Markovic said that there was an impression that Krivokapic misunderstood the messages from Brussels, not hesitating to claim in his statement that he personally received support from the highest European positions for organising the dialogue.
“As if this process is his property and as it does not belong to all the participants and political actors in Montenegro. Such Krivokapic’s position has largely contributed to ending this phase of parliamentary dialogue,” Markovic said in his interview with MINA news agency.
According to him, Krivokapic and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have been an opposition within the government so far and now they would like to be an opposition in power.
“From the beginning, he (Krivokapic) wanted to give to himself and his party greater significance than they actually have, both on the domestic and on the international scene. It may last for some time, but not indefinitely,” Markovic said.
He said that it was obviously more convenient for the opposition parties to obstruct the efforts of the government to be fully committed to implementing electoral legislation, organising democratic and fair elections and to criticise the government than to take responsibility.
“However, the elections will be the measure of the impact of all political subjects and show everyone’s important,” Markovic said.
Markovic reminded that the prime minister Milo Djukanovic offered to opposition to join the government at the session of the Parliament at which the government won the confidence vote, accepting the Positive Montenegro’s initiative and that the offer was significantly expanded later, in the parliamentary dialogue.
“However, the opposition was not satisfied with that. It seems that the opposition leaders who participate in the dialogue forgot how we had started,” said Markovic.
He said that the opposition forgot that the aim was to create more favourable conditions for fair and free elections and that it clearly understood the dialogue as a way to come to power through the back door.
“Instead of trying to accept PM’s proposals, which were eventually accepted as a unique offer by representatives of all parties of the ruling coalition, opposition leaders were against the proposals, just in order for the former Speaker of the Parliament to preserve its post”, said Markovic.
He added he was not sure whether Krivokapic’s colleagues from the opposition understood what his goal was.
“And his goal is to keep its 20% power, which he has had so far, and to get posts for the other participants in the dialogue by additional requests. They may offer explanations as they like, but it is the essence, that is why our offer has not been accepted by the opposition,” said Markovic.
DPS ready and believes in continuing the dialogue: We are aware of great anxiety within the opposition
He repeated that the DPS was ready and that it believed in the continuation of the dialogue, which was said by the party leader Milo Djukanovic on the day when the dialogue was ended.
“Our offer remains open. We see great anxiety within the representatives of the opposition, but we remain committed to creating the conditions for the implementation of the election legislation and for organising democratic and fair elections, whether with or without the dialogue. Our position is known,” said Markovic.
Speaking about the demands of the opposition regarding the public broadcaster and the Agency for National Security (ANB), Markovic said that there was no room for interpretations, regardless of how the issue was presented by the opposition.
He said that there were legal solutions that must be respected and that no political demands could suspend them. He added that the DPS was ready to exchange opinions within the legal solutions.
When it comes to the ANB, Markovic pointed out that there were NATO standards that must be adhered to in the process of accession negotiations.
“Likewise, the relevant European institutions have presented their views regarding the role of the public broadcaster. There is our good will to work together to see what we can do within the existing legislation towards achieving the key objective – organising fair and democratic elections,” said Markovic.
We will see who will be the speaker of the Parliament after Krivokapic’s dismissal
He said that the initiative for Krivokapic’s dismissal had already been launched and that after that it would be seen who would be a new speaker of the Parliament.
Asked how the failure of the dialogue could affect the continuation of European integration, Markovic said that Montenegro was well on its way towards European integration and that it was an unstoppable process.
“I am convinced that the next government, in which the DPS will certainly have a dominant role, will implement efficiently all its obligations relating to European integration, raising living standards and rapid economic development of the country. Until then, in this composition, we will invest all our efforts to meet these goals,” said Markovic.
