By Andrej Nikolaidis, CdM columnist
Everything was clear enough, we didn’t need statistics. Finally, CdM wrote about it several weeks ago. https://www.cdm.me/kolumne/zasto-nema-vlade-sex-i-titograd/
But theses statistics give an aura of seriousness and grounding in science.
So what do statistics suggest? What does research of the public opinion, carried out by the two renowned agencies, say?
They say that 38% of Montenegro citizens are Western oriented. Half of them, one may conclude freely, are representatives of minority nations. Which means that a large majority of the so-called ‘Orthodox majority’, as well as the greatest part of the population, are non-Western.
The impressive majority of ‘members of the Orthodox majority’ (this ‘majority of the majority’ is so sweet: irresistible), the convincing majority of supporters of the Spajic government, as well as the majority of the total population of Montenegro:
either embraced the Chetniks, or is ready to embrace them (‘I have no attitude’ always denotes a clear attitude, just as silence means approval), so they accept the revisionist narrative about the Second World War;
support Putin and Russia always and everywhere, and in Ukraine as well – particularly in Ukraine, which means that they’re against sanctions against Russia;
don’t support Kosovo’s independence; because a small part of Montenegro citizens supports it – there are more those who are against it and who refuse to voice their position thus clearly voicing it;
deny the Srebrenica genocide, therefore, accept the revisionist narrative on the post-Yugoslav wars in the 90s and the role of the West in it.
From the afore-mentioned, a million-dollar question arises.
Why would the government of a country pursue policies that are in defiance of the position of the majority of citizens? If there’s no pro-Western majority, why should the government be Western-oriented, in the name of which democratic principle? If the majority of citizens aren’t in favor of sanctions against Russia, why would the government insist on those sanctions? If the majority of citizens don’t want to recognize Kosovo, why insist on that recognition? So on and so forth…
And above all: why would the government, whose enormous majority of supporters don’t support such policies, persist in pro-Western and anti-Russian policies?
There are many possible answers a cunning mind may produce, but only one is honest. And it says: because of the pressure of ‘our Western partners’. And why is it important to ease that pressure? In order to maintain power. And why is it important to retain power? First of all, because ruling means stealing, everyone knows that, as Camus claimed. So in order to steal. Then, because the government’s implementation of pro-Western policies enables peaceful implementation of anti-Montenegrin (those that seek to change the constitution, civil nature and organization of Montenegro) policies. Supporters of the government know this and agree to it. That’s why they don’t resent it. First things first.
This means that the analogy of today’s Montenegro with Montenegro in 1918 is not accurate. Today, Montenegro is in the position Tito’s Yugoslavia was in in 1989. In what sense?
Today’s ‘pro-Western, civil Montenegro’ resembles the ‘socialist Yugoslavia of brotherhood and unity’ from 1989. The end of the ruling party’s dominance, in both cases, also meant the end of the “state truth”, which suddenly appeared as a slogan without content, with no grounding in reality. The Yugoslavia of brotherhood and unity, which ruled over nationalism and the destructive influence of religious communities, was counting its last days: soon it will burn in the flames of nationalism. ‘Brotherhood and unity’ will end up in a fratricidal war. What does it mean? Montenegro is not living in the ‘new 90s’: Montenegro’s about to live in them.
Also… considering the data, several disturbing conclusions can be reached, which, having in mind their nature, are not less valid: on the contrary.
Democracy and pro-Western policies in Montenegro are in opposition. If the government really implemented the “will of the people”, it would be forced to openly implement the pro-Russian, revisionist, anti-NATO and anti-Kosovo policies. It leads to a conclusion that this pro-Western policies in Montenegro are possible if Montenegro is an enlightened despotism or if it has a government that agrees to play a puppet role. With which, as we said, she buys the freedom to complete what is her primary political project.
The argument telling that the majority of citizens are in favor of EU membership does not contradict this. The citizens of Montenegro don’t back EU membership because of its values, but because in that membership they see a chance for better life. This doesn’t make the position of Montenegro citizens in the EU similar to the position of the European Old Money and the middle class; it’s more like the position of immigrants from Turkey.
The dominant religious, cultural and political force in Montenegro is the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), which is also the most respected institution in the country. The cultural matrix of the SPC, giving rise to both the value system and the political matrix, is unquestionably anti-Western and pro-Russian. That church is the main reason why Serbia is unable to make a civilizational turn and become a pro-Western society. The same applies to Montenegro. The influence of that church has been stronger in the last three years than ever before. The consequence of that influence will be an additional weakening of pro-Western sentiments of Montenegro citizens and the strengthening of pro-Russian ones. The policy of the West towards the Montenegrins, who are left to assimilation for “higher”, geostrategic reasons, will also result in the decline of pro-Western sentiments in that part of the Montenegrin population as well.
Above all, the West is doing everything to dissolve the hard core of support for NATO and pro-Western policies in Montenegro.
(The opinions and views of our columnists aren’t necessarily those of the editorial staff of CdM)
