Holder of the "Together" coalition list and acting president of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Danijel Zivkovic, said that he is convinced that the next government must be European, politically stable and reformist, and that it cannot be formed without that coalition.
Živković said in an interview with "Vijesta" that he will not comment on the statements of the officials of the Europe Now Movement (PES) that there is nothing about the formation of a joint government between PES and the coalition "Together" after the parliamentary elections on June 11.
"We are witnessing the devaluation of public speech on the political scene of Montenegro. The philandering policy we have had in Montenegro for the last three years has also led to the reconciliation of Democrats and Ura, reunification Marko Milačić i Vladislav Dajković, the breakup of the Democratic Front (DF) into several political elements and the often publicly opposing positions of the PES leadership. That is why we do not deal with arithmetic and skirmishes, but with principles - without us it is not possible to form a European Government".
During the campaign, did you get the impression that your supporters find it unusual that this time you are talking about concrete increases in wages and pensions, instead of national issues?
I believe not. The Democratic Party of Socialists has traditionally dealt with topics that involve improving the living standards of citizens. This was also the case during the economic consolidation of the system in the 30s, and the establishment of monetary stability by introducing the mark and then the euro, as well as when, from the restoration of independence until August 2020, 11, we attracted XNUMX billion euros in direct foreign investments.
Therefore, we have continuously been engaged in improving the quality of life, not only through the growth of salaries, pensions and social benefits, but also through the improvement of road infrastructure, the construction of new schools, kindergartens and health institutions. You may be right about one thing - we should have talked more about it, that is, presented our results better. Nevertheless, we had a serious and stable state policy that was focused on achieving concrete results, and not on cheap PR tricks and manipulations, as our political competition is doing now.
Did you take those topics off the agenda because you realized that citizens vote for those who offer to improve standards, or do you no longer consider the state to be under threat?
The topic of affirming Montenegrin statehood, independence and sovereignty is always in the focus of the activities of the Democratic Party of Socialists. I believe that it is not necessary to emphasize how important it is to affirm the fundamental referendum values of civic, anti-fascist and sovereign Montenegro. Especially if we take into account the fact that in the stadiums we can hear chants of "knife, wire, Podgorica", that the leadership of the Municipality of Zeta threatens - I guess the municipality, with the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo or when the president of the Municipality of Pljevlja indirectly tells us that state symbols are not valid for him.
If you add to that the fact that battles are being fought for our cities from neighboring countries - such as the one for Nikšić, and the ghosts of various "worlds" and large-state projects roam the region, I believe that one should not be particularly wise and conclude how important it is that everyone together, every day , we contribute to the affirmation of the fundamental values of modern Montenegro, which is an independent, sovereign, civil, anti-fascist and European state.
Coalition "Together!" announces that in four years it will increase salaries by 50 percent and pensions by 20 percent. How do you intend to achieve this within the planned period, and how do you intend to provide funds for these purposes?
In contrast to our political competition, we will not engage in economic populism and administrative games that fictitiously pour from hollow to empty while the state is endlessly in debt.
Our program offers concrete measures aimed at creating a stable economic basis for improving the quality of life of citizens of Montenegro.
In short, through an investment cycle of one billion euros of investments in infrastructure, energy, agriculture and tourism, development of the IT industry, improvement of the business environment, we will create new economic value, provide new budget revenues and, without new debts, increase salaries and pensions in Montenegro. with the creation of new jobs.
And we don't promise anything that is unrealistic. During the governments formed by the constituents of the coalition "Together!" the biggest projects in the history of Montenegro were made: the first section of the highway, the underwater energy cable between Montenegro and Italy, the development of ski resorts in the north, Porto Montenegro, Portonovi, Luštica Bay and many others. The scope of our political competition for three years was such that not only did they not manage to set up a smart bench in any of the cities in Montenegro, but there were no public calls for any serious infrastructure project.
In the period from 2015 to 2019, when DPS was in power, the average salary increased by only six percent. Why wasn't the growth you promise possible then, but now it is?
The focus of state policy in the area of public finances was on the sustainability of public finances and investments in infrastructure. I will remind you that we also had a surplus of current consumption, and increasingly reduced the need for borrowing for the capital budget. I am deeply convinced that, in case we won the elections, by the end of 2024, we would create assumptions that we would have a surplus of both current consumption and the capital budget, and that we would be able to repay the debts from our own revenues. Additionally, those were the years in which capital budgets were spent in amounts exceeding 200 million euros per year, in contrast to the current modest few tens of millions. So, we created, earned and built, in contrast to borrowing and economic populism that we have at work now.
However, unlike those years, the focus of our work in the next Government will be on improving the living standards of citizens and Montenegro's membership in the European Union.
Since you announced that the recent president of the DPS, Milo Đukanović, would participate in the election campaign, did he do it and how did he do it?
President Đukanović participated in the campaign through participation in several conventions and events that were public, but also in a large number of events that had an internal character. In addition, the immeasurable contribution that Đukanović continuously gives to us who are representatives of the younger generation in the leadership of the party is also reflected in the daily conversations, advice and suggestions that are extremely valuable for the political architecture of the Democratic Party of Socialists.
You announce that you will be in the future government, but PES, which is expected to have a prime minister, claims that it will not be with you. With whom do you think you will form the government, and have you discussed it with PES?
Let's try to put things in principle, not at the level of arithmetic and daily politics. We are deeply convinced that the next Government of Montenegro must be European, politically stable and reformist. Also, we are sure that the majority that would form such a Government cannot be reached without the participation of the "Together!" coalition. Regarding the statements of colleagues from PES, we would not overly comment on the seriousness of such allegations. Namely, we are witnessing the devaluation of public speech on the political scene of Montenegro. The philandering policy we have had in Montenegro for the last three years has also led to the reconciliation of Democrats and Ura, reunification Marko Milačić i Vladislav Dajković, the disintegration of the DF into several political elements and the often publicly opposed positions of the PES leadership. That is why we do not deal with arithmetic and fights, but with principles - without us it is not possible to form a European Government.
What will be the response of DPS if the trend of falling support of citizens continues in these elections?
The Democratic Party of Socialists always actively responds to what the public expects. I will remind you that after the parliamentary elections we held an extraordinary Congress of the party at which the Presidency and the Main Committee were established, and that despite the 155.000 votes won, President Đukanović resigned as the leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists after the presidential elections. In contrast, we see that (Aleksa) Becic, (Dritan) Abazovic and (Andrew) Mandic still unencumbered by the helmsmen of their parties, although the two candidates supported by their three parties won a combined 20.000 votes less than Đukanović in the first round of the presidential elections. Therefore, responsibility and reform is not something new for DPS. It seems like it would be news to everyone else.
Will you also like v. d the president of the party to do something to change her image because part of the public recognizes her as responsible for many criminal affairs and bad practices?
It seems to me that part of the public recognizes her exactly as some media and political subjects have tried to present her for decades in order to gain political points and lower the rating of the Democratic Party of Socialists. The results and facts that remain permanently speak for us, not the short-term perceptions that are created through various communication channels.
However, I believe that our results, which averaged around 30 percent after August 30, clearly speak in favor of the fact that the citizens trust us, and that they are not victims of an intense media campaign that seeks to demonize the DPS in every way. This, of course, does not mean that there were no objective weaknesses and mistakes that led us to a situation where the voters on August 30 refused to trust us by a few thousand votes. All the results after that are the dominant consequence of the inertia of changes after decades of government. And yet, regardless of failures and weaknesses, there were many more good things and historical achievements, which, among other things, are the recipe for our long tenure in power.
Do you expect the support of PES and GP URA in Pljevlja for the dismissal of Dario Vraneš, given the announcement that they will not decorate the city with national flags in the future?
We expect that the majority of councilors in the Pljeval parliament will say yes to the dismissal of the President of the Municipality, Dario Vraneš. Regardless of the result of the election, I am sure that almost no one in Pljevlja voted for the statements that could be heard from the President of the Municipality, nor for the personnel policy that implies religious segregation. The replacement of Vraneš is not a question of political relations and calculations, but of common sense and a relationship towards the city that all of us who are from Pljevlje should love equally, regardless of political differences.
What kind of message is being sent to citizens and the state if its symbols are not recognized by the mayor?
I would say that it is more a message of the environment we live in after August 30 and one of the most striking examples that not every change is for the sake of change. Nevertheless, I am sure that the citizens will say that enough was enough of such an environment on August 30 and that after the parliamentary elections, a stable, European and reform government will be formed, whose coalition "Together!" be an indispensable part.
The same principle applies to the "apartments" affair and the arrest of Milošević and Božović...
Your party announced that the hearings of its officials in connection with the "apartments" affair were politically motivated and the result of political pressure. Would you have thought the same if the hearings had started earlier?
To be precise - we said that the hearings timed during election week were politically motivated and the result of the political process. As for the proceedings themselves, I will not surprise you if I tell you that I will not comment on the ongoing proceedings and that we absolutely respect the presumption of innocence of everyone involved in the process. I repeat that we are guided by principles, so we had the same attitude when it came to the arrest of Rado Milošević, Milo Božović and our political competitors.
We are not Dritan Abazović to draw targets, dictate indictments and write verdicts before the proceedings have even started. We believe that everyone who is in court proceedings must have the right to a fair trial within a reasonable time, and that decisions must be made by independent and independent courts, and in order to create the conditions for such a thing, political support is necessary, which implies the absence of pressure from political subjects and agents on the work of the prosecution and courts.
A minority government for boyhood dreams, and now it is looking for salvation in the Democrats
Đukanović said that Abazović's government will be remembered as the worst in the political history of Montenegro. Do you feel responsible that she was elected by your votes?
No. There are several reasons for such a thing. First, the Democratic Party of Socialists denied support to Dritan Abazović's government already after 100 days of its mandate. Second, Abazović and (Vladimir) Jokovic received support solely thanks to the fact that we invested in a qualified majority of 49 MPs in order to renew Montenegro's European path and take advantage of the opportunity that appeared to restart the process of closing the negotiations.
Finally, thirdly - Abazović received the support of the Democratic Party of Socialists with a clear European agenda that was supposed to contribute to the affirmation of state interests. Instead, he decided to use the minority Government to fulfill his boyhood dreams with an agenda that is personal, private and in my opinion - anti-state. The result of such actions is the circumstance that Abazović and the URA no longer have a census, so they had to seek parliamentary survival in the arms of the Democrats - the same ones they accused of being collaborators of the Škaljar clan and of being a political umbrella for murder. Duško Jovanović. It is possible, however, that Abazović did not think so because, as the Democrats said - there is no one he reached out to whom he did not deceive.
Bonus video:
