Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) MP Mihailo Andjušić said that the resolution of the political crisis depends on the will of Parliament Speaker Andrija Mandić, who is "not ready at any cost" to withdraw the decision to retire Constitutional Court judge Dragana Đuranović.
He said this in the show "Sunday in the Rearview Mirror" on TV Vijesti. The guests of the show were MPs Dražen Petrić (PES) and Mihailo Anđušić (DPS), economic analyst Zarija Pejović, and economic journalist at ND "Vijesti" Goran Kapor.
Andjušić spoke about the agreement that the government offered and the opposition rejected.
"The government did not offer us what were clear demands. They were not ready to withdraw the unconstitutional decision. I see that the public perceives little in the way that they offered a solution to the situation in Budva. What was offered to us, or what we have heard these days, is that the date of the session (Budva Municipal Assembly) has been changed. When that session is held, we will see how this crisis will be resolved. Our request implies that someone allows the election of the President of the Assembly in Budva, potentially later probably also the President of the Municipality, and not that someone shortens the date, withdraws a decision that the Government made in a bizarre way, and returns the date to an earlier period, even though it previously said that it could not do that in an earlier period... I think that this hesitation and confusion in the part of the requests that are subsequently submitted to the majority has created the entire confusion."
Anđušić pointed out that the withdrawal of the decision regarding Judge Đuranović has not been implemented, and that the situation in Budva has not yet been resolved.
"We will know very soon, on February 3rd, whether the situation in Budva will be resolved. If that condition is met, I am optimistic that we can have serious progress in the negotiations, if we find common ground on another issue, related to the Venice Commission."
"Our clear condition was the withdrawal of the decision. We have no problem with sending an opinion to the Venice Commission, we are sure what the epilogue will be, however, some formal or informal deadlines for the VK to comment are about three months. I think that no one in the parliamentary majority would have a problem with withdrawing a decision they made. So, the entire crisis and situation depends on the will of one man, who is not ready to withdraw his decision under any circumstances. That tells you a lot about how ready he is to essentially make an agreement on some reconciliation. I am talking about the Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Mandić," he said.
Andjušić says that the opposition, if Odžić is elected tomorrow or next week, will be ready to sit down at the table again and, based on the demands that they will further clarify, see if they can bring their positions closer together regarding the resolution of the issue of the Constitutional Court judge.
"No one has responded to our third and fourth requests, which are in the initial document (regarding a possible change to the Constitution and the Citizenship Act)."
Europe Now Movement MP Dražen Petrić said that they have repeatedly said that they support a democratic solution to the crisis in Budva - that the session be held and that the citizens' representatives express themselves freely.
"Whatever government they decide to form, we will welcome it, whether we are in power or not. However, Mr. Andjušić said that someone is wavering here. I think that in the case of this proposal of the parliamentary majority, regarding the resolution of the constitutional crisis, it is precisely the DPS that is wavering. 48 hours have passed from our offer to their response. Either it is in the DPS, or there was wavering within this opposition scene. I think that they themselves did not know how to respond to our proposal, because the main demand of the opposition was related to the Constitutional Committee. If you refer to the Venice Commission, which is made up of legal authorities, I think that it is a fair offer and that it is our priority to resolve this issue. If we were to be guided by the fact that we will first see what will happen with Budva, and then possibly talk about other conditions, then that is conditioning. They said today that we are conditioning them with this offer, where they only insist on the VK and nothing else, and he mentioned the second, third or fourth condition. I think that is conditioning and that this crisis "Artificially caused, because the same situation was when the term of Judge Drašković was determined to end, when the DPS abstained," Petrić said.
He says he does not rule out the possibility of reaching an agreement.
"The dialogue has been unblocked after a month, and a new meeting of the Collegium is being announced. From what we hear from the opposition, I don't see any room for agreement on the Constitutional Committee. I expect that, in that dialogue, after Budva, we may still come closer in some positions."
He said that it would not be good for the same scenes to happen in the Budva Municipal Council as before and that it was unconstitutional.
Petrić said that he could not currently answer the question of how long he would wait for the opposition to come out with its final positions after Budva. He said that the least answer for PES is to continue the blockade of parliament.
"I cannot say at this moment how this continuation of work will take place. We have an offer from our side, we have an offer from DPS and their opposition partners... I think that in the first days of next week we will have more information about the further dynamics of the negotiations."
Zarija Pejović, an economic analyst, said that the Constitutional Court "has long been filled with personnel who should be suitable for one party or the other, instead of people of integrity, who will protect the Constitution and the interests of the state, and be politically neutral towards everyone."
He said that politicians are obligated and paid by citizens to find a compromise.
Goran Kapor, an economic journalist at ND Vijesti, said that the aim was to achieve a higher party rating. "What one option does in the state parliament, the other does in the Budva parliament, they behave the same way."
He said that citizens are suffering and reminded that, in addition to the budget, around 40 important laws are in the process.
"It is frivolous to keep Budva and the country in a state where it cannot function normally."
Prices in stores cannot be reduced by a one-day boycott
Kapor, speaking about the one-day boycott of shops last Friday, said that the goal of the boycott is to reduce turnover at retailers, so that they can reduce prices, but that this cannot happen in one day.
Pejović says that citizens have expressed dissatisfaction and sent a message to large distribution chains that, "in some way, they should also show some solidarity" and possibly reduce margins and profits.
He points out that retail chains "have increased their profits many times over the past few years."
MPs Petrić and Anđušić are also members of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget.
Andjušić said that he did not trade on Friday and assessed that a one-day or multi-day boycott would not solve the problem, but that he "respected the civil rebellion."
He says it is scandalous that the message from the Government is that the only sustainable solution to the issue of inflation and prices in stores is a boycott by citizens.
He believes that prices in retail chains are high and "higher than in European metropolises", but he also pointed out that in Montenegro, "unlike other European countries, state-created taxes have increased".
Petrić said that he too boycotted the stores on Friday.
"I stood in solidarity with everyone who called for a boycott on social media. I understood it as a movement that should perhaps result in some pressure on merchants, but not a war with them."
He recalled data showing that "some retail chains have tripled their net profit, while they are talking about a minimal margin". "There has been an increase in their turnover, so there is room for them to further reduce their margins in that area".
He says it is not true that Spajić said that a boycott is the only viable solution to fighting inflation.
Poll: 94 percent of citizens support continuation of boycott
A survey was conducted on Television and Portal Vijesti asking whether the boycott of shops in Montenegro should be continued.
2.500 people voted, of which 94 percent were in favor of continuing the boycott, and six percent were against.
Petrić: Only when responsibility for Cetinje and Bijelo Polje is established, I think Spajić is ready to make a decision
Petrić, speaking about the mass murder in Cetinje, said that "you cannot predict some bloody riots, nor is that possible in Montenegro, nor in much more developed countries in terms of security."
The informal student group "Where Are We Tomorrow" is demanding the dismissal of Interior Minister Danilo Šaranović and Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Bečić.
Petrić does not believe that the current protests and the announced continuation of the blockades can destabilize the government, but that this is not the point, but that "we need to listen to what the demands are."
When asked if it could lead to resignations, he says:
"I don't know, Mr. Spajić was very clear, not only is it a moral act, but an evaluation should also be carried out, which is possible if the minister's responsibility is reviewed in the Cetinje case and perhaps in the murder in Bijelo Polje. Only when responsibility is established in both cases, I think Mr. Spajić is ready to make a decision. At the moment, he was very clear that it was a moral act of an individual."
Andjušić disagreed that Spajić was clear.
"Whoever understands any of his messages on this topic, for example the famous press that happened after the tragedy, who understands his messages and the way he plans to approach responsibility in the case of ministers, his own responsibility, etc., I would like someone to explain it to me."
He believes that the moral responsibility of Bečić and Šaranović is undeniable and that the students' demand that the Prime Minister propose to the Parliament the dismissal of the minister is completely realistic.
"We saw that he wouldn't do that. I think we will have a crisis in that area as well," said Andjušić, explaining that he believes that the crisis will be caused "probably by civil rebellion and protests."
He assesses that "there is probably no" personal responsibility, but that the "moral responsibility" of Bečić and Šaranović is indisputable, and that "all socio-political actors" will confirm this.
Kapor believes that the group "Kamo śutra" made several mistakes at the start.
"Initially, they directed their dissatisfaction only towards the Ministry of the Interior and the police. However, when we look at what happened in the two cases, with Borilović and Martinović, we see that these individuals had certain psychological problems, had been violent before, but despite everything they did, they were neither under the control of the health authorities, nor did they have final judgments."
The first request, he says, should have been to determine what happened there, and not just on the day of the crime.
He also says that it was a mistake that the students did not immediately "distance themselves from some characters". "And on the support lists there are people they call respectable people. In my opinion, a good part of the people there cannot bear the term respectable person, a man who has a criminal record, who destroyed a good part of the economy, left behind former workers as social cases... Many citizens cannot identify with that".
Pejović said that the smaller number of demonstrators compared to the current protests in Serbia "does not diminish the legitimacy of the sadness and despair that people in Montenegro feel" due to the events in Cetinje.
"Although there were several problematic individuals at the gathering, the biggest problem is that there were only a few police officers in Cetinje that evening. Why wasn't the lesson learned from the previous crime and why wasn't the police station elevated to a security center in Cetinje in the meantime," he asked.
He called on MPs to conduct a parliamentary investigation to determine what happened in Cetinje. He also said that the prosecution should conduct a reconstruction of the event and determine whether there was any objective responsibility.
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