New times, new answers, new partners? What is Mandić's "new Serbian answer to new times"?

New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Andrije Mandić seeks to demonstrate, through a “new Serbian response to new times,” that modern Serbian national politics need not be in conflict with European integration, but that national interests can be pursued through institutions and within the framework of Montenegro’s European path. Such a response would also mean a break with the habit of importing political legitimacy as a “second-hand set” from the neighborhood, but it is currently unknown whether it also represents a break with old partners within the state.

Thus, the interlocutors of "Vijesti" comment on what the "new Serbian response to the new times" could mean for the political direction of the NSD in the period ahead.

This slogan was first used by Mandić at a parliamentary session last week. In a debate with the head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), he Andrija Nikolić, said that "the era of dark communism is over," and that the time for agreement is coming.

"As for the Serbian people - a new Serbian answer for a new time. Anyone who thinks they can do it another way, and with the old formulas that divided us, and brought no benefit to the Serbian people, except for individuals, should continue and we wish them luck," Mandić said at the time, having said on several occasions that "the same goal can be achieved by different means."

Yesterday, the NSD explained for the first time what the "new Serbian response to the new times" should represent. A member of the party Jovan Vučurović He announced that the new Serbian response is the fact that Serbian politicians in Montenegro will bring the country into the European Union (EU) and "be the first to achieve the foreign policy goal that our compatriots in Serbia and Republika Srpska, or Bosnia and Herzegovina, are also advocating for, and which will once again enable us all to be together."

"The new Serbian answer is that Serbian politicians from Montenegro will do everything to make this reunification happen and help our compatriots on their European path... The new Serbian answer is that Serbs are no longer just observers. At the table. Where decisions are made... The new Serbian answer is for the future of Montenegro, and those who want to remain part of its past, together with those who shaped that past, should finally publicly legitimize themselves," he assessed.

The NSD announced a "large rally" under that slogan for July 15th in Berane.

Breaking out of old patterns

Political scientist Miloš Perović He told "Vijesti" that "the new Serbian answer for the new time" is primarily a political slogan for now, not a developed political program, which leaves room for different interpretations, adding that Mandić is trying to send two messages with this slogan. According to him, the first is that he believes that the phase of politics that was almost exclusively based on identity issues and opposition activities is over, and that now we need to build influence through institutions and participation in government.

"The second, perhaps more important message, is that the NSD wants to present itself as a political center around which the Serbian electorate should gather," he said.

Perović says that when Mandić adds that the "old formulas" have not benefited the Serbian people, except for individuals, it is difficult to avoid the impression that he is addressing not only political opponents, but also former partners who, together with the NSD, have shaped this policy for years, stating that such rhetoric can easily be understood as an attempt to shift responsibility for previous failures onto others, while the NSD presents itself as the bearer of a new political course.

The interlocutor points out that it is obvious that the NSD, as a party that is today part of the government, has clearly recognized both the political benefit and strategic importance of Montenegro's European integration.

"Unlike the previous period, when their rhetoric was predominantly focused on identity issues, they are now trying to present themselves as a political actor that understands the new geopolitical and internal circumstances. It seems that the NSD is trying to establish a correspondence between the interests of the state of Montenegro and the interests of all its citizens, including citizens of Serbian nationality," he underlined.

He claims that this is precisely where one can recognize the NSD's attempt to break away from the old matrices of political divisions that have long characterized their activities.

Perović states that the NSD, as the ruling party, is now trying to show that modern Serbian national politics does not have to be in contradiction with European integration, but that national interests can be achieved through institutions and within the framework of Montenegro's European path.

"In this context, Mandić's message about 'a new Serbian response for a new time' should be understood - as an attempt to announce a political transformation and a new positioning of the party," the interlocutor assessed.

He said that at the same time, one gets the impression that the NSD's intention is to profile itself as an acceptable and credible partner, both within Montenegro and in the international community, and to demonstrate a greater degree of political independence compared to the previous period, when political opponents often presented it as a party under the dominant influence of Belgrade.

Their people in their own country

For the historian and editor of the portal "Žurnal.me" Vuk Bačanović The new Serbian response is to accept the fact that Serbs in Montenegro are their own people in their own state.

"Not guests, not temporary tenants, not a political exhibit activated before the elections, but the foundation of Montenegrin statehood and its history. The one who is the foundation of the house does not need to constantly prove that he lives in it. If someone finds the thesis that Serbs in Montenegro should independently shape their political will debatable, then it would be good to explain it publicly," he told "Vijesti".

Bačanović pointed out that a new Serbian response would also have to mean breaking with the habit of importing political legitimacy as a "second-hand set" from the neighborhood.

"If (the former head of state, government and DPS) Milo Đukanović "...the Belgrade center of power came to power, and we know that it did, then the DPS later just changed the tutor: where Belgrade once stood, Zagreb is now crystallising more and more clearly, as the sponsor, advisor and moral accountant of a policy that has never learned to walk without holding someone else's sleeve," the interlocutor assessed.

He asserted that Serbs in Montenegro are not newcomers, nor are they a Serbian diaspora in their own country, but that they are inscribed in its toponyms, cemeteries, brotherhoods, language, anti-fascist struggle, church and civic institutions, and in the memory of the Hills, the coast, and old Montenegro.

"So, not as a souvenir in someone else's showcase, but as a supporting wall of the house. Serbs in Montenegro, therefore, have enough history, intelligence and political rights to conduct their own politics. DPS, it seems, constantly needs someone from the outside to explain to them who is legitimate in Montenegro and who has temporarily gone astray. The new Serbian response should start precisely from rejecting that humiliating lesson," concluded Bačanović.

According to him, this does not in the least mean renouncing fraternal and friendly relations with Serbia - quite the opposite. Bačanović underlines that fraternity is not the same as political tutelage, and that, just as it is natural to cultivate the best relations with Serbia, it is also natural to reject any policy, no matter where it comes from, that turns Serbs in the Balkans into a means of regional conflicts or pits them against other nations, and even among themselves.

Bačanović says that such an approach is an equally important lesson for Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina - to be your own person, deeply rooted in the country you live in, to build it as your own, and to reject any underestimation of your own political capacity.

"Political maturity begins the moment you stop looking for a tutor and accept that you are responsible for your own decisions. It is a more difficult path, but it is the only one that can produce a serious national policy in the long term in the current geopolitical circumstances," the interlocutor said.

“Tutor” in Belgrade, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, did not look favorably on the beginning of the procedure for amending the Constitution, saying that the MPs who voted "hate Serbs" because "you don't give them the Serbian language, the tricolor, and you promised all that," while tabloids under his control "opened fire" at Mandić.

DNP: Spin will have no effect

That the "new Serbian response" has caused waves in that part of the political scene can be proven by a statement by a member of the Presidency of the Democratic People's Party (DNP). Zoran Čolaković, who said the day before yesterday that their previous coalition partners are "waving the slogan of the 'Serbian response', trying to score quick political points on the emotions of the people", and that this is "marketing Serbification".

However, although it can be concluded that Čolaković directed his address to the NSD and Mandić, the DNP claims that this is not the case.

"The attempt to spin with the intention of politically pitting DNP and NSD will have no effect. It is not only the Serbs from NSD in the parliamentary majority and the Government, it is not only Andrija Mandić who spoke about the new Serbian response, but also the Prime Minister (Sweetie) Spajic, Deputy Prime Minister Filip Ivanovic, Vice President of the Assembly Boris Pejović, epistle Branka Markovic", who all gained positions on the wave of Serbism from which they now lead anti-Serb politics," the party told "Vijesti".

They stated that all of these politicians were their coalition partners, and that Čolaković "only stated the truth and the obvious that bothers many."

Although Spajić, Ivanović, Pejović and Marković spoke about the Serbian people on several occasions, they did not mention the "Serbian response".

Čolaković's statement is not the only example of disagreements between the DNP and the NSD, long-time coalition partners. The two parties were on opposite sides when Srdjan Peric elected as the head of the Podgorica parliament, and for a short time there were tensions due to the DNP's initiative to withdraw recognition of Kosovo in some Montenegrin municipalities.

When DNP announced support for Perić, NSD councilor in the Podgorica parliament Jelena Milosevic she said that this decision was the party's Milan Knežević surprising, adding that "the DPS must not be allowed to return to power." Regarding the DNP initiative on Kosovo, the Pljevlja NSD committee initially announced that it would not support the proposal, as it wanted to see what effects the decision had in Zeta. DNP MP Vladislav Bojović On that occasion, he asked whether the NSD's seats were more important than "recognition" of Kosovo, but the NSD changed its decision a few days later and still supported the DNP's initiative.

When asked whether these examples are an indication that the cooperation between the two parties is coming to an end, Miloš Perović replied that he would not draw a final conclusion that this is a definitive breakup or the end of the coalition based solely on public polemics, but that it is evident that disagreements between the NSD and the DNP have become more frequent and that they no longer take place behind closed doors, but through public statements and mutual criticism.

He stated that for now it can be said that there are political tensions and estrangement between the NSD and the DNP, but that it would be premature to claim that the coalition has formally ended without a clear confirmation or decision from both sides.

Vuk Bačanović agreed with Perović. He said that it would be quite frivolous to predict the end of any coalition based on a few harsh statements.

"What is clear, however, is that there is a dispute among the partners about what Serbian politics in Montenegro actually means today. That is why I would be cautious about claiming that the coalition is over," he said.