The Government and the Parliament, or rather their leaders Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement) and Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy), are silent about why there was no prime minister's hour this month and last, and when the session dedicated to the control of the executive branch will be held.
"Vijesti" asked the Government and Parliament, i.e. Spajić's and Mandić's cabinets, about this last week, but there is still no answer.
The highest legislative chamber and the executive branch agree on the timing of the prime minister's hour in joint communication. Spajić's government, as well as the parliamentary majority, regularly face criticism from the opposition that the prime minister's hour is not held often enough, and that this is why the parliament's control role is being undermined.
The Parliamentary Rules of Procedure stipulate that the Prime Minister's Hour is held once a month during the regular (autumn and spring) sessions. The autumn session lasts from the first working day in October to the last working day in December, and the spring session lasts from the first working day in March to the last working day in July.
This means that, in order to meet the "quota" prescribed by the Rules of Procedure, it is necessary to have three prime minister's hours during the autumn session, and five during the spring session.
However, the government is not implementing the norm stipulated in the Rules of Procedure. The first prime minister's session since the formation of Spajić's Government (elected on October 30, 2023) was held on December 28 of that year, and was followed by three such sessions in last year's spring session of the Parliament - on April 5, May 9, and July 19.
The sessions scheduled for June 29 and July 26, 2024 were postponed to July 1 and 30 due to Spajić's obligations, but ultimately were not held.
During last year's autumn session, two prime minister's hours were held, on 29 October and 22 November, and a third was to be held on 20 December, but this was prevented by the opposition, which then claimed that "the parliamentary majority suspended the Constitution" and carried out a "coup" in the parliamentary Constitutional Committee, by adopting a decision to terminate Dragana Đuranović's judicial function in the Constitutional Court. Spajić then refused to attend the continuation of that session, stating that all answers to parliamentary questions had already been published on the parliament's website, and that in this way he had "fulfilled his duty".
The only prime minister's hour in this year's spring session of the legislative chamber was held on March 26, but since then there has been no announcement when the next one might be held. Ultimately, this means that during Spajić's mandate, 13 sessions dedicated to prime minister's hour were supposed to be held, and only seven of them were held.
Key platform as a technical obligation
Nikola Đurašević, a program associate at the Center for Civic Education (CCE), said that the prime minister's hour must not be reduced to a technical obligation, and that, he claims, this seems to be a tendency, with "it being clear that these sessions are being canceled or postponed for political reasons, which undermines the purpose of democratic oversight."
He assessed that this indicates a serious deficit in consistent institutional practice and a lack of political will to use this mechanism in the public interest, and not, as he says, for the sake of political convenience or avoiding responsibility.
Asked how he views the fact that two months have passed since the last prime minister's appointment, and that he will not be there until at least the beginning of June (Spajić is on a working visit to Japan until June 1), Đurašević responds that this is "a clear example of disrespect for basic democratic principles and institutional mechanisms of government control."
"The Prime Minister's Hour is not a mere formality - it is a key platform for direct dialogue between the legislative and executive branches, and an opportunity for citizens, through their representatives in the Parliament, to receive answers to questions of public interest. The failure to hold these sessions for a long period of time, along with their previous irregularity, is an indicator of the arrogance of the ruling structure and its evasion of the obligations that come with the office," the "Vijesti" interlocutor points out.
He says that it is "already clear" by now that Spajić is unfamiliar with the principles of transparency and accountability in performing his duties, and that Andrija Mandić has "great understanding" about this.
"... Who very likely uses it to 'protect' himself from unpleasant questions from the opposition... Therefore, it is not surprising, although it must not become an accepted state of affairs, that we have a closed space for dialogue and accountability before the Parliament and citizens," said Đurašević.
He states that a legitimate question is being asked - what is he trying to hide and why is the Prime Minister avoiding confronting MPs.
Speaking about the cancellation of the prime minister's watch on July 26 last year, due to Spajić's trip to the Paris Olympics, Đurašević said that it caused negative reactions at the time, especially from the opposition, "who assessed that it was obstruction and manipulation of parliamentary procedures."
"It seems that things have only gotten worse since then, with the prime minister's hour now not even being scheduled. Additionally, in addition to the issue of the number of these sessions, the problem is the lack of continuity and timeliness of their holding," he noted.
Đurašević: Mandić is collapsing the Parliament, Spajić is showing contempt
When asked whether the executive and legislative branches are showing a degree of irresponsibility and lack of transparency with this approach to (not) holding sessions dedicated to the Prime Minister's Hour, Nikola Đurašević responds that the Speaker of the Parliament, Mandić, is consciously undermining that institution.
"... Including allowing the marginalization of the controlling role of the legislative branch for the sake of their own party and particular interests," he assessed.
He points out that, at the same time, Prime Minister Spajić "in practice shows contempt for the institution that elected him to that position."
"Their behavior would be scandalous in democratic societies with a functional rule of law, but in this hyperproduction of similar situations in our country, it goes without adequate attention and sanctions. I would emphasize that in developed democracies, transparency and accountability are not the choice of the highest officials, but their obligation," the interlocutor points out.
He states that, however, in Montenegro, we are witnessing an attempt to turn this obligation into an exception, not a rule, adding that this is "a dangerous practice that undermines public trust in institutions, which is not at a high level even now."
"I would also like to remind you that according to all public opinion surveys conducted by CCE, the Parliament is at the bottom of the scale of citizens' trust in institutions, and that is the primary responsibility of those who sit in it, and again primarily the President of the Parliament and the ruling majority," concluded Đurašević.
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