They are only "hunting" their own voters with an empty gun: A number of ruling parties are at war with their allies and the government, but they will not leave their seats

The fact that the ruling parties are "at war" with their allies and the government without leaving their seats is a sign that such "conflicts" are a show for the citizens through which these political actors try to preserve their electorate. In such a situation, the survival of the executive branch cannot be called into question.

This is how the interlocutors of "Vijesti" interpret the fact that a number of ruling parties are in conflict or have been in conflict with coalition partners and the cabinet. Milojko Spajić, but despite that, he did not abandon it, although some of them announced that they were considering such a possibility.

The latest case is the dispute between Spajić's Europe Now Movement (PES) and the Democratic People's Party (DNP). Milan Knežević, caused by the Prime Minister's signing of a cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), namely the announcement of Arab investments of 30 billion euros on the Great Beach in Ulcinj.

While Knežević claims that the DNP was unaware of Spajić's intention to initial the document, PES responds that if someone disagrees with "strategic development projects", they are expected to "articulate this in the Government, and not to post festum on social networks to express populist messages for the sake of daily political points."

“Interest as a strong glue”

Executive Director of the Center for Investigative Reporting of Montenegro (CIN-CG) Milka Tadic Mijović She said that the ruling parties are diverse, with different platforms and goals, that some are extremely nationalistic and right-wing oriented, and that therefore "constant internal conflicts and quarrels" are completely expected.

"But they are still held together in the government by a strong glue - self-interest," she said for "Vijesti", adding that neither party is thinking about the general interest, but rather about the interests of party leaders and a narrow circle of party members, and that this is "not a conflict of principles, but a conflict of interests."

Docent at the University "Donja Gorica" Nikoleta Djukanovic She told the newspaper that she thinks the disagreements over the UAE agreement are "a farce for the citizens," just as, she says, the frictions over many other topics have been.

"So absolutely nothing major has happened in terms of whether the sustainability of the government is questionable... On the other hand, these are often personal disputes that are more like a question of individual vanity and their relationships, rather than party disagreements. Because if there were some principles around which they were building that government and which were a measure of compromise to make it sustainable, then such issues would certainly call its sustainability into question, but that is obviously not the case," she concluded.

Đukanović stated that, in this specific case, it is possible that some parties are trying to protect the electorate, or rather themselves, due to local elections.

"In the sense that they are distancing themselves from the Government's decisions that were non-transparent, that are contrary to the interests of some local entrepreneurs... So it seems more like something like that to me, rather than something that could call into question the Government's sustainability," she added.

The agreement that Spajić signed on Friday in Abu Dhabi with the UAE authorities caused friction not only with the DNP, but also with Albanian parties. However, PES claims that the functionality of the government has not been impaired by the "pre-election statements of the parties."

They say that "the European agenda remains the main focus of the 44th Government, as the results so far, as well as future activities, testify."

"Therefore, there are no reasons to call early elections, especially in light of the fact that this Government at any given moment has a majority significantly larger than 41 MPs, and that it intends to close all negotiation chapters by the end of 2026, in order to create the preconditions for Montenegro's accession to the European Union (EU) by the end of 2028," PES told "Vijesti", answering questions about how frequent dissatisfaction with their coalition partners affects the functioning of the government, whether they expect early elections, and whether these conflicts are slowing down the country's path towards the EU.

"It's almost impossible for someone to leave the government"

Milka Tadić Mijović states that the ruling parties will only consider breaking up the coalition if they assess that the elections can benefit them. And it seems, she says, that at the moment most of them are "afraid of the elections, because they bring uncertainty, because the ruling coalition has not fulfilled the promises made to the citizens."

"Salaries and pensions have nominally increased, but citizens know that this is not due to increased economic activity, but rather the result of the government's risky mathematics, which builds houses of cards, which is maintained by constant borrowing...", she said.

Asked what needs to happen for the threats of some parties to leave power to come true, Nikoleta Đukanović replied that this scenario is "almost impossible" unless, as she said, "some party or prime minister touches the interests of the former DF (Democratic Front), SNP (Socialist People's Party) and similar parties, which concern identity issues or relations with Serbia."

When asked what needs to happen for PES to stop cooperating with entities it accuses of slowing down the country's "European path", the interviewee states that in that case the Prime Minister's party is "the least principled".

"PES is very aware of its position, which is both leading and weak, because they depend on such a large number of parties... I think that from the very beginning they have been prepared to submit to the interests of all those parties in the government, just so that it can survive. They have somehow very consciously created such an environment that they often make politically unpopular and unhealthy compromises just for the sake of that government surviving," Đukanović underlined.

Milan Knežević announced last weekend that no one in the DNP was aware of the Prime Minister's intention to sign an agreement with the UAE, and that their representatives in the Government were later informed of the initiative.

MP of PES Miodrag Laković He replied that if the DNP or any of the constituents of the ruling majority redefined their relationship to the coalition agreement and "Barometer 26" (a platform on joint commitments to complete negotiations with the EU), they should reconsider their participation in the executive branch.

Minister of Transport and DNP official Maja Vukićević She wrote on Sunday on the Iks website that she has certain reservations about the agreement with the UAE and that at the electronic session of the Government she did not support the Proposal of the Basis for Conducting Negotiations and Concluding an Agreement with the UAE.

PES responded that she was trying to profit politically by citing "lack of information", even though, they claim, she had all the materials at her disposal and the opportunity to express her opinion, "which she did at one session by voting 'yes'".

A series of conflicts

This is just one in a series of examples of the "war" between the ruling parties and their allies and the government.

President of the Municipality of Ulcinj and leader of Force Genzi Nimanbeg said last week that by accepting the project, the businessman's company's million-dollar investment Mohamed Alabara in the area of ​​Velika Plaza raises the question of Force's further participation in the Government. Albanian parties first protested the announcement of a new tender for the lease of beaches, to which Alabar also applied, saying that they would not allow the interests of Albanians in Montenegro to be jeopardized.

The Albanian Alliance and the Albanian Forum did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions about why they do not leave Spajić's cabinet if they cannot find common ground with other constituents on important issues.

They did not even respond to the question of what happened to the common platform with which all minority parties were supposed to ask the Prime Minister to decide on the moves of the Speaker of Parliament. Andrije Mandić (New Serbian Democracy).

In January, minority parties announced the creation of a platform that would ask Spajić to take a position on Mandić's moves, which they believe are causing divisions in Montenegrin society and damaging Montenegro's relations with its neighbors. A source for "Vijesti" from one of the minority parties previously said that they want Spajić to "distance himself as much as possible" from Mandić, while another source said that they expect the Prime Minister to comment on the statements of the Assembly leaders, claiming that it is not excluded that these parties, if Mandić continues "on his own terms", will withhold support from the executive branch.

Bosniak Party (BS) MP Kenana Strujić Harbić announced in early March that it would initiate a meeting with their partners from PES regarding Mandić's visit to Banja Luka to meet with the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, immediately after the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina found Dodik guilty and sentenced him to one year in prison and six years of ban on holding office. The BS did not respond to whether the meeting took place, nor what happened to the minority party platform.

The Democrats also clashed with their coalition partners, the government. Last year, after Aleksandar Radovic appointed as the Chief of Police, sued the Government in the Administrative Court for this, and pledged their support for Spajić's cabinet until the IBAR (Interim Benchmark Assessment Report) was received. However, they remained in Spajić's cabinet.

Tadić Mijović: Clashes also due to elections in Nikšić and Herceg Novi

Tadić Mijović believes that the agreement with the UAE best demonstrates how "fragile the economic structure is" and how the political elite is "riskily and irresponsibly treating the country's key resources."

"These latest conflicts in the ruling coalition are probably motivated by the upcoming local elections in Nikšić and Herceg Novi," she stated.

Elections in Nikšić and Herceg Novi are scheduled for April 13th, and the parties that form the government at the state level are mostly running independently.