Pro-Serbian parties in Montenegro, close to the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, they will have a hard time maintaining the power they have if his government falls, because they will be left without the significant resources and support that he and his regime provide them.
This was assessed by the interlocutors of "Vijesti", speaking about the consequences for pro-Serbian political actors, led by the former Democratic Front (DF), of the possible collapse of Vučić's government.
For almost three months, she has been facing protests from students and citizens, who are demanding that she be held criminally responsible for the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station on November 1st last year, when 15 people died.
In response to these gatherings, the local authorities from time to time organize "counter-rallies", in which some officials of pro-Serb parties from Montenegro also participate.
"They identified too much with Vučić's regime"
Docent at the University "Donja Gorica" Nikoleta Djukanovic, told "Vijesti" that the protests in Serbia certainly raise the question of Vučić's survival in office, especially, she says, in the context of the fact that the neighboring country has often changed power in this way, "although there have been no true democratic changes."
She stated that Vučić's possible fall could affect certain parties in Montenegro, primarily the constituents of the former DF - New Serbian Democracy (NSD). Andrije Mandić and the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević.
"I wouldn't say that it would reduce their support among citizens, but they would certainly have fewer opportunities to act, fewer resources, less money, less support that they might have used in relation to membership - employment, etc., which could potentially affect the response of the electorate in the long run," Đukanović assessed.
The parties of the former DF have 13 (out of 81) seats in the state parliament, and are part of the government. Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement).
Foreign policy commentator from Belgrade Bosko Jaksic, he stated that Mandić's and Knežević's parties could hardly survive in the event of Vučić's collapse, because, he says, they have identified with the regime in Serbia to the extent that they would be more harmful to a new Serbian government than beneficial in developing bilateral cooperation.
"The progressive government (Serbian Progressive Party - SNS) has created clones of itself in order to destabilize Montenegro when needed. Personally, I am annoyed by all those Serb leaders in the region who are more concerned about the fate of Serbia than about the countries in which they live. 'God forbid that the Serbs agree, and if they agree - God forbid,' goes the old saying," Jakšić told "Vijesti".
Editor-in-chief of the Belgrade weekly "Radar" Vesna Mališić, she said that representatives of Serbs from Montenegro have long been "decorations on the stages where Vučić gives speeches."
She commented on DNP leader Knežević's support for Vučić, speaking at an SNS rally in Sremska Mitrovica on Saturday. Mališić said she thinks that if changes occur in Serbia and "Vučić is no longer in charge," Knežević will find someone else "to entertain," or "dedicate himself to writing poetry or memoirs."
The SNS rally in Sremska Mitrovica, on the occasion of Serbian Statehood Day - Sretenje, was attended, in addition to Knežević, by the president of Prava Crne Gore Marko Milacic.
Knežević said at the rally that he would fight for Serbs in Montenegro to be granted the right to dual citizenship, "so that they are not Kurds in the Balkans" and for the Serbian language to be given equal status in the Montenegrin Constitution, saying: "Montenegro and Serbia are the dearest brothers."
Unlike him, Mandić, who is the speaker of the Montenegrin parliament, did not attend the SNS rally, nor the celebration of Serbian Statehood Day on the same day in Orašac, although he had attended such events in previous years. Several NSD officials were in the delegation with Knežević.
DON'T MISS IT
Mandić's office did not respond to "Vijesti" about why he did not attend the central state ceremony marking the Serbian Statehood Day or the SNS rally this year. The question of his position on the student protests in Serbia also remained unanswered, considering that he has not commented on the matter so far.
"Mandić did not put all his cards on Vučić"
Mališić stated that, as time goes by, it can be seen that Vučić is "closer to his heart" with Knežević, because, in her words, "he entertains him, makes him laugh, knows how to be cynical towards his people, to mock them a little," and that Vučić likes that.
"He says what Vučić wants to hear," the interviewee adds.
On the other hand, Mališić assesses that Mandić is a "political calculator", that he is politically more cunning and that he will not "put all the cards" on Vučić, but that he will "leave something for the other side".
"No matter where his heart is, he is still politically more cunning and cautious. Besides, as the President of the Parliament of Montenegro, he does not want to create additional problems for himself," she concluded.
Đukanović explains Mandić's absence from the events in Serbia by saying that it is possible that there is "some pressure" on Mandić - but not from coalition partners - not to disrupt the European integration process "more than he actually does", and that this may be one of the reasons, if not subjective in nature, that he was not in Serbia with Knežević.
"Or is it really an attempt to strike a balance, but when he tells that rhetorical EU story, to at least partially follow it," she adds.
Unlike Mandić, Knežević has supported Vučić on several occasions since the protests in Serbia began. Appearing on a show with him on Belgrade-based Pink Television in late December, Knežević said he would be a “hypocrite” if he did not support the student protests “which mean the betterment of society, but also of everything that is the goal of a well-intentioned citizen.” However, on that occasion, he told the students that, if they truly believe in what they are doing, they should “remove political influence” and not allow anyone to manipulate their power, nor should they have the support of the Prime Minister of Kosovo. Aljbina Kurti and “anti-Serbian coalitions in Montenegro led by (former President of Montenegro) Milo Đukanović".
The DNP leader is also one of the signatories of the “petition in support of the right to life” of Vučić, which was launched by the Serbian Institute for Political Networking. The petition was also signed from Montenegro by an NSD MP and the mayor of Nikšić. Marko Kovacevic, as well as the leader of Free Montenegro Vladislav Dajkovic.
At the end of January, Knežević, responding to a post on social media by a Europe Now MP, Vasilija Čarapić, who supported the student protests in Serbia, stated that his (Knežević's) problem is not a clear attitude towards students, "but that some who want to come to power without elections, and are not students, are creating an atmosphere that if you are not with them, then you should fly off the terrace, dead or alive, it is a question of style."
Student protests in the neighboring country began as part of the “Stop, Serbia” campaign, which paid tribute to the victims of the accident at the Novi Sad train station. After a physical attack on students at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade on November 22, for which the students accused local SNS representatives, the protests escalated into blockades of the faculty and the rectorate, and then into a general strike, road blockades, and the like.
Đukanović: NSD and DNP are behaving in a dictatorial manner due to Belgrade's support
Nikoleta Đukanović assesses that representatives of Mandić's and Knežević's parties are behaving in a "ruling" manner in Montenegro precisely because they have "great support in Belgrade".
"I believe that everything they are doing in relation to the initiative for the law on 'foreign agents', amendments to the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship, amendments related to the Law on State Property, etc., is all somehow fulfilling the demands of the authorities in Belgrade," she said.
The interviewee said that she believes that, in the event of Vučić's collapse, pro-Serbian actors will somehow adapt their policies more to the interests of Montenegro.
"Because without such great support from the Serbian Orthodox Church and Vučić's party, they will not be able to secure the great support they have had in the electorate in the long term," she concludes.
Jakšić: Knežević wants to be a bigger Serb than Vučić
Boško Jakšić stated that Knežević's words from the SNS meeting - that Serbs are "Kurds in the Balkans", "certainly appealed to the leader of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik", but that he is not sure that Vučić likes to hear "raving praise for the entire Serbian sky and flag" because, at least in public, he avoids allusions to the so-called "Serbian world", i.e. the idea of political unification of Serbs.
"Knežević would like to be a bigger Serb than Vučić. The same goes for Duke Mandić. I don't know why he wasn't in Sremska Mitrovica, but I doubt he would have declined the invitation of the master from Belgrade out of caution. If he had been, I'm sure he would have joined Knežević's call to 'let's all go together to the holy city of Prizren,'" Jakšić says.
Bonus video:
