They are looking at how to "drag" Spajić to the Parliament: A solution is sought for the regular holding of the Prime Minister's Hour

Representatives of parliamentary groups demanded the resignation of the head of parliament at a session of the collegium on Wednesday. Andrije Mandić (New Serbian Democracy) a solution to enable the regular holding of the Prime Minister's Hour, which was last held two and a half months ago, "Vijesti" has learned unofficially.

According to the newspaper, Mandić proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament in such a way that the Prime Minister's Hour would be held in the last week of each month of the regular (autumn and spring) parliamentary session, but his idea was rejected. "Vijesti" sources from the collegium session claim that this was not done because accepting Mandić's proposal would narrow the space for holding the Prime Minister's Hour (due to the Prime Minister's obligations abroad, public holidays, potential extraordinary events...).

The interlocutors said that another solution was proposed at the collegium - that the legislative chamber "force" the president and ministers to come to parliament by "punishing" the government by not including its acts in the procedure if they do not do so. One of the newspaper's sources says that it is up to Mandić to determine what should be done next, so that the prime minister's hour can be held regularly.

The Rules of Procedure stipulate that the Prime Minister's Hour is held once a month during the regular session. The autumn session lasts from the first working day in October to the last working day in December, and the spring session from the first working day in March to the last working day in July. In order to meet the "quota" set 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.

The Assembly and the executive branch, in joint communication, agree on the date of that session, and the last one was held on March 26. Government Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement), but also the parliamentary majority, regularly suffer criticism from the opposition that the Prime Minister's Hour is not held often enough, and that the control role of the parliament is therefore being undermined.

"Vijesti" was unofficially told by the Parliament that the holding of the Prime Minister's Hour depends on Spajić, and that they are also waiting for an answer when the next session will be held. On the other hand, the Government unofficially says that the priority is "accelerating the adoption of the European agenda in parliament", and that they are pleased with the "accelerated work" of the legislative chamber and "returning from politicking to state duties".

Mugoša: We don't need to invent hot water

Head of the opposition Social Democrats (SD) parliamentary group Boris Mugoša, told "Vijesti" yesterday that the failure to observe the Prime Minister's hour is another indicator of the irresponsibility and frivolity of the ruling majority, and that it is a conscious collapse of the separation of powers, or rather the abolition and negation of the control role of the Parliament.

"... For example, in April, according to the Rules of Procedure, we were supposed to have a prime minister's hour, as well as a so-called ministerial hour, while in May we were supposed to have a prime minister's hour and questions to ministers. It is an incredible fact that we are not finished yet, that is, not all ministers have yet answered the questions from MPs that were asked of them at the end of March," he said.

Mugoša points out that such behavior by the authorities is only a continuation of the collapse of democratic principles, or, as he claims, of preventing the opposition from using the defined mechanisms of government control.

"One of the first moves of the current majority of this parliamentary term was to reduce the control role of parliament, that is, the number of mandatory control hearings at the request of the opposition - it was reduced from two to one," the interlocutor recalls.

When asked what the best way is to "force" the Prime Minister to come to the Parliament, Mugoša replies that there is no need to invent solutions because "this is a defined rule of procedure that in a normal situation should oblige both the Prime Minister and the parliamentary majority."

"The fact is that the parliamentary majority elects the prime minister, and if the prime minister does not behave in the manner defined by the Rules of Procedure, which is a constitutional category, that parliamentary majority should punish that prime minister, and not let us all suffer. The institution of the system suffers because the prime minister obviously does not take the parliamentary majority that elected him seriously, and the majority turns a blind eye to all of this, because their strongest cohesion factor is their functions in terms of depth, breadth and height," he said.

Mugoša said that the parliament and the government are not private institutions of Andrija Mandić and Milojko Spajić, and that they cannot "outsmart and punish each other behind the backs of citizens," adding that there is no need to "invent hot water," but that it is necessary to remind decision-makers of what they represent in the system.

"... And that, first of all, they owe it to the citizens to behave seriously and responsibly in those positions. So I am against anyone forcing anyone, everyone just needs to adhere to the defined rules," he said.

Seven out of 13 sessions held

Vijesti recently reported that slightly more than 50 percent of the prime minister's hour sessions were held during the mandate of Spajić's government. The first since its formation, 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 October 29 and November 22, and a third was supposed to be held on December 20, but this was prevented by the opposition, which then claimed that "the parliamentary majority suspended the Constitution" and carried out a "coup" on the parliamentary Constitutional Committee by passing a decision to terminate the judicial function. Dragani Đuranović 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 house was held on March 26, but since then there has been no announcement as to when the next one might be realized.

This means that during Spajić's mandate, 13 sessions dedicated to the Prime Minister's Hour were supposed to be held, and only seven of them were held.