming" and "cleansing" its ranks of compromised officials, that is, it is still managed by the former head of that party for many years. Milo Djukanovic.
Although last week it seemed that the DPS was close to returning to power in the capital through an arrangement with the Movement for Podgorica (PzPG) close to the head of state Jakov Milatović, that did not happen because the PzPG soon after agreed on cooperation with the ruling parties from the state level, with whom it has governed Podgorica until now.
As "Vijesti" wrote, it was speculated that one member of the PzPG was not in favor of cooperation with the strongest opposition party, and without his vote, a political entity close to Milatović could not form a coalition with the DPS.
Therefore, the question arises as to whether in Podgorica one of the last "no" was said to the DPS, bearing in mind that this narrative is losing its utility value, among other things, because the ruling parties have inherited many bad practices of the DPS.
Although he claims that Živković's party will become less and less unacceptable for cooperation, Bešić notes that no one can project when its "undesirability" will cross the line that it is possible and acceptable to form a post-election alliance with it. He states that the "unacceptability" of cooperation with DPS will depend on several factors. The first, he says, is the internal capacity of DPS to further change.
"To have personnel renewal, a different performance and to create some kind of distance in relation to the past that reminds people of the DPS that they don't want," explains Bešić.
In April 2023, after losing to Milatović in the presidential elections, Đukanović stepped down from the party throne, which he held for 25 years. He was succeeded in the position by Živković, but despite this, some political actors claim that Đukanović still rules from the shadows. The DPS rejects those assessments, saying that no other party has reformed as much as they have.
Živković announced on Thursday in the program "Načisto" on "Vijesti" Television that the DPS Statute, which should be amended at the party congress in January, will also define the issue of the honorary president of the DPS, and that he for Đukanović to take that position.
Political opponents criticize DPS for not admitting mistakes from the past and not distancing themselves from their people who were recognized as actors of affairs and bad practices. Instead, they call the arrests of high-ranking officials from the time of their rule "revenge" of the new authorities and "persecution of dissidents", attacking the Special Prosecutor's Office and the head of that institution. Vladimir Novović.
Bešić says that another factor on which the possible cooperation with DPS will depend is how the election results of that party and its former long-term coalition partners will move.
"It cannot be ruled out that DPS will win a solid number of votes or enough to be able to form a government at some levels," he adds.
DPS is currently in power in some municipalities, among others, in Bar and Bijelo Polje. They began to lose power in the local area after the defeat in the elections on August 30, 2020, in which their three-decade rule was overthrown. At the end of April 2022, they supported the formation of the government Dritan Abazović, to be demolished after 113 days.
The third factor on which the "unacceptability" of the DPS will depend is, according to Bešić, the behavior of the government that is an alternative to that party, that is, whether it delivers results, while the fourth and last, he adds, are the relations between the "anti-DPS parties".
"The greater their conflicts, the greater the possibility of DPS returning to power," the interlocutor states.
The ruling parties have clashed several times in the year and two months that the executive power headed by him has been in existence Milojko Spajic (PES). At the beginning of the year, relations between PES and the Democrats "strained" due to staffing in the security sector, which is why the Democrats sued the Government in the Administrative Court. An example of disagreements in the executive branch are the recent verbal wars between the former DF and the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Djelosaj. The latest case is the disputes in the executive branch about whether the director of the Podgorica Gymnasium "Slobodan Škerović" should be dismissed. Biljana Vučurović. Officials and individuals close to Spajić and PES claim that Vučurović should be fired, while the former DF insists that she remain in office.
Bešić believes that it is not inconceivable that Spajić and PES one day, if the former DF is too "tightened" due to some issues, will decide to "replace" him in the government with DPS.
He states that, after the parliamentary elections in 2023, the head of the government "was in a dilemma whether to form a government with Živković's party or the coalition "For the Future of Montenegro" (ZBCG)", that is, the former DF. He adds that the alliance with the former DF "has its price".
"And to a small extent, if that coalition continues to insist on nationalist issues, they will be less and less desirable for civic parties, including PES. If the ZBCG coalition continues with the nationalist agenda and possibly radicalizes it, it will distance them from PES, and PES will move closer to DPS," states Bešić.
The former DF is advocating changes to the Constitution to make the Serbian language official, and the introduction of dual citizenship with Serbia through changes to the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship.
Živković: Some do not have the courage to go with DPS
When asked why some political actors are ready to commit "political suicide" before forming an alliance with the DPS, Danijel Živković answered in the show "Načisto" that the reason for this is that some "don't have the courage".
"Are we placed in the ghetto that we should ask ourselves - why won't they come with us? Because they don't have the courage, they don't have the guts to stop and say - 'we want a functional city administration that will rule for four years,' said Živković, speaking about the events related to the formation of the government in the capital.
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
