In Montenegro, following the results of parliamentary elections, anti-NATO and pro-Russian politicians came to power, writes Evropeyska Pravda. It is possible that Russophile ministers are ready to change the course of the country.
It took Montenegro five months to form a majority after early parliamentary elections and appoint a new government. Perhaps the coalition could have lasted longer, but the deadline was running out, after which the country would have to go to another early election.
In the end, the problem was that the winner of the June elections, the Europe Now party, could not decide who would become its coalition partner. There were only two options: either the Democratic Pariah of the Socialists (DPS), associated with the previous president Milo Djukanovic (pro-Western, but with a powerful corruption trail), or the pro-Serbian (and pro-Russian) opposition.
In the end, a difficult choice was made – Serbian parties will become a coalition partner. However, they promised to stick to a pro-Western course and seek Montenegro's accession to the EU. The question is whether such promises can be trusted. And whether this will lead to a reversal of Montenegro's foreign policy.
A pro-Western coalition?
After a discussion that lasted seven and a half hours, the Parliament of Montenegro elected a new government of the country. Forty-six deputies out of eighty-one voted for him, nineteen were against and one abstained. Milojko Spajic, leader of the pro-European movement "Europe Now" (PES), Minister of Finance and Social Security in the government the year before last, became the new Prime Minister.
The new Prime Minister declared acceleration of Montenegro's accession to the European Union as his priority. The government program also notes that Montenegro will continue to fully adhere to the existing foreign and security policy of the European Union, will be a "reliable member" of NATO and will develop good-neighborly relations.
Translated from political to generally understandable language, this means that Montenegro, during the reign of the Spaich government, is going to adhere to the EU sanctions policy against Russia, will not initiate withdrawal from NATO, and also does not plan to withdraw recognition of neighboring Kosovo.
The new government with a declared pro - European orientation includes:
- eleven representatives of the Europe Now movement (Prime Minister and ten ministers),
- Six representatives of "Democratic Montenegro" (two Deputy Prime Ministers and four ministers),
- two representatives of the Socialist People's Party (two ministers, one of whom will be Deputy Prime Minister at the same time),
- three representatives of Albanian parties (three ministers, one of whom is the Deputy Prime Minister).
An important point: none of the political forces represented in the government leadership can be called categorically anti-Western, radically pro-Serbian and openly pro-Russian. However, there is no escaping the truth – anti-NATO, pro-Serbian and pro-Russian sentiments in the highest levels of the new government of Montenegro will still be present.
Russophile Ministers
What is known about the new Montenegrin ministers? Thus, the Deputy Prime Minister for Demography and Youth and the Minister of Sports and Youth Dragoslav Shchekic, Vice-president of the Socialist People's Party of Montenegro, inaugurated in Beran in 2020 (then he was the mayor of the city)... monument to Soviet Marshal Zhukov.
The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Montenegro Vladislav Maslenikov, which is natural, since the installation of the monument took place with the support of the Russian Embassy. "I sincerely believe that we will continue our joint struggle on the path of anti–fascism and the cultivation of traditions and values, we will return cooperation and friendship between Montenegro and Russia to the highest level," Shchekic stressed at the time.
Another most colorful episode is the Foreign Minister, scientist Philip Ivanovich, who opposed Montenegro's accession to NATO. In particular, in 2014, in an article for the newspaper Vijesti, he wrote that "joining NATO is neither a military, economic, or moral interest of Montenegro, nor is it a reflection of its historical or future identity." "Joining NATO does not reduce, but on the contrary, increases the danger of terrorism," he argued, adding that "the idea that NATO brings peace can only be acceptable to those who are ready to justify the "war for peace" (that is, the Serbian-Montenegrin attack on Dubrovnik in 1991).
"The Alliance is guided by the geopolitical and economic interests of its strongest members, and not by some pacifist policy and international law... Whenever it was in its interests, the alliance ignored international law and the UN, as, in particular, it was during the attack on Yugoslavia," the current foreign minister of a NATO member country stressed.
Another opponent of the alliance is the Minister of Justice Andrei Milovich. In October 2014, he attended a military parade in Belgrade – then the Serbian capital was visited by Russian President Vladimir Putin (recall that at that time the conflict in Ukraine had been going on for several months).
In a "casual" interview, Milovic then praised Serbia's military might and spoke about Montenegro's friendship with Russia. "I expect that Vladimir Putin will raise friendly relations with us. And we in Montenegro will tell him that we don't all think like the government (then the Democratic Party of Socialists headed by Milo Djukanovic was in power in Montenegro. – Ed.). I think that Russia has been a friend of Montenegro since the time of Petrovic (Negos), and we simply do not need to turn away from it in difficult times because of small or large political interests, because Russia will be there when we need it again... We know how it was when the West was against us in 1999, and we know how the Russians were our friends," the current Montenegrin minister said at the time.
But the most prominent representative of the "anti-NATO-pro-Serbian-pro-Russian faction" of the Montenegrin authorities is the newly elected Speaker of the Parliament of Montenegro, Andrija Mandic, who was voted for a day earlier.
Speaker with experience of a coup d'etat
The position of the Speaker of the Parliament was part of the general "coalition package". After a long political bidding, the current government coalition agreed to give the speaker's chair to the leader of the "New Serbian Democracy" and the political bloc "For the Future of Montenegro" Andriy Mandic. In 2016, Mandic was accused of an attempted coup on the day of the parliamentary elections. Together with Milan Knezevic, the current partner in the "For the Future of Montenegro" bloc, Mandic was sentenced to five years in prison in 2019. But after the change of power in 2020, the verdict was overturned in the Court of Appeal. The retrial of the case formally continues to this day.
However, about this story, as well as about other episodes of Mandich's political life, for example, a meeting with Putin after the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the new government and its supporters prefer not to remember. As well as dubious episodes from the biographies of newly elected officials who seem to remain behind the scenes.
In addition, in exchange for positions, all of them have not really publicly opposed the goals declared by the new government recently – and this, let me remind you, is the extension of sanctions against Russia, tolerance for the recognition of Kosovo and membership in NATO. But what can we expect from the further activities of the representatives of the new government of Montenegro – a return "to the sources" or a final "change of shoes"?
The second Serbian attempt
The West is now demonstrating the belief that "everything will be fine" in Montenegro, although concern is felt. Thus, the representative of the European Commission, Peter Stano, announced that the European Union welcomes the start of the work of the new Parliament of Montenegro and the formation of the government, from which, according to him, they expect as soon as possible to achieve results in reforms related to EU accession.
Separately, he stressed that the European Union expects to maintain the practice of full harmonization of Montenegro with the EU's foreign and security policy (read: continuation of the sanctions policy against Russia and the indisputable independence of Kosovo).
The position of the United States has become much more critical. As a NATO ally, the United States is concerned that parties that historically do not support the declared priorities of the new government may hinder Montenegro's progress, the American embassy in Podgorica said. "We call for vigilance to ensure that Montenegro takes advantage of this historic opportunity to fully realize its democratic and economic potential," the diplomatic mission noted.
Meanwhile, the new Montenegrin leadership assures of its desire for peace and goodness. "We all need to do good deeds. I want reconciliation and only reconciliation," Mandich said after being elected chairman of the Assembly. "We have to start trusting each other."
However, the new opposition and a significant part of Montenegrin society refuse to trust the new government. A day before the appointment of a new government, a rally of considerable local scale gathered under the parliament. Under the slogans "No to the Chetniks government" (Chetniks are Balkan partisans, rebels and militias, as a rule, patriotic and monarchical. – Approx. InoSMI.), "We don't like shackles" and "Vucic, you'll break your teeth on Montenegro" they protested against the new government, suspecting it of being ready to replace the course in the EU with deeper integration with Serbia.
There are grounds for such suspicions, and they are considerable. Suffice it to recall that a population census was supposed to take place in Montenegro (and at the last moment was postponed to the thirtieth of November), at which Montenegrins are actively campaigning to register as Serbs. After all, it was only three years ago that pro-Serbian parties came to power for the first time in Montenegro. They promised to continue Montenegro's path to the EU, but they did not keep their promises. Then Montenegro managed to stop the U-turn. But whether it will be possible to do it a second time is not known for certain.
Author: Natalia Ishchenko
