Interpellation of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) on the work of the Deputy Prime Minister for Security announced Alekse Bečić (Democrats), cannot lead to the collapse of the ruling coalition, and with such an initiative, DPS risks being perceived as a political actor who lacks the credibility to problematize the situation in the security sector, considering the events in that part of the system while they were in power.
Thus, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" answer the questions of whether it is realistic for the interpellation to receive the support of someone in power or is it another "shot into the blank" by DPS, what the scope of the initiative could be if it does not receive wider support, and whether the interpellation, even if it "does not pass", could be a reason for the Prime Minister to Milojko Spajic (Europe Now Movement) should consider including Bečić's position in a possible government reconstruction.
If the initiative is formalized, the ruling majority may decide not to include it on the session agenda.
The DPS MP and president announced yesterday that the DPS is preparing to submit an interpellation on Bečić, or rather on the work of the executive branch in the areas of security, internal policy, defense and the fight against organized crime, to the parliamentary procedure. Danijel Zivkovic.
At a press conference in parliament, he said that Montenegro is becoming an “interest ATM for the parties in power,” with “the security system being the most affected.” He assessed that institutions have not responded adequately to either the fire season or the recent erection of a monument to a Chetnik commander. Pavlo Đurišić in the Berane village of Gornje Zaostro, while, according to him, criminal clashes show that the state does not have a functional security sector.
"This interpellation aims to open up all these topics in the Parliament, because we believe that the Parliament is the right place to offer specific answers to these topics and to hear the arguments of the government and the opposition. We will offer the interpellation to all parties in power, because we expect from them that the role of the opposition is primarily one of control," said Živković, adding that he expects the initiative to be signed by opposition MPs.
An interpellation is one of the mechanisms for parliamentary control over the work of the Government and its ministers. According to the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament, an interpellation may be submitted by at least 27 MPs. The President of the Parliament then immediately forwards it to the parliamentary groups and the Government, which must submit a report within 30 days. After that, the interpellation is placed on the agenda of the first following session. The debate may end with a conclusion or without a decision, and MPs may also initiate a vote of no confidence in the Government.
Reaches limited to political message
Docent at the University "Donja Gorica" Nikoleta Djukanovic, assessed for "Vijesti" that the announced DPS initiative can hardly have real political effects in the current context.
"The reasons are, first of all, the stability of the parliamentary majority. It is difficult to imagine that any party that is part of the government would support the opposition's initiative, because that would open up the issue of the functioning of the coalition itself and could call into question its cohesion. Therefore, it is almost impossible for the majority to 'break' on this issue," she claims.
Đukanović stated that, therefore, the scope of the interpellation remains limited to the political message and DPS's attempt to impose an agenda and draw attention to weaknesses or controversies within Spajić's government.
"In practical terms, it serves more as an instrument of political pressure and public debate than as a real threat to the Deputy Prime Minister," she adds.
The interviewee says that, regarding the possible reconstruction of the Government, it is possible that the interpellation will be a reason for various speculations, but that it can hardly, by itself, force the Prime Minister to consider a change in the position of Vice President for Security.
"Reconstruction is in the hands of the ruling parties, and as long as there is a firm agreement within the majority, opposition initiatives have limited impact," Djukanovic stated.
Coordinator of the Center for Civil Liberties (CEGAS) Boris Marić He said that the announced interpellation could not lead to the "breakup" of the ruling coalition.
"Interpellation is a legitimate means of reviewing the work of decision-makers in certain public policies, and as such it is useful. I think that the scope of a specific interpellation is limited and that - apart from presenting political arguments, positions and spin on both sides - it cannot have the effect of potentially opening serious cracks in the ruling coalition," he assessed.
Marić pointed out that the positive aspect of initiating the interpellation is that it will result in a politically sharp dialogue that will be able to be monitored, and probably the presentation of certain details that can further shed light on some of the events that were taken as the reason for its submission.
Speaking about the possible reconstruction of the executive branch, the interlocutor reminded that its personnel renewal has not yet been defined.
"The reconstruction of the Government is, for now, a vague category. Neither the Prime Minister nor any of the leaders of the ruling coalition have specified a possible reconstruction model. The interpellation neither helps nor hinders a possible reconstruction. It is certainly good as a democratic means of putting pressure on the government, which can always have an effect, if not in the short term, then in the long term," Marić underlined.
The Prime Minister announced two weeks ago that reconstruction could be expected "maybe tomorrow, maybe in a year, maybe in two years."
DPS enters the controversy "from the bottom"
Responding to the question of whether DPS is somehow disqualifying itself in advance with its initiatives regarding the situation in the security sector, considering what happened with security in the country while they were in power, Đukanović assessed that with such moves, the strongest opposition party certainly risks being perceived as a political actor that lacks the credibility to problematize the situation in the security sector, considering the numerous events and weaknesses that marked the period while they were in power.
"However, the opposition will always use parliamentary mechanisms to draw attention to the government's shortcomings, regardless of its own past. In that sense, the initiative speaks more about their current political tactics and efforts to remain present in the public discourse, than about a real intention to improve the security sector," explains Đukanović.
To the same question, Boris Marić responded by saying that all parliamentary parties have the legitimacy to use all democratic means of political struggle provided for by the Constitution and law.
"DPS is entering this controversy from a disadvantage, because the security sector during the DPS government was highly corrupt and clearly influenced by organized crime. However, this does not disqualify the possibility for DPS to initiate an interpellation and thereby initiate a political debate about the situation in that sector, but also about the situation in institutions that are directly and indirectly part of the security sector," he stated.
Marić added that citizens have the right to hear from decision-makers about all aspects of the security sector, both the causes of problems and the measures being taken, as well as the nature and methods of determining responsibility.
SNP and AF will not support, BS has yet to see
The ruling Bosniak Party (BS) did not want to state whether they would support the initiative, but told "Vijesti" that they would take a position on it once they were familiar with the content of the interpellation.
"We only learned about the announcement of this initiative through the media. The Bosniak Party, as a serious and responsible political entity, cannot take political positions based on announcements at press conferences. If this initiative occurs and we are familiar with its content, we will take our political position on it and communicate it to the public when we consider it important and appropriate," they told the newspaper.
The Socialist People's Party (SNP) told "Vijesti" that they will not support initiatives "motivated by revanchism and the desire of the DPS to weaken the Government."
"The announcement of the interpellation by the DPS is not a surprise, because this party is continuously trying to destabilize the political situation and divert attention from its own responsibility for the state of Montenegro during their 30 years in power," the ruling SNP said.
Deputy Speaker of the Assembly and official of the Albanian Forum (AF) Nikola Camaj, he said that "there are no grounds" for that coalition to support the DPS initiative.
"I personally respect every announcement of an interpellation, because it is important for public officials to be aware that their work is being monitored and evaluated. In a democratic environment, this is entirely expected of the opposition. Therefore, this announcement is no exception. But, in my opinion, there are no grounds for supporting it," he told "Vijesti".
Several ruling parties - the Europe Now Movement, New Serbian Democracy, Democratic People's Party - did not respond to the editorial team's questions...
Democrat official and Minister of the Interior Danilo Šaranović, characterized the DPS announcement as "a written confession of fear of institutions that no longer kneel before organized crime."
"I will remind you, it was the DPS deputies who submitted this interpellation who signed the requests for the release Zoran Lazović "to freedom. A man who is a symbol of the two-decade transformation of security services into private branches of the worst criminal clans in the Balkans. A man under whose command investigations were leaked, crimes were committed, criminals from the region with the most brutal records were imported and security personnel were hired on the recommendations of mafia bosses. A man whose name, today, when read in the Assembly hall, provokes silence from those who served him, who elected him and put him in that position," he said in a statement he sent to the media.
Šaranović said that the interpellation was not an attack on Bečić, but on everything that is no longer under the control of the DPS.
SD is waiting to be introduced to the proposal
When it comes to the opposition, the Social Democrats (SD) unofficially told "Vijesti" that they would decide on the initiative once they were familiar with it. However, a statement from an interlocutor from that party indirectly suggests that they are ready to support the DPS proposal.
"SD MP Nikola Zirojevic "It constantly points to the poor state of the security sector. We think that someone from the executive branch must bear responsibility for that," he said.
The Civic Movement URA did not respond to questions about their opinion on the interpellation and whether they would support it.
Independent Member of Parliament Jevrosima Pejović She did not directly answer the question of whether she would support the initiative. She said that the opposition has rarely had the opportunity to talk to government representatives, because members of the government do not come to parliament.
"Such a practice, which began with the Prime Minister's failure to attend the Prime Minister's office, leads to a situation where MPs, and through them citizens, do not receive answers to questions that are of key importance. Dialogue is especially important after tragic events and clan clashes on the streets," she assessed.
She added that the announced interpellation represents an opportunity, if for nothing else, at least for open dialogue and accountability to MPs.
"I hope that citizens will have the opportunity to hear answers to questions of public interest," concluded Pejović.
Interpellations on the work of Leposavić, Stijović, Bratić...
The last interpellations in the Parliament were considered four years ago.
In April 2021, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) submitted an initiative calling for the dismissal of the Minister of Justice, Human and Minority Rights, Vladimir Leposavić, due to his denial and relativization of the genocide in Srebrenica.
The interpellation was signed by all 40 opposition MPs. Leposavić was dismissed in June 2021, at the request of then-Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić, after the latter refused to resign. Krivokapić requested Leposavić's dismissal the day after the opposition filed the interpellation.
At the end of December of the same year, the Parliament of Montenegro adopted, with the votes of the government and the opposition, interpellations to discuss issues in the conduct of the Government's policy in the areas of agriculture, education and foreign affairs, of Ministers Aleksandar Stijović, Vesna Bratić and Đorđe Radulović.
The interpellation to discuss issues in the conduct of the Government's policy in the field of agriculture, submitted by the SDP, was adopted by the votes of the opposition and the former Democratic Front (DF).
The second interpellation submitted by the SDP - to discuss issues in the conduct of the Government's policy in the field of education, was supported by the opposition, the SNP, Božena Jelušić (GP URA) and Miodrag Lekić (Demos).
The interpellation for examining issues in the conduct of the Government's policy in the field of foreign affairs, which was submitted by the DPS, was supported by 55 members of the opposition and DF.
The parliament also received a proposal for an interpellation at the end of 2019. At that time, DF deputies, while in opposition, requested a discussion on the work of the then Deputy Prime Minister for the Political System and Judiciary and Minister of Justice Zoran Pažin, accusing him of influencing the High Court and other judicial instances during the trial in the "Coup d'état" case.
The interpellation was, at the request of six MPs from the then ruling DPS, removed from the parliamentary session agenda.
Živković: In preparation for organizing conferences
Danijel Živković said yesterday that the DPS's response to the ruling majority will not only be institutional, but that the organization of rallies is in preparation.
"Look at the economy. Montenegro is today the country with the highest inflation in Europe... Look at what our tourist season looks like. In July alone, we had 370.000 fewer overnight stays in Montenegro... We have enormous debts... Debts are taken out to cover the costs of salaries and pensions, especially party-related and other employment in public institutions and companies. When it comes to the healthcare system, waiting lists are getting longer, there are no basic funds in the healthcare system," said Živković.
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