Montenegro Prime Minister Milojko Spajic of Europe Now, in office from autumn 2023, unveiled the reshuffled government last week. He is backed by a coalition of pro-Serbian and pro-Russian parties, including Andrija Mandić and Milan Knežević, leaders of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) and the People's Democratic Party of Montenegro (NDP). Mandić is also the Speaker of the Parliament from October 2023.
Mandić and Knežević are staunch supporters of Putin, indirectly oppose Montenegro's independence from Serbia, declared in 2006, and reject integration into the European Union /EU/, as well as the country's membership in NATO. The two support a policy of close ties between Podgorica and Belgrade, do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state and deny the Srebrenica genocide committed by Serbian forces in 1995.
The entry of politicians such as Mandić and Knežević into the ruling coalition is part of the agreement between Spaić and the pro-Serbian parties. Spajic, whose pro-European party had a shaky majority after elections a year ago, was backed by 13 representatives of the pro-Serbian bloc. In return, these parties were to be rewarded with ministerial posts, which has now happened.
NSD and NDP do not have key positions in the new government, and Mandić and Knežević themselves do not have ministerial positions. But the question is whether the cooperation will bring "more stability" to the government, as the prime minister promised.
Led by Moscow and Belgrade
Reactions from home and abroad came not long after. Montenegrin President Jakov Milatovic, who a few months ago parted ways with Spajic and Europe Now over the dispute over the national energy company, said that "Montenegro is a victim of the most primitive political trade and irresponsibility that the Prime Minister constantly displays in the administration of the state".
Andrija Nikolic, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists, expressed himself in the same tone. But unlike the pro-Serbian Milatović, he is much more direct in his criticism of outside influences. "This is a government that is run by Moscow and Belgrade," Nikolic told Montenegrin media last week.
The American government also reacted through the embassy, which previously clearly positioned itself against the rule of pro-Serbian parties: "We are concerned about the inclusion in the government of Montenegro of parties and leaders who do not condemn Russian aggression against Ukraine, reject EU sanctions against Russia and whose actions are in direct conflict with the principles of good neighborly relations".
Neighboring Croatia reacted most violently: a day after the government was reshuffled, the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared three senior politicians from the pro-Serbian bloc persona non grata.
We are talking about the already mentioned Mandić and Knežević, as well as another member of the "Serbian block" Aleksa Bečić. The three are unwelcome in Croatia due to "systematic measures to disrupt good neighborly relations" and "continued abuse of the Republic of Croatia for domestic political purposes".
More specifically, it is about the role of these politicians in the "Resolution for Jasenovac", which was adopted by the parliament in Podgorica at the end of June. The resolution, which mentions the World War II Croatian concentration camp and the Dachau and Mauthausen camps, is seen by many as a response to the Srebrenica resolution previously passed at the UN. According to media and analysts in Croatia, after Montenegro voted for the resolution on Srebrenica at the UN, pro-Serbian forces in the country pushed the resolution on Jasenovac as a "countermeasure".
Is the road to the EU in danger?
How will the entry of pro-Serbian and pro-Russian parties affect the foreign policy of Montenegro? Zlatko Vujovic, a political scientist from the NGO Cemi (Center for Monitoring and Research) from Podgorica, believes that the participation of pro-Serbian and pro-Russian forces in the government is not a surprise, but a process that has been going on for some time. "Now we have forces that are under the control of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. They are working to prevent Montenegro from joining the EU and moving away from NATO," Vujovic told DV.
For him, the resolution for Jasenovac is a pure provocation that should make Croatia slow down or even stop Montenegro's approach to the EU. "No one in Montenegro and no one in their right mind in Croatia denies what happened in Jasenovac. But this resolution, especially at the present moment, only aims to provoke Croatia," explained Vujovic. He reminded that until 2020 and the change of government in Podgorica, Croatia and Montenegro had no significant bilateral problems. | BGNES
