Entry of the former Democratic Front (DF) and the Bosniak Party (BS) into the Government Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement - PES) at the end of July last year created a diverse executive government consisting of parties with different ideological profiles, which is a step in the right direction for the divided Montenegrin society. However, the announced results of this reconstructed government have not been achieved, and its work remains insufficiently efficient and is often accompanied by the shadow of bad practices.
This is how the interviewees of "Vijesti" view the work and results of the executive branch a year after its first reconstruction (July 23, 2024). At that time, the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) entered the government. Andrije Mandić and Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević, which until that moment had supported Spajić from the parliament (without participation in the executive branch), and BS Ervin Ibrahimović who was in opposition. The government was therefore expanded to include five ministries, three vice-presidents and the position of minister without portfolio, making it the largest in the history of Montenegrin parliamentarism. In total, it consists of a prime minister, seven vice-presidents, 25 ministries and a minister without portfolio.
Budmir Aleksic (NSD) became Vice President for Education, Science and Relations with Religious Communities, his party colleagues Slaven Radunović i Simonida Kordić were appointed as ministers of spatial planning, urbanism and state property, or tourism, while their long-time allies from the DNP Milun Zogović i Maja Vukićević took the position of Vice President for Infrastructure and Regional Development, or Minister of Transport.
BS "won" five ministries and one vice-presidential position - Ibrahimović became the head of diplomacy and vice-president for international relations, Damir Gutic Minister of Social Welfare, Family Care and Demography, Admir Šahmanović Minister of Mining, Oil and Gas, Ernad Suljević Minister of Regional Investment Development and Cooperation with Non-Governmental Organizations, and Mirsad Azemović Minister of Diaspora. PES Milutin Butorovic He became a minister without portfolio in charge of relations with the Parliament.
Spajić's government was "refreshed" in April of this year. At that time, the Ministry of Energy, whose former head Saša Mujović elected mayor of Podgorica, merged with the departments of mining, oil and gas, and the Ministry of Public Works was formed, headed by Majda Adzović.
Spajić, after last year's "major" reconstruction, said that Montenegro was "the most reconciled in its history", and that the executive branch he leads is "a guarantor of stability and maturity". However, the government was not peaceful - its constituents argued on several occasions even after the reconstruction. Among other things, over the issue of possible amendments to the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship, the appointment of personnel from the former regime to positions, the case of the termination of the judicial function Dragani Đuranović in the Constitutional Court, decisions on the erection of a monument to the former Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Amphilochia in Berane...
The Government, NSD, DNP and BS did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions about the specific results of the reconstructed executive branch, i.e. the departments led by the parties that became part of it, and how they interpret the accusations made by some opposition parties and the civil sector that certain ministries were formed only to satisfy party appetites.
Healing effect, but...
Project Coordinator, Center for Democracy and Human Rights (CEDEM) Milena Kovačević She told "Vijesti" that the government, composed of a broad coalition of parties of different political orientations, represents an important step towards "political inclusion" and that it can have a "healing effect" on Montenegrin society "which is multiethnic and strives to be truly multicultural."
However, he assesses that, despite the symbolically important breadth, the substantive results of the executive branch remain limited. Noting that the public has witnessed both good and bad practices, he states, among other things, that the standard of living of citizens has not noticeably improved, that the adoption of key development documents took place without the necessary consultations with expert environmental protection bodies, that this has raised justified doubts about transparency and respect for institutional procedures...
The highest legislative chamber adopted the Spatial Plan until 2040 at the end of June, and experts warn that this strategic document has opened the door to the devastation of protected areas.
Kovačević also states as a criticism of the Government that the preparation for the tourist season was not thorough enough, and that this was felt in insufficient promotion, poor organization, and poor infrastructure in the most burdened regions.
Data from the National Tourism Organization shows that there are currently just over 130.000 tourists staying in Montenegro, but that there is an imbalance in relation to the number of overnight stays and the number of visitor arrivals.
The interviewee also points out that the announced infrastructure interventions in the field of transport "have remained mostly at the level of plans", and that "the actual situation in the road and railway system is still at a standstill".
The continuation of the construction of the Bar - Boljare highway, through the Mateševo - Andrijevica section, will be financed with money from the European Development Bank, but work has not yet begun, while conceptual designs have not even been presented for a number of expressways planned across the country...
Milena Kovačević assesses that, although certain initiatives in the areas of minority rights, social policy and relations with the diaspora - such as the adoption of the draft Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination, the establishment of the Directorate for Interculturalism and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the formation of the Ministry of Diaspora - can be recognized as "steps in the right direction", their reach remains limited for now and without a deeper institutional impact that would be felt in everyday life.
"Social and demographic policies still do not respond seriously enough to the challenges posed by reality, and the concrete effects on citizens' standards remain modest," she claims.
The interviewee states that, however, it should be emphasized that the "multiethnic and politically diverse" structure of government has enabled, despite differences, a clear consensus to be maintained on the strategic foreign policy direction of the state.
"In a time of deep divisions in the world, the fact that all political components of the current government are in agreement on continuing the European path is an important indicator of political maturity/interest and the potential for building a stable and open society," she says, adding that the commitment to European integration gives hope that Montenegro can build a "more stable, just and inclusive society."
However, those familiar with diplomatic affairs warn that Montenegrin foreign policy is rhetorically dedicated to Euro-Atlantic integration and regional cooperation, but that in practice its consistency is hampered by the lack of coordination within the ruling coalition. One example of this is the attitude of the ruling coalition's constituents towards the conviction of the first man of Republika Srpska (RS). Milorad Dodik due to the failure to implement the decisions of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Some of them welcomed the decision by which Dodik was sentenced in the first instance to a one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban from holding the office of President of the RS, while others sharply criticized the verdict.
Rehabilitation and wastefulness
Civic activist Dina Bajramspahić claims that the entry of BS into the government "together with Serbian nationalist parties" gave impetus to the intensification of the process of rehabilitation of the Chetniks, denial of genocide and glorification of criminals, which, she says, is a key change compared to the period before reconstruction.
"What was an incident, scandalous, on the margins of society and provoking loud protest a year ago is today on a wider scale and everyday. While part of the Government actively supports it, another passively observes and thus their effect is identical," she told "Vijesti".
The interviewee states that "Serbian nationalist forces, which were previously represented in positions 'in depth'", have rounded off all their interests by joining the Government and have taken over all the reins of power on a symbolic level, adding that because of this they no longer need to "restrain themselves" and "hide their sympathies towards criminals and the goals of their aspirations".
Metropolitans of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Joannikius i Methods In the past few months, they have glorified the leaders of the collaborationist Chetnik movement in World War II, and the head of parliament and NSD, Mandić, recently said that he would not "oppose my opinion" to their statements.
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Bajramspahić believes that another key feature of the reconstructed government is wastefulness and the division of functions, resources, variables, contracts, and rewards according to national criteria, rather than competencies. He says that the executive branch should pursue inclusive policies and that everyone should be represented in it, but that there must be criteria and minimum conditions.
"This is the first government whose Commission for the Thirteenth of July Award has awarded the award to a book that does not exist. However, this is only an illustrative example of what is extremely widespread throughout the breadth and depth of state and public administration: when party quotas are distributed, content and quality are superfluous issues, while accountability is an absolute unknown," she pointed out.
The July 13th Award was awarded to a member of the NSD Political Council. Bećir Vuković for the book "Homeless House", which cannot yet be found in bookstores or in the National Library "Đurđe Crnojević", and the librarians have not even received a request for registration and assignment of the necessary ISBN number. The prosecutor's office is handling the case.
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Bajramspahić says that the fact that there was no difference in the positions of its constituents when it comes to key controversial events in the last year - the "constitutional coup" (the case of Đuranović), the Velje Brdo project, the Spatial Plan, the agreement with the United Arab Emirates, irresponsibility for the Cetinje massacre, the adoption of amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs "which enabled mass employment outside of regular procedures"...
He warns that "trading is underway for vacant seats in the Constitutional Court," and states that the ruling majority has not acted on the opinion of the Venice Commission on the Đuranović case, "nor does it intend to."
The "Venetians" recently assessed that the parliament should have followed the procedure that requires formal notification from the Constitutional Court about the conditions for Đuranović's termination of his position in that judicial institution.
Bajramspahić also notes that BS and Spajić's PES are now "actively defending the blanket ban on public gatherings", which, she claims, is an unprecedented attack on human rights and freedoms in Montenegro.
By proposing amendments to the Law on Public Gatherings, the government plans to prevent "seeking justice on the streets," or blocking roads.
Bajramspahić: Negotiations with the EU have slowed down
Dina Bajramspahić also said that the year since the reconstruction was marked by the slowdown in accession negotiations with the European Union and the "fiasco" of the so-called Barometer 26 and the agreement between some of the ruling and opposition parties.
Barometer 26 is the government's platform on "joint obligations" to complete negotiations with the EU, and the agreement was signed by Spajić and some opposition parties due to the crisis that arose over the Đuranović case.
"We have currently failed to close two negotiation chapters in accordance with the plan outlined by the European Commission - Chapter 31 (foreign, security and defence policy), as well as Chapter 4 (Free movement of capital). The delay only increases the level of obligations that we need to fulfill in less than a year and a half," she notes.
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