It is unlikely that the new leadership of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) will make a move away from bad practices and former officials who are tied to various affairs, according to "Vijesti" interlocutors.
They also remind that it was talked about almost imperceptibly during the campaign for internal party elections in DPS.
As "Vijesti" previously wrote, the candidates for president and vice-president of the DPS claimed during the campaign that the DPS recognized the mistakes and problems that caused it to lose three decades of power on August 30, 2020. However, they did not specify the mistakes, nor did they talk about one problem that marked the time of their ruling the country, such as criminal affairs, corruption, abuse of institutions... They only stated that the attitude towards some of the members "was inadequate, that perhaps there was not enough support , empathy".
The President of the Municipality of Bar, a member of the Assembly and a candidate for the Vice President of the DPS was somewhat more precise Dušan Raičević who said in an interview with "Vijesta" in mid-January that it is time to thank some DPS members and move on, but one of them is not the former president of the party and the state Milo Djukanovic.
Ana Nenezic from the Institute for Socio-Political Research Analitiko believes that the party elections could have been a significant step forward and a novelty in the operation of the DPS, but they experienced a fiasco in implementation.
"DPS missed another opportunity to consolidate its ranks, strengthen the offer on the political market in terms of personnel and thus build bridges to other political entities, potential allies," Nenezić told "Vijesta".
The DPS membership elected on Sunday, in the first direct party elections Danijela Živković for the president of that party, a Aleksandr Vuković Kuč, Abaz Dizdarević, Ivan Vuković i Jevta Erakovic for vice presidents. Since April last year, Živković was the acting head of DPS, after the resignation of Milo Đukanović, and was the only candidate for party president, while the new face in the innermost leadership is Vuković Kuč, who took the place Sanje Damjanović, who resigned at the end of last year.
Nenezić assessed that, through the way the campaign was conducted and public appearances, especially during the election day, the DPS showed that it underestimated its voters, persistently refusing to make a departure from the bad practices, personnel and actions of the previous group, which by its direct actions brought the party into a serious crisis. .
Program director of NGO Uzor Marko Pejović he said that very shyly and almost imperceptibly during the campaign for intra-party elections, there was talk of getting rid of former officials who are connected to a different affair, and especially not of Đukanović.
"If I'm not mistaken, only one candidate for vice-president of the party spoke about it and that in the way of 'it's time to thank certain members', but far from pointing out their practices as a bad example and how they will not act in that way ", Pejović told "Vijesti".
He believes that, as he says, such an approach will continue and that it can be expected that potentially one of those officials will formally resign from membership in the DPS or that he will absolutely withdraw from the public as someone who is recognizable as part of the DPS which tends to negative practices.
"But it is highly unlikely that the new leadership would completely remove them. At the same time, it is not certain that such an approach would be desirable to political entities in the future in the context of coalitions at the central and local level, but I believe that the new leadership will work on a model that would at least ostensibly present DPS as a desirable coalition partner with the new leadership," he said. .
He believes that since the departure of Đukanović from the DPS leadership position, the rhetoric and actions of that party's representatives have not changed significantly, which was confirmed by the narrative that characterized the campaign and the party forums that were held within the DPS internal party elections.
"Simply, identity issues will continue to be the focus of this party, and it is unlikely that this focus will change in the foreseeable future," he said.
The elections served to promote the future leadership
Pejović assessed that the direct intra-party elections in DPS served significantly more to promote the future leadership of the party, which began after the formal departure of Đukanović from the position of party president, than the real aspiration was for members of a political party to have the right to vote and participate in this way in the election of the party leadership.
Nenezić says that the first direct internal party elections in Montenegro did not bring the expected results, because the basic prerequisites for them to be considered direct, democratic elections were not met.
As she said, they were not pluralistic, and voters did not have the option of choosing between several candidates, and more importantly, party members could not choose between several different programs and visions for the further development of the party, society and Montenegro.
"Essentially, we witnessed the election for the vice-presidents of the DPS, with only a few candidates, a very predictable outcome, without real competition or differences in approach and deliberations on how the DPS should be reformed in order to strengthen their coalition capacity and stop the continuous decline in voter support , as well as what new ideas, policies and teams should be promoted for that purpose", she assessed.
She sees the only benefit of the elections conducted in this way in visiting the party infrastructure and mobilizing the membership.
"However, I doubt that this was the intention, and it is certainly not a good indicator of what immediate internal party elections actually mean," she said.
"Milović diverts attention from affairs he refuses to comment on"
Commenting on the congratulatory letter sent by an official of the Europe Now Movement (PES) and the Minister of Justice to the new president of the DPS, Nenezić said that she recognizes in his actions a deflection, i.e. a redirection of attention from the affairs that are increasingly linked to his actions, and about which Milović refuses to comment. declare himself and provide an adequate explanation to the public.
"Mr. Milović, given his political experience, could have expected a strong reaction from the public, primarily from PES voters, and especially from other parties in the parliamentary majority. Also, it is clear that it was not done out of carelessness or oversight, but with the intention of diverting attention from other, bigger and potentially more harmful topics," she said.
However, he believes that Milović's congratulatory message can be viewed from several angles.
According to her, the fact that it was sent without prior agreement and consent within the political entity of which he is a high-ranking official indicates either a lack of consent in the actions of this political entity, or a strategic approach in preparing the public for the upcoming political turn.
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"Which of the stated motives encouraged Milović, depends on whether he had the support and tacit consent of the president of PES, Mr. (Milojko) Spajić, for this political move. I would say that it is not, especially after the public defection of PES in relation to the procedure of Milovic, emphasizing that it was a personal act", said Nenezić.
A source from the top of PES told "Vijesta" that he believes that Milović's congratulation to Živković was given on his behalf, as a sporting gesture.
Nenezić says that it is expected that the Minister of Justice acts in accordance with the guidelines and views of the party from which he comes, as well as the parliamentary majority by whose votes he was elected to that position.
"Independent action, without prior consultation, can lead to misunderstandings and disagreements within the political coalition, which can already be seen as a consequence. However, the question is whether his action was undertaken precisely for that purpose, that is, whether it represents the preparation of the ground and the public for a political turn that is being talked about more and more loudly, and which I think is not a realistic option at the moment, or whether it contains a different motive", she stated.
Marko Pejović believes that considering that it is one of the highest officials of PES, it is interpreted as a congratulation on behalf of the party.
"The message indicates that they see the new leadership as desirable for new forms of cooperation," he said.
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