New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Andrije Mandić yesterday, saying that it is ready for a conciliatory approach and continued cooperation with the Democratic People's Party (DNP) Milan Knežević, returned the "ball" to that party's court, or rather, shifted responsibility for the eventual collapse of their coalition "For the Future of Montenegro" onto it, the analyst assessed. Stefan Djukic.
He believes that the NSD thus made the best possible decision in the new situation, i.e. after the recent departure of the DNP from the state and Podgorica government.
"They have positioned themselves as conciliatory, cooperative, ready for further work," Đukić told "Vijesti", commenting on yesterday's session of all party bodies and NSD officials in Podgorica, at which the current political situation in Montenegro was discussed after Knežević's party moved into opposition.
NSD and DNP have been working together for more than a decade - first in the Democratic Front (DF) coalition, and then in the ZBCG alliance.
The party, led by Assembly Speaker Mandić, announced after yesterday's meeting that they had expressed a unanimous position that the ZBCG coalition should be preserved. The statement also states that the acclamation supported Mandić to, "in fraternal communication" with Knežević, define a "joint approach to all issues close to the Serbian people", because, as they state, "it is precisely unity that makes them stronger". On the same occasion, Mandić was given a mandate to hold talks with the Prime Minister Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement) and all the presidents of the ruling majority parties.
"There is no one-step solution"
As stated in the statement, the meeting confirmed the position that "what the Serbian people have gained with difficulty must not be lost lightly", that is, that they must not discard what they have achieved after entering the executive branch in 2024.
The NSD says that without reliable partners it cannot implement changes "more safely", that it does not want to "slam the door" on cooperation, and that it remains within the parliamentary majority and "stable Government" in order, as they state, to prevent the return of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) to power. They also emphasize that long-standing constitutional and legal problems cannot be resolved all at once, but gradually, with greater support from citizens and MPs.
Last week, the DNP announced that it was leaving the state government and the ruling coalition in Podgorica, and on Monday the Parliament noted the resignations of their representatives from positions in the executive branch - the Deputy Prime Minister. Milun Zogović and the Minister of Transport Maje VukićevićThis was preceded by the Government's refusal to support the DNP's demands to resolve identity issues, namely the introduction of the Serbian language as an official language, amending the Law on Montenegrin Citizenship (introducing dual citizenship with Serbia), and standardizing the tricolor as a "national flag". In addition, the DNP also sought dialogue on the, for them, controversial construction of a wastewater treatment plant in the Zeta settlement of Botun.
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After the DNP's departure to the opposition, the majority at the state level remains stable, while a serious government crisis has arisen in Podgorica, which has called its survival into question.
Knežević recently stated that the party presidency has tasked him with initiating talks with Mandić about the future of the ZBCG coalition as soon as possible. He claims that his relations with the NSD leader will remain friendly even if there is a split, but says that it is unusual for one part of the coalition to be in opposition and the other in government.
Yesterday, the DNP did not respond to "Vijesti"'s questions about when their party bodies would decide on the future of the coalition, when the meeting between Knežević and Mandić would be held, how they would comment on the messages from the session of the NSD party bodies, and how Mandić's party's assessment that "everything that was unresolved or incorrectly constitutionally and legally regulated decades ago" cannot be resolved "in one leap".
A message to partners, voters and foreigners
Stefan Đukić says that the NSD does not want to close the door "to any side".
"Therefore, by advertising ourselves as people ready for cooperation and conversation, we are simultaneously communicating this to other factors in government, but also to our voters and international partners," he said.
When asked whether NSD voters can be satisfied with this, the interviewee replies that among the voters of the so-called pro-Serbian parties there are those who want everything to be resolved radically, extremely and immediately, as well as those who are in favor of going "slowly".
"In the sense of - 'it is important that we have space in government, quiet waters roll down hills, etc.'" adds Đukić.
Therefore, as he states, voters, both of them, have Knežević - who wants things to be resolved quickly, who believes that they have waited long enough, and Mandić who, according to Đukić, says - "slowly, we are changing little by little what we believe was unfair, our time is coming, etc.".
Responding to the question of what the future of ZBCG is, given that one constituent of the coalition is now in power and the other in opposition, Đukić said that the NSD has done the greatest possible good for itself in this situation.
"On the one hand, they are addressing the fact that if something collapses - it's not their fault, they did everything. And if the coalition survives, then they can show themselves as those who were in favor of reconciliation and who made it happen," the source claims.
After the DNP's exit from the government, it is necessary to fill the vacant positions in the executive branch, and as "Vijesti" reported yesterday, they could go to the NSD. A source familiar with developments in the executive branch claims that nothing has been decided yet regarding the filling of the position held by the DNP's Vukićević, but that the option being considered is to award the position to Mandić's party.
When it comes to the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, the second one held by the DNP and held by Zogović, the interviewee said that it remains to be seen "whether that position will remain in that format."
Another source of "Vijesti", which is part of the executive branch Milojko Spajić (Europe Now Movement), claims that "it is certainly moving in the direction" of giving the NSD the position of Minister of Transport, as, as he put it, "a pledge for the sacrifice" that, despite pressure from a part of the public on them after the DNP's exit from the Government, they remain in it. However, this interlocutor states that, if it were decided to give the NSD the transport portfolio, the option is to first "cripple" that ministry with a decree, by excluding an important part from it - the Transport Administration.
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After Vukićević's resignation, announced on Monday, the Government appointed the coordinator of the Ministry of Transport on the same day. Filip Radulović (Europe Now Movement), head of the maritime affairs department. Until the summer of 2024, he headed the unified Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs, from which transport was then separated due to the reconstruction of the Government.
Parliament: DNP MPs move to opposition benches
The exit of the DNP from power will also lead to a reshuffle of seats in the plenary hall of the Parliament, as confirmed to "Vijesti" by the Secretary General of the Parliament, Boban Stanišić.
"We are currently in the process of preparing a new seating arrangement due to the new situation, so that the ZBCG-DNP parliamentary group can be moved to the part of the plenary hall designated for the opposition," he said.
"Vijesti" did not specify where DNP MPs will sit in the future.
MPs from Knežević's party also left the positions in parliamentary committees that belonged to them as the ruling party.
Čarapić: DNP ministers contributed to the development of the country
The head of the Europe Now parliamentary group, Vasilije Čarapić, said yesterday that he was disappointed by the DNP's decision to leave the government because, as he said, they had made a visible contribution to maintaining the majority and adopting "laws from the European agenda."
"Their ministers contributed to the development of the state, and that's why I'm sorry. Milan Knežević's narratives were not based on reality. Such is the narrative surrounding the wastewater treatment plant, which was supposed to be a gathering point for the majority's forces. The DNP instrumentalized identity issues," Čarapić said in a show on RTCG.
He said he believes that the parliamentary majority will "regroup and consolidate" and that they will continue to successfully do their job.
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