Harsh criticism of the Speaker of the Parliament and the leader of New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Andrije Mandić to the work of the Supreme State Prosecutor (SSP) Milorad Marković indicate his dissatisfaction with the lack of expected concessions, which can be interpreted as an attempt to exert political pressure on the autonomy of the prosecutor's office.
This was assessed by the interlocutors of "Vijesti", commenting on the fact that on Thursday in the Parliament, during the debate on the State Prosecutor's Report for last year, Mandić called on Marković to resign, criticizing him for "dealing with other things" and that this institution is trying to unconstitutionally be the "fourth branch of government". He also harshly criticized his colleagues from the Europe Now Movement (PES) who announced that they would support the prosecutor's report, unlike the NSD and the Democratic People's Party (DNP).
The opposition Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) will not vote for the report, as they announced, while the ruling Bosniak Party (BS) said they would abstain, dissatisfied with the resolution of war crimes cases.
Lawyer and former Secretary General of the Government Boris Marić assessed for "Vijesti" that part of Mandić's dissatisfaction is related to the lack of results, primarily the failure to prosecute high-ranking officials of the former government, led by the former president of the country. Milo Đukanović.
He pointed out that this is a rather superficial view of the work of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office and a misunderstanding of its role, and that no arguments were heard regarding the disciplinary procedures implemented, the collapse of ethical rules, methods of evaluation, internal control, or additional security measures implemented for some criminal offenses.
"Of course not, but exclusively politically passionate discussions and attempts at cheap influence, which we have become accustomed to as a natural state - if you are the government, you have the right to constant political influence on the prosecution," said Marić.
He said that there has been a shift away from that practice to the extent possible and from inherited bad practices that are not easy to eliminate, and "political nervousness is visible."
Coordinator of the Active Citizenship program at the Center for Civic Education (CCE) Ivan Vukcevic He assessed that the deputies were least concerned with the content of the prosecutor's report, and instead, it was learned that Milorad Marković was the candidate that Mandić asked his party colleagues to support, "which opens up the issue of political expectations and influence."
Marković was elected as the Supreme Prosecutor General in late January by secret ballot. His election in the Assembly was supported by 61 MPs from the ruling majority, minority parties and some opposition parties.
Mandić said on Thursday that he was the decisive politician who decided to make Marković the Supreme State Prosecutor, explaining that he did so because he knew his father and thought that he would "be like him - determined, brave and persistent."
"Mandić expected favors for support and lobbying"
Vukčević stated that Mandić's statements give the impression that he expected certain services in return for his support and lobbying, which, by all accounts, were not realized, so he is now publicly expressing his dissatisfaction by criticizing the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office.
"Such an appearance can be interpreted as a form of pressure on the autonomy of the prosecution, which is why the Prosecutorial Council should take a clear position. However, given its current composition, which allows for political influence by the parties of the parliamentary majority, and which has previously been criticized by both the EU and the Council of Europe, it remains questionable whether such a reaction will occur at all, especially since the Council is currently functioning with an incomplete composition," Vukčević pointed out.
A source for "Vijesti" from the Prosecutor's Office previously said that some government deputies probably find the conduct in cases against them questionable. Danilo Mandic (nephew of Andrija Mandić), President of the Municipality of Nikšić and NSD official Marko Kovačević, then in the cases of Gornje Zaostro and "State Coup". Government MPs are also dissatisfied with the prosecution's actions in the Telekom affair, which is why, according to "Vijesti", the PES was close to not supporting the prosecution's report, but that the latest developments and the arrest of the businessman Ac Mijajlović alleviated their dissatisfaction.
Vukčević said that, although not voting on the report does not formally produce legal consequences, it undermines public trust in the work of the prosecution and raises the question of the legitimacy of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office itself.
Mandić said in the Parliament that the VDT should have the support of two-thirds of the deputies, and that if it loses it, it should resign.
"I expected you to do something for Milo Đukanović, Aca Đukanović, Gvozdenović Dam, Predrag Bošković"... You're not allowed to say anything, and here you're dealing with cats," said Mandić.
Marković replied that the prosecution would not act under political, interest-based or other pressures and that the case would be processed "to the extent possible."
"The expectations are that I will change all the shortcomings in the prosecution in a year and eight months, which is not realistic. Obviously, there are political and other spheres that expect some cases to be acted upon, and others not," said Marković.
He said that his "face is more important than his chair" and called on MPs to freely initiate the procedure for his removal if they are not satisfied with his work.
He reminded that 25 MPs are enough to initiate proceedings.
"Vijesti" yesterday asked Mandić's cabinet whether they would initiate Marković's dismissal, given that he said he would not resign. The initiative for his dismissal requires 25 signatures from MPs. NSD and DNP together have 13 MPs, which means they need the support of DPS, even if the initiative is signed by BS (six MPs).
Mandić and his party did not respond to questions from "Vijesti", nor did the DNP.
Initiating a shift is a political risk
Responding to the question of whether he expects Mandić to initiate the dismissal of Marković and who can support him in this, Marić said "difficult, because that would be quite a political risk in light of the fact that Mandić's coalition is on the same side as DPS in the barrage criticism of the VDT, of course from a different interest discourse."
"Criticism is good and there are reasons for criticism, but here we see a desire and regret for undisguised political influence on the prosecutorial organization, that this is a given situation without a dilemma and that we have a majority, or rather, the government for the report and the opposition against it," said Marić.
He pointed out that the possible initiation of Marković's dismissal would become much more than his dismissal.
"That would turn into a serious political conflict with an uncertain epilogue. However, we need to be careful, what is difficult to do is not impossible," Marić assessed.
Ivan Vukčević said that the coming days will show whether the debate in the Parliament was just a show for the public or a signal of a real conflict between Mandić and Marković.
"If Mandić and his comrades continue to insist that Marković resign himself, it will be clear that they are avoiding using the mechanisms at their disposal and that the whole story is more of a political choreography than a serious conflict," Vukčević pointed out.
He said that it will be interesting to follow the election of new members of the Prosecutorial Council, because the majority in that body are those who do not come from the prosecutorial organization itself, which opens up space for political calculations and additional pressure on the independence of the prosecution.
Responding to the question of whether one could get the impression that Mandić has personal and party interests in not supporting the prosecutor's report, Marić said that "there is certainly a personal interest, there is also one among other political actors, apart from Mandić's coalition and DPS, there may also be personal interests in parts of the entities that supported the report."
"We must learn that the prosecution can take all of us, as citizens, through the process of pre-investigation or investigative actions and that all we need to insist on is that it be done according to the letter of the law," Marić pointed out.
He said that he is closer to the opinion that the primary motive for such a harsh attack on the VDT is the impossibility of having the desired influence and the insistence on the mantra "we elected you politically and you should respect that", whatever that means.
PES took over the role of VDT-A's political shield
At the plenary session, Mandić also criticized his colleagues from the ruling PES, stating that he did not understand why they supported the annual report of the State Prosecutor's Office.
He pointed out that the lawsuits against the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić are pending in the prosecution, while the charges against DPS members are being dismissed.
Miodrag Laković (PES) responded that "the coalition agreement does not give Mandić legitimacy to comment on what PES MPs will vote for" and that it is not the first time he has "attempted to discipline Europe Now MPs".
The head of parliament said that he cannot influence how the strongest party in parliament will vote, but that they should understand his position, "that no one wants to change positions on the fly."
Yesterday, PES told "Vijesti" that at the Assembly session, they expressed their position that they would support the report on the work of the prosecution for 2024, "due to visible progress in their work compared to the previous period, with the expectation that they will show more concrete results in the coming period."
When asked whether PES is satisfied with the work of the VDT and whether, in the event of an initiative to remove the VDT, they would support it, they replied that the MPs Vasilije Carapić and Miodrag Laković answered these questions in their reactions.
Responding to Mandić, Čarapić said at Thursday's session that they are not afraid of cases that are not closed, such as the one against Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, and that all criminal charges filed against them by officials of the former government are a "badge of honor" for PES.
"Being the target of a scoundrel is a badge of honor for an honest man. We don't vote for a report to keep some items in a drawer," he said.
He called on the prosecution to prosecute every MP and member of PES, "if there is any reason to do so", and then to focus on those who "almost led this country into the abyss".
When asked how he viewed the position of Spajić's party after Mandić's criticism, Marić replied that PES had taken on the role of a political shield for the VDT, and even the prosecutorial organization itself.
"They are not satisfied with the speed of the reform, nor with the results as a whole, but they think that there have been significant strides forward, that the prosecution is generally satisfactory and significantly less selective, and that the results so far are an important contribution to EU integration that must not be jeopardized at this time," Marić pointed out.
He said that it could be concluded that a kind of sub-coalition has been created to support the prosecution, consisting basically of PES, Democrats and URA.
"This is an interesting political moment that can provide a basis for further elaboration of these relationships brought about by the dynamics of the political struggle," Marić pointed out.
Vukčević assessed that Mandić is the de facto leader of the parliamentary majority, and his criticism of PES is actually a warning message and a reminder to that party about who it should be aligning with.
Milatović: Some people are unreachable by judicial authorities
Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović said yesterday that Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković could pay additional attention to certain cases.
He assessed that citizens see "that justice in Montenegro ends with one arrest, after which everyone is released."
"If justice should end with arrests without a court epilogue, then it is better not to have such justice, because that is not what the citizens want. The citizens elected me, as well as the MPs, to express our views very clearly. Those views were expressed yesterday and I think they are legitimate," said Milatović.
He pointed out that some people in Montenegro are still unreachable by judicial authorities:
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