Statement by the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić about the "two schools" of those fighting for the rights of Serbs in Montenegro is a reminder to the head of the Montenegrin parliament Andrija Mandić (New Serbian Democracy) on "earlier agreements", and jealousy can also be felt in it because Podgorica "outdid" Belgrade on the way to Brussels. Mandić made a tactical departure from Vučić's policy because he saw that he could profit from it, and with such a move he clearly disappointed the authorities in Belgrade, which are now promoting Milan Knežević (Democratic People's Party) as the "leader" of Serbs in Montenegro.
Thus, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" comment on the meaning of yesterday's Vučić message, but also his renewed involvement in the internal affairs of Montenegro.
Responding to a question from a journalist in Abu Dhabi about why it is a problem for Podgorica to accept Serbian as an official language, Vučić said that it is "their business and let them decide about it."
"You have two schools of thought here - one that considers it a real and essential goal, and the other that formally advocates for it, and will always be in the government, even if they do nothing... The Serbian people who want the protection of their language and who want the Serbian language to be the official language, which is more dominant in Montenegro, will always have the support of Serbia," he said.
Vučić's statement followed Mandić's message the night before last that ministers from his New Serbian Democracy (NSD) would support the demands announced by Knežević's Democratic People's Party (DNP) in the government regarding changes to the Constitution in the language section and the law on citizenship and state symbols, as well as the request related to dialogue on the situation in Botun, where a wastewater treatment plant is to be built.
However, the first man in the Assembly did not say that the NSD would leave the government if these demands were not met, as announced by the DNP. He said that he would talk to Knežević and ask them to make a "rational choice."
"At 60, I am an advocate of rational choice. Everything in its own time...", he added.
Biševac: Belgrade miscalculated
Editor at the Belgrade daily newspaper "Danas", Safeta Biševac She told "Vijesti" that Montenegro had not been in the focus of the authorities in Belgrade, nor the public there, for a relatively long time, but that in recent weeks it has re-emerged as a topic, mainly in pro-regime tabloids and media, some of which broadcast the protests in Botun live.
She stated that these media outlets are trying to convince the Serbian public that even the new authorities in Podgorica are not much better towards Montenegrin Serbs than the "hated" ones. Milo Đukanović.
"Vučić uses every stay abroad to comment on political issues in Serbia and the region, so his comment about the Serbian language in Montenegro is not a surprise," Biševac added.
After the Montenegrin police carried out an action in Botun on December 30th, which ended a two-month protest by the residents of that Zeta settlement against the plan to build a wastewater treatment plant there, the DNP leader entered a police car on his own initiative, and Vučić then claimed that Knežević had been arrested, which was then reported by media close to the local regime.
"... I do not want to interfere in their internal relations, Knežević is the leader of the Serbian people in Montenegro, that is why we expressed our concern. Personally, he is my friend and not only will I not give up that friendship, but I boast about it," Vučić said at the time.
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Knežević said on that occasion that he would propose to the DNP presidency that he leave the “bloody government”, and that, if that party body did not accept his proposal, he would resign from his parliamentary function and the position of party leader. However, the DNP did not leave the executive branch, but would present to the Government at its first regular session demands related to changes to the Constitution, laws and the situation in Botun, while Knežević, despite his promise, did not resign.
Biševac said that Vučić's statements are generally milder than those of other Serbian officials, especially Alexander VulinThe former Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia praised Knežević in mid-November for being a "Serb worthy of his ancestors" because the DNP did not vote for the decision for Montenegro to send soldiers to the aid mission to Ukraine, saying that Mandić's NSD gave the decisive votes for the decision to pass the parliament, which "is not a reason for surprise, but for disgust."
"The official leader of the SNS (Serbian Progressive Party) and former Prime Minister also spoke out about Montenegro." Milos Vucevic, who warned that (Montenegrin Prime Minister Sweetie) Spajic "He would not be the prime minister without the Serb votes and the change of government in Podgorica would not have happened in 2020 without the Serbs," the interviewee states, assessing that it is obvious that official Belgrade, "which always claims to be a factor of peace and stability in the region and that it respects its neighbors," understands and applies this respect in a very strange way.
According to her, the authorities there still cannot accept that Montenegro is an independent state and that it will decide on its own symbols, official language, citizenship, the position of its citizens of Serbian nationality...
"This is pressure on the authorities in Montenegro, but it seems to me that jealousy can also be felt in these reactions because Montenegro has 'outdone' Serbia in EU integration. It is probably also a message to foreign factors - the West, of course, that Serbia in the Western Balkans, in addition to its internal crisis and problems, has some weight and importance and can 'pepper' its neighbors. I am afraid that Belgrade has miscalculated here," Biševac said.
She emphasized that since the events in Botun, the "pro-Serb" media have been presenting Knežević as the "leader of Serbs" in Montenegro, although, according to her, Mandić seemed to have been closer to them before.
"Mandić was seen in Belgrade often, almost as (Milorad) Dodik"He obviously disappointed the authorities in Belgrade with the compromises he accepted with the pro-Montenegrin part of the ruling coalition in Montenegro," she stated.
Biševac adds that promoting Knežević as "some kind of leader of Serbs in Montenegro" seems a bit comical to her, saying that the DNP leader "has neither charisma nor political weight."
Djukanovic: Disturbed relations
Docent at the University "Donja Gorica", Nikoleta Djukanovic She assessed that Vučić's statement indicates that relations within the once unified political bloc that consisted of Mandić and Knežević are no longer as homogeneous as before. Unlike the previous period, says Đukanović, today it is visible that Mandić has made a certain, albeit tactical, but politically significant, departure from Vučić's policy.
"... First of all, because blocking Montenegro's European path no longer suits him. Mandić is aware that he can profit politically from the European process, both in terms of legitimacy and in terms of positioning before the 2027 elections, and that is why he is trying to present himself as a factor of stability, not obstruction," she told "Vijesti".
Mandić's office did not respond to the editorial team's questions yesterday about whether the head of the highest legislative house believes that Vučić's statement was addressed to him, and if so, how he views it.
Đukanović stated that Vučić's message no longer acts as coordination, but as an attempt to exert pressure and remind people of "earlier agreements." According to her, while Knežević acts openly, harshly and ideologically, articulating maximalist demands, Mandić increasingly chooses a pragmatic approach, not necessarily giving up on the same goals, but consciously postponing their implementation because he knows that doing so would now jeopardize the European process and his personal political gain.
"That's why his message 'everything in its own time' is not an expression of a coordinated strategy, but a signal that he is currently setting priorities on his own, and not according to expectations from Belgrade," says the interviewee.
She noted that Vučić's statement about "two schools" in Montenegro is actually a clear signal to his partners that he knows who is doing what - who is playing the long-term game, and who is serving as pressure from within, adding that Vučić does not see Prime Minister Spajić as a relevant interlocutor, and that his communication is directed exclusively towards the structures of the former Democratic Front.
"Vučić's involvement in the issue of the Serbian language in Montenegro is political pressure, but not classic diplomatic pressure on the government, but pressure on his political allies in Montenegro. It is a reminder of the political agreement, of the expectations and of the 'obligations' that, in his understanding, they have towards the electorate they represent," she said.
Đukanović pointed out that this confirmed that identity issues in Montenegro are not an internal issue, but part of a broader regional political strategy in which Montenegro is viewed as an area of political influence, which is precisely why these issues are "timed" - not to be resolved now, but to be the subject of political bargaining before or after the 2027 elections, when the European process is completed or politically concluded.
In other words, she states, it is not disputed that these demands will come on the agenda at some point, but only when it will happen.
"And the answer to that question is not in Podgorica, but in a political agreement that is conducted much broader than the formal institutions of Montenegro," Djukanovic underlines.
Vukićević: The government is not bloody, but we will not wait indefinitely for answers
DNP Vice President and Minister of Transport, Maja Vukićević, said last night in the show "Reflektor" on Television Vijesti that her party is closer to leaving than to remaining in the government.
She announced that the executive session at which they will propose their initiative will most likely be on Thursday of next week, adding that they will not wait indefinitely for the Government's response.
"We will see what the Prime Minister's response will be... We do not expect them to be discussed for the next two years or until the beginning of the mandate of a new Government, but rather to be resolved within a certain period of time."
For the minister, the government is not "bloody", as the head of her party put it.
"I have a mandate from Mr. Knežević to say that he still stands by the fact that certain elements of the Government are, as he says, bloody," she said, explaining that this refers to the Police Directorate.
Vučić supported the "unimportant" Dajković
The day before yesterday, Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović suspended and initiated disciplinary proceedings against the head of the Citizens' Service and leader of Free Montenegro Vladislav Dajković.
Dajković said yesterday that he was "removed because he supported the Serbs in Zeta", and that he was leaving the government in the capital. Aleksandar Vučić said that the authorities in Podgorica did not like Dajković's behavior and that is why they are removing him.
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In late November, Vučić indirectly called Dajković an “unimportant politician.” Speaking about the Ustasha chants of Croatian fans at a football match in Podgorica, the Serbian president said at the time that “apart from Knežević or unimportant politicians, no one important criticized them because they are afraid of their own shadow.”
Dajković was one of those who condemned the chanting of Croatian fans, saying at the time that there was no reaction from the Montenegrin state leadership.
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