Good morning! Abazovic is ready for the “Fundamental” agreement and for the Open Balkans; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine supported the autocephaly of the Montenegrin church; whether the voting of the Montenegrin jury at the Eurovision Song Contest was illegal; headteacher supports the Russian invasion; the Montenegrin embassy in Kiev operational again.
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Abazovic is ready
I have long claimed that Abazovic is not ready for the post of Prime Minister, and I was wrong, because I idealized the position of the Montenegrin Prime Minister. Being a good leader in Montenegro does not mean being brave and focused on the problems of society, ready for painful changes and a turn from bad politics. In our country, that means being at the service of the political class that brought you to be prime minister. And since there are currently more of them in that class, we should now juggle among their, often conflicting interests. One week some should be pleased, the other week others. A kilo of employment in management and operational positions, then ten decagrams to fight corruption, and everything must be a photo opportunity. Abazovic is ready for that. The systemic approach is nowhere to see, except in two cases – the Open Balkans and the “Fundamental” agreement. Because there is a blueprint ready in advance.
This is an ad hoc government, with ad hoc ministers, who are guided by ad hoc decisions in everything, except in the above cases.
This is somewhat understandable, given the limited duration. Everyone will try to grab as much public attention as possible in this short time. That is why they will speak at cabinet meetings as if they were in Parliament. Konjevic and Krivokapic have already stolen the show.
There is another exception.
Fortunately, Montenegro has EU accession as an external instrument and a strategic roadmap for its development. And if we do not meet at least the minimum requirements on that path, then we are stagnant. It is completely irrelevant whether we will be a member or not, but the path to get there, even if it was imaginary, is the only means of pressure on our politicians to move forward.
“Every Montenegrin individually is a cunning fox, together they are just a flock of sheep”.
With any luck, Montenegro would have a public opinion that is sufficiently experienced to recognize the real interests of society and only to pressure politicians to act. But Montenegrin public opinion, like our society, is polarized and fragmented, it is the opinion of the mass. Even though our mouths are full of civics, we have never learned what that really means. It does not mean civil opposition to ethnicity, civil opposition to the people – gathering. A citizen is a bearer of sovereignty, a thinking individual. The people are a mass that “imagines in pictures”. If we replace the citizens forever with the mass or masses, without any effort they will always deceive us with cheap tricks and waving flags.
Ranko in condition
During his mandate in Parliament, Ranko Krivokapic’s cabinet was all covered with his photographs with world leaders, from the Pope to the Ecumenical Patriarch. Although at that time many, including me, attributed those photos only to Ranko’s personal vanity, and saw little quality in it for Montenegro, it was not exactly like that.
Probably those photos were inspired by Ranko’s vanity, but that vanity also has had some good side effects, i.e. unplanned side effects. As the days go by, and if he does not over-indulge in compromises and cabinet intrigues, Ranko may be the best foreign minister Montenegro has had. Firstly, he is not an apparatchik and a bureaucrat, and he has a lot of experience in communicating with the outside world. Secondly, he is trenchant and knows who to talk to. Thirdly, he knows well what Montenegrin interests are. It is important that he acts only according to them.
That is why he should maintain his condition, and have as many meetings as possible, such as this one with Kuleba, who is very important for Montenegrins, whose interests are not represented in the government. The message about the autocephaly of the church is of Montenegrin interest not only in the ethnic, but also in the national sense. Only if everyone is equal in this society can this society be depolarized.
We should not forget that diplomacy is not just a minister, and Ranko can easily fail by hiring DKP staff, if he allows others to organize employments, as is the with the state secretary in the ministry.
Did we steal at Eurovision?
During the voting of the expert jury at the Eurovision Song Contest, the EBU issued a statement explaining that the national juries of six countries, including Montenegro, were removed from the competition in the second semifinal. More precisely, their votes were excluded in both the semi-finals and the finals, and the so-called substitute voting model was applied.
In a short comment for CdM, the RTCG director Boris Raonic said that he asked the EBU for specific information, on the basis of which he would proceed with the jury.
Headteacher supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Headteacher of the Danilovgrad Petar I Petrovic Njegos high school, Miloje Aranitovic, was one of the participants in the shameful rally in support of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, which is why the local DPS reacted. “This scandalous move by the high school headteacher is an indicator of what unworthy extremists have been appointed to leading positions in schools, after the illegal dismissals and revanchism carried out by the former minister Vesna Bratic”, the DPS said.
Ambassador Ponorac is in Kiev again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Montenegro supports Ukraine and its people in defense against the Russian aggression, and since yesterday, the Ambassador of Montenegro, Dragica Ponorac, has been in Kiev again.
“We thank her for her courage to be among the first diplomats in our region to return to the country that stands in defense of the values of Euro-Atlanticism for all of us”, the Foreign Ministry’s official Twitter account said.
That’s it for today. We wish you a pleasant rest of the day.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM analyst
