Departure Nikola Janović from the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) further reinforces the perception that the party is no longer able to retain people who advocate cleaner political action and greater responsibility, deepening the long-standing crisis of identity and reform within the party, according to "Vijesti" interlocutors.
They say that Janović's resignation may not cause great damage to the DPS - in terms of a drop in support, but that it confirms suspicions about insufficient internal reform of the party.
Janović resigned from all positions in the DPS on Thursday. In a letter sent to the party's main board and the DPS president, Danijelo Živković He wrote that he would continue his political career as an independent MP.
Docent at the University "Donja Gorica", Nikoleta Djukanovic She told the editorial staff that Janović's departure from the strongest opposition party was not a surprise, because, she reminded her, he had been publicly pointing out "the existence of factions and deep disagreements within the party" for months.
She states that his position today, paradoxically, is clearer than it was when he was a member of the DPS: according to her, Janović is currently a politically independent figure who is trying to maintain integrity and distance himself from the model of governance that he himself has indicated is problematic.
"DPS, on the other hand, remains a party burdened by a long legacy, small coalition capacity and insufficient distance from the former administration. Although it is formally in the process of 'reconstruction' and rejuvenation, it has still not managed to eliminate deep structural weaknesses, nor to offer a convincing distancing from the system it previously built," Đukanović assessed.
Political scientist Miloš Perović He said that this indicates a kind of identity and reform crisis within the DPS, which, he claims, has been going on for the past five years. However, he believes that this is not an unbearable shock for the party, but that all this confirms public suspicions about the insufficient internal reform of the DPS and the existence of significant differences in visions of the future within the leadership, i.e. that “parties generally have a rigid system where party success requires that a member must be completely inclusive”.
"It can be said that parties in Montenegro still have a problem with internal democracy," said Perović.
JANOVIĆ: ALL OPTIONS OPEN
Janović did not tell reporters yesterday what the specific reason was for him to leave the DPS, but he said that he had expressed his disagreement with the party's positions many times in public, and that, given the continuity of disagreements, he believed it was correct for him to resign.
"My disagreement with my now former party is not something that happened yesterday. It has been going on for months, I could even say for years," Janović said at a press conference in the Parliament.
When asked if he planned to form a new party, he replied that the fact that he was continuing as an opposition MP in his independent work showed that he intended to engage in politics.
"Does this mean that there may be a possibility of something in the future - I can't tell you at this point. It all depends on the environment, possibilities, assessments, but of course, because I want to continue fighting for my values, all options are open," he said.
DPS announced on Thursday that they see nothing controversial in Janović's decision to leave them, wishing him luck in his future political activities.
"As we commented, we see nothing controversial in Mr. Duško Marković "After more than three decades, he is trying his hand at a new political engagement, and we do not think differently about Mr. Janović's decision," said the DPS.
Marković formally left the DPS in June 2024 and founded the Party of European Progress. Before Marković, in November 2023, the then vice president of the party left the DPS. Sanja Damjanovic.
She resigned from all positions in the party and the parliamentary position in mid-November this year Drita Lola. She has not participated in the work of the Assembly for almost a year, because she is in the USA for family reasons. Among other things, she wrote on social networks that there was a break with the DPS leadership, that her views were “challenged on every possible occasion, claiming that “interest groups” control the party.
After almost 30 years of dominance, DPS lost power in the elections on August 30, 2020. After that, their long-time leader and former head of state Milo Djukanovic, resigned as president of the DPS in April 2023. He was succeeded in the position by Živković, and in February of this year, Đukanović was elected honorary president of the party.
The strongest opposition party did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions about whether Janović's resignation would harm them, and whether they believe he should return their mandate.
ĐUKANOVIĆ: DPS AT MAXIMUM SUPPORT
According to Đukanović, it is not certain that Janović's resignation will cause great damage to the DPS in terms of a drop in support, because, he explains, previous departures, including Duško Marković and other high-ranking officials, have not significantly changed citizens' attitudes towards the party.
"DPS has had its maximum support for a long time and, although it is difficult to expect any further growth in support, I also think that the impact of individual departures is reduced to a symbolic level," said Đukanović.
However, as he adds, the symbolism is not insignificant: the departure of one of the rare figures within the party with a consistently critical tone reinforces the perception that DPS is failing to retain people who want cleaner political action and accountability.
"In that sense, the damage is more qualitative than quantitative - a loss of profile, not necessarily votes. On the other hand, this shows how much DPS is not a democratic party, how much it lacks understanding for critical analysis and the growth of strong individuals with integrity," Đukanović underlined.
Perović believes that Janović's move can also be interpreted as a demonstration of political courage and a desire for independent and, from the MP's perspective, principled action. However, he adds that it remains to be seen how his independent engagement will truly impact the political scene and whether it will attract other dissatisfied cadres, not just from the DPS.
He points out that this is not the first case of individuals seeking space for action outside rigid party structures, which, according to him, may lead to the formation of new political entities that will fight for votes in the center of the political spectrum (independent MPs in the current composition).
"His departure sends a signal that the reforms that the new leadership was supposed to implement were not essential, or were insufficient to retain the staff that sought real changes," said Perović.
POLITICAL CAPITAL
Nikoleta Đukanović points out that Janović, through his public activities so far, has demonstrated a high degree of integrity and consistency in his positions, which, she notes, is a rarity on the Montenegrin political scene.
"This gives him a certain amount of political capital, especially among younger, more urban and reformist-minded voters," said Đukanović.
If, as she added, the scenario of forming a new party were realistic, its backbone would likely consist of former and current DPS members who want to truly distance themselves from corruption scandals and governance models from previous decades.
This, she believes, would be a group that ideologically does not differ much from the main party line, but wants a completely different political culture.
"In that sense, Janović can gather a certain number of people, but the question remains whether that group would have the capacity to become a more serious political competitor or would remain in the domain of the 'reform DPS outside of DPS'," the interviewee stated.
Đukanović also says that Janović's achievements depend on two things: consistency, i.e. whether he would really succeed in creating a party without the dominant influence of old structures, and political offer, i.e. whether he could articulate something that does not already exist on the scene, and which voters recognize as sincere.
Janović was a member of the DPS Main Board, and until March this year he was also a member of the party's Presidency. He has been its MP since 2020.
CRITICISM
He served as Minister of Sports and Youth in the Government from 2016 to 2020. He previously achieved great success as a water polo player.
He has repeatedly criticized the situation in the strongest opposition party and its moves in the past two years, often voting against his party colleagues.
Among other things, in late November 2023, ahead of the DPS elections, he said that the party “must make a shift in approach and thinking.” He also said that the party had not done well as an opposition party and that the perception remained that the DPS was still an undesirable party for any coalition.
Although there was public speculation that Janović could also run for the position of DPS leader after Đukanović left the party, he did not run for the position. After the party elections and Živković's arrival as DPS leader, Janović announced that the party's rhetoric needed to be changed, but that real reforms needed to be implemented. He assessed that the DPS election campaign was useful in homogenizing the party, but that no substantive changes had occurred.
At the beginning of the year, on the eve of Đukanović's election as honorary president of the DPS, Janović stated that "the concept of honorary presidents... in any party is not particularly familiar to him", and that the introduction of this title leaves "it to someone's imagination and the propaganda of other parties to draw their own conclusions and additionally spin and impose a narrative in the public space, for which there is no need".
In February, although he was a high-ranking DPS official at the time, Janović did not attend the party congress where the leadership of that political organization was elected.
Perović: There was no break with the old decision-making system
Miloš Perović points out that one gets the impression that essential reforms within the DPS were lacking, and that they were more personal.
"Also, one gets the impression that there has been no break with the old decision-making system, clientelism and the political burden of the past. As Janović himself said, 'the perception remains that DPS is undesirable' for coalitions because of its personnel and policies that have not been sufficiently refined," he said.
He believes that the DPS leadership still has quality personnel, including Janović, and believes that this profile of politician would be welcome in all parties, "but it seems that being inclusive is very important for the party's success in Montenegro."
Đukanović: Janović's position gave DPS the illusion of pluralism
Nikoleta Đukanović says that Janović was important for the image of the DPS precisely because he represented a rare figure who publicly pointed out mistakes, organizational weaknesses, and moral problems within the party.
His critical stance, she added, gave the party the appearance of pluralism and a willingness to self-question, which, she claims, was useful to the DPS "during the period of attempted modernization."
"With his departure, DPS loses one of the few votes that could have alleviated the perception that the party is still failing to distance itself from the previous system and power structures. This further emphasizes the internal hermeticity and lack of authentic reform of this party," she assessed.
Stojović: A blow that can no longer be hidden under the carpet
Member of Parliament for the ruling Europe Now Movement (PES) Gordan Stojović wrote on Thursday on the X network that, once a dominant political force, it is now increasingly evident that it is going through a phase of serious self-destruction.
"The resignation of Drita Llolla, accompanied by open criticism of the functioning of the party, was the first alarm that the leadership tried to ignore. However, the departure of Nikola Janović – one of the greatest sports authorities in Montenegro, former captain of the water polo team and a man whose word carries weight – is a blow that can no longer be hidden under the carpet," he assessed. According to him, when a figure of Janović's credibility decides to turn his back on the DPS, many rightly conclude that the party ship is not only sinking, but sinking due to its own mistakes accumulated over years and ignoring reality.
"Internal weaknesses, suppressed affairs and the absence of honest self-criticism are now coming to light with relentless clarity," Stojović stated.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
