The Montenegrin opposition, led by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), is anemic, lethargic and without a real plan on how to confront the government, so the first step in getting into a position to resist it more seriously should be to open up to new people and ideas, while confronting the mistakes of the past and removing from its ranks the symbols of the former three-decade regime.
That the situation in the opposition is such and that the above is the recipe for its recovery, claim political analysts and representatives of extra-parliamentary opposition initiatives. On the other hand, opposition parties explicitly reject these criticisms, saying that they are relevant and capable of bringing about changes, but that they will not do so at the expense of the interests of the state. Specifically, the most important one at the moment - Montenegro's entry into the European Union (EU).
A part of the public, close to the opposition pole of the political scene, is increasingly calling out these parties, assessing that they are not doing anything concrete, and that all their tactics are based on the expectation that the Europe Now Movement (PES) will take them to the Prime Minister's Office. Milojko Spajić - to invite them to power. And all this time, they claim, the head of parliament and one of the leaders of the former Democratic Front (DF) has been strengthening his position in the system, thanks to such opposition, Andrija Mandic.
There was also criticism in the last days of 2025, when the DPS, as part of the government in Budva, supported the adoption of the municipal budget, which provided for the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) to be granted a donation of one million euros for the construction of a temple, while the European Union, which is also part of the local government there, abstained.
Trapped by inheritance
Docent at the University "Donja Gorica" Nikoleta Djukanovic, told "Vijesti" that the opposition acts inertly, without energy and a real plan, and that it often agrees to compromise with the authorities at times when it should show resistance. An example of this, she says, is this summer's participation in electoral reforms that were ultimately implemented contrary to the interests of citizens. By this she means support for the solution that all local elections be held on the same day in 2027, which is why the mandate of some self-governments was extended, thus denying numerous citizens (around 234.000 of them) the right to vote until then.
"The opposition is acting as if it believes that it will come to power through natural succession in the next elections, and not through real political struggle, building trust and articulating an alternative," Đukanović assessed.
She states that the opposition, instead of actively questioning the government's policies, relies more on the work of the civil sector, investigative journalists and NGOs, whose reports and data, she claims, are used selectively and occasionally, and most often without serious political monitoring. In addition, the DPS, according to her, is still trapped in the narratives and structures of the former system, often more engaged in denying responsibility for past affairs than in designing future policies.
"The opposition leader, as a political figure who gathers, articulates and leads processes, does not actually exist. Although DPS is formally the strongest opposition party, it has failed to offer a new face or a new idea, and other opposition parties have not developed the capacity to take on a leading role. This further contributes to the impression of a lack of ideas and fragmentation of the opposition scene," the interviewee underlines.
The executive coordinator of the Civic Initiative "21 May" has a similar opinion. Rade Bojović, who says that the opposition is not only irrelevant and unimaginative, but also "a textbook example of discredited, weak-willed, petty-proprietorship or overexcited politics."
According to him, DPS is a party that has remained a prisoner of a compromising legacy, incapable of facing the causes of its defeat, a hostage of its former leader. Milo Đukanović and connecting interest groups, "tragicomic in its effort to present its declining quantity as quality", while, he adds, other opposition parties "are dragging on the tail of such a DPS", or, like the Civic Movement URA Dritan Abazović, “compromised political groups”.
Bojović claims that such an opposition is not helped by significant material and organizational resources, nor by the remaining support of depressed voters, nor by the fact that they have against them an "amateur, low-intelligence and agent government".
"Simply put, the opposition is led by inauthentic, fickle and unstable politicians or behind-the-scenes guardians of personal interest, who are ideologically and programmatically disoriented and lack the courage to break away from their stuck policies. The greatest reach of all opposition parties is their attempts to get hold of at least part of the state or local administration through commercial deals...", he notes.
State interests and the fall of two governments
Head of the DPS Parliamentary Club Andrija Nikolić rejects such qualifications, stating that the opposition led by his party is "state-responsible and systemic." Their efforts, he says, are aimed at changing "bad government," but even more at realizing state interests. And the key, he emphasizes, is to accelerate EU membership.
"This strategic goal was set by DPS... That is why even today, when we are in opposition, we are making our maximum contribution to ensuring that EU membership happens as soon as possible. DPS is a state-building party that will never behave anti-systemically and make agreements to the detriment of the state we were creating, for the sake of short-term political gain. In that sense, we are ready to risk a few percentage points of support in order to maintain seriousness and responsibility towards national interests," he emphasized for "Vijesti", adding that we should not forget that DPS, when it assessed that the actions of the government were endangering the constitutional order - "like the situation with the unconstitutional dismissal of a judge of the Constitutional Court (Dragana Đuranović)”, responded by blocking the Assembly.
When asked if DPS would agree to join Spajić's government, Nikolić replied that they do not accept "rotten compromises to the detriment of Montenegro." He claims that they showed this in 2022 when, after 100 days, they overthrew Abazović's government, of which they were a part.
"We are not rushing to be the government at all costs... We are interested in a strong and stable pro-European government that will have a clear goal, a serious program and professional people. All those who inherit anti-fascism, a civic concept and a Euro-Atlantic orientation can be partners. If there are currently no such people, we are ready to improve our actions from the opposition, until there is enough maturity on the political scene for an agreement in favor of Montenegro," he said.
The president of the Social Democrats (SD) and one of the leaders of the European Union also disagree with the criticism of the opposition. Damir Sehovic, who said that today it operates in a much more complex political environment than before, and that this does not mean that it is weak or unimaginative.
"On the contrary, in the last five years, two governments have been overthrown (in addition to Abazović's, the government of Zdravka Krivokapića), which is an unprecedented case in contemporary Montenegrin political practice and the best indicator of the political relevance of the opposition. This government knows very well that it is facing an opposition that has the capacity to change political reality and that will, at the first upcoming parliamentary elections, dismiss the third government," Šehović told the editorial office.
He also claims that SD is not interested in joining the current executive branch.
"Because if we wanted to, we would already be part of that government. Let me remind you that we were the only political entities that remained in opposition to Abazović's government until the end, even though we had offers to enter government even then. We are not entering into reconstructions and we are not legitimizing wrong policies. This government should be dismissed, not put on make-up," Šehović emphasized.
First in front of the mirror
Messages about the overthrow of the "state-irresponsible government", along with those about early parliamentary elections, were frequent in early 2025, but they decreased significantly after the DPS, despite its high expectations, failed to come to power in Nikšić in April. Such an opposition narrative almost disappeared after the agreement that all local elections would be held in 2027, when the state elections would also be held.
Are these two events the reason for the lethargy of the opposition, i.e. the fact that the intensity of its attacks on the government has subsided and that there are hardly any serious opposition initiatives? There have been several in the past year, but they ended ingloriously - the unsuccessful dismissal of Mandić, the failed interpellation on the work of the Deputy Prime Minister Alekse Bečić, non-implementation of the recommendations of the Venice Commission on the Đuranović case...
DON'T MISS IT
Nikoleta Đukanović and Rade Bojović answer that question in the negative. Stating that the 2027 elections should be a wake-up call for the opposition - because the ruling parties have already begun serious preparations for that cycle - Đukanović says that the cause of the opposition parties' passivity is the lack of initiative, political seriousness and readiness to face the current challenges.
"The opposition is acting defensively, as if it lacks the courage to clearly confront the government, nor to take responsibility for its own past," she adds.
Bojović assesses that "the former sovereignist parties", "after a stupid and well-deserved defeat in the 2020 elections", experienced a mental, ethical and personnel breakdown, with complete confusion about the circumstances in which they found themselves.
"Instead of a radical transformation, a new program policy and the removal of all the people who were symbols of the former regime and a series of compromising scandals, the opposition has turned into a worm in the monsoon rain. The result is that even after five years, we have a disorganized opposition, which until noon is feverishly thinking about whether another of its members will be detained, and by noon it already looks like a deflated balloon," he told the newspaper.
Asked what specifically the DPS, as the strongest opposition party, should do to change the current situation in the opposition, Bojović replies that they are doing everything wrong, considering "lost legitimacy and escaping from their own image in the mirror", and adds that the opposition cannot be helped by the fact that the government is "a collection of conceited, fifth-column, populist and provincial parties and individuals".
"In the eyes of the majority public, DPS is just a dilapidated continuation of the same policy, Đukanović's cover and an undesirable alternative. The rest of the opposition acts only as an auxiliary echelon of DPS, or is guillotined by an episodic prime minister beloved by the Greater Serbian priests and the Belgrade nationalist čaršija (Abazović). So it is illusory to expect a change in so-called tactics or a magical political masquerade that would enchant this opposition," the interlocutor assesses, saying that only radical personnel, programmatic and organizational changes, "including a change of name", could make the opposition more serious.
Djukanovic says the opposition will not gain "new credibility" until the DPS makes a clear break with its past - both in terms of personnel and program. The party's leadership has changed, but some commentators claim that the shadow of former long-time leader Milo Djukanovic is still visible...
"Therefore, the first concrete step would be: clearly confronting the mistakes of the past, involving new people outside of old party circles, and building policies that respond to the current needs of citizens, not the expectations of party structures from previous decades," she emphasizes.
"Vijesti" has repeatedly written that DPS officials say that the party made mistakes while it was in power, but without specifying how.
Exposed relations in government
Andrija Nikolić and Damir Šehović claim that the opposition did not "pull the trigger" after the Nikšić elections and that early national elections are still on the table.
"... They are always an option. However, the current parliamentary majority is maintained through mutual trade and unprincipled agreements aimed at personal, family and party benefits for those in power. One could say that Spajić and Mandić are today in a balance of political impotence," Nikolić said.
Šehović notes that the agreement on unifying local elections represents a democratic step forward, not a withdrawal of the opposition, and that it does not mean giving legitimacy to the state government until 2027.
"On the contrary, we will do everything politically and democratically possible to bring this government down as soon as possible," he claims.
Interlocutors of "Vijesti" from DPS and SD say that they do not consider it a failure that several opposition initiatives did not "pass" in 2025. They assess that this has not shaken the opposition, but rather that relations within the government have been exposed.
"They showed the fear of part of the parliamentary majority to oppose Mandić and exposed those who present themselves as European and civic, but in practice act as his extended arm. Citizens then clearly saw who really leads this government, and who is just acting as a corrective...", says Šehović.
Recalling that the opposition, by definition of political life, is in the minority, Nikolić says that opposition initiatives, therefore, very rarely pass through parliament, and that therefore one cannot speak of failure if one of its proposals does not pass.
"Mandić was elected to the Parliament with the votes of 49 MPs, while in the vote on his dismissal he received the support of only forty-one, which significantly undermined the legitimacy of the Speaker of the Parliament. We can characterize all of this as a limited success for the opposition," the source said.
New forces
If the situation is as it is, what are the potentials of such an opposition? And is it possible for some kind of consolidation to occur? Rade Bojović assesses that the only credible opposition to the current government are non-partisan civic initiatives, alternative political groups, critical non-governmental organizations, independent private media, free-thinking individuals, disappointed citizens and a part of private business “which is a victim of unqualified and selective economic policy”. According to him, they should be united because, he claims, it is certain that such a list would win no less than 15 percent of the vote in the upcoming elections.
"Or, to be more precise - a radical anti-party and pro-European list is needed, inspired by left-wing and liberal ideas, motivated by fair and anti-corruption policies, dedicated to economic recovery, social stability and strengthening public health, environmental protection, revitalization of urban and rural space, anti-fascist practices and secularism...", he says.
Asked whether the parties whose formation is being hinted at, or not ruled out - the party of the head of state could change anything on the opposition scene Jakov Milatović, the first man of Budva Nikola Jovanović, former DPS MP Nikola Janović, Bojović responds that these would be just another in a series of parties that would more or less resemble what is already seen on the political scene.
Nikoleta Đukanović says that she does not see any real space for a serious enlargement of the opposition, but that there is enormous political space for new civic initiatives and political platforms, especially among dissatisfied voters of the previous parties, whether they are old ones (DPS and the former DF), or new structures that have shown old patterns of action (PES, Democrats and GP URA).
"Abstinence and political cynicism are growing because citizens do not see the difference between the government and the opposition...", she notes.
Speaking about possible new parties, the interviewee says that Milatović has no political potential because he failed to use the position of president, nor the enormous support he received in the elections (over 220 thousand votes), and that Janović may have some potential because during his term in parliament he tried to distance himself from old practices and act with more integrity.
The opposition does not directly answer the question of what they need to do to shake up the current government, which they are not able to do. Damir Šehović says that the party he leads has already taken responsibility and that by forming the European Alliance (which also includes the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party) it has shown that the opposition can consolidate, organize and act strategically, not haphazardly.
When it comes to potential new political actors, Šehović underlines that anyone who believes they can contribute to the opposition struggle has the right to organize themselves politically, but that political changes do not depend on the number of new parties, but on the strength and clarity of the alternative.
Without bidding on what the potential new parties could change, Andrija Nikolić says that anyone who thinks that politics alone can prepare the ground for necessary political changes is mistaken. He says that the broader intellectual community, a significant part of which has been passive, must be awakened.
"Respect for the small number of courageous journalists, columnists, satirists and intellectuals who dare to raise their voices against anomalies... The Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts has a scientific and moral obligation to show that the past is not unimportant, and that it should not be subjected to unscientific and political abuses... That is why I would not speak about success in the next elections only from the perspective of current opposition politics, but from a somewhat broader perspective," Nikolić concluded.
The misconception that Mandić cannot join the EU
Along with the opposition narrative that the current ruling majority cannot bring Montenegro into the EU, there is also the one that it cannot enter that community with Andrija Mandić in power.
Nikoleta Đukanović and Rade Bojović believe that this is a misconception.
"I wouldn't say that only the opposition lives in this delusion, but a significant part of the citizens in Montenegro still believe that EU membership is incompatible with the actors from the 1990s who are in power today. And that belief is not without foundation. However, reality is changing... We see that even within the Union itself there are serious democratic deviations... and that the EU, in the case of the Western Balkans, is increasingly considering geopolitical, rather than reformist, arguments."
Therefore, according to Đukanović, the EU is today trying to find mechanisms to cushion the negative impacts that actors such as Mandić may have on the European value system, but at the same time remains open to a scenario in which even such leaders formally lead the country towards membership.
"In this sense, the opposition must decide - whether it will continue to be a passive observer of a process in which it believes that the EU will not allow certain actors, or whether it will seriously engage in the fight for standards and values."
Bojović states that Mandić is a much bigger problem for Montenegro than for Brussels, and that "Eurobureaucrats will look to push Montenegro into the EU with or without Mandić in the next five years."
"So anyone who thinks that Mandić is an insurmountable obstacle to Montenegro's entry into the EU is mistaken..."
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