You are reading the daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous weekend.
Edited by: Ljubomir Filipović, CdM analyst
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The Parliament did what they had gathered for
The Parliament re-voted the laws that the president had returned to it due to doubts about the constitutionality of the acts and procedures by which they were enacted. They re-adopted amendments to the Law on Freedom of Religion and Belief and the Legal Status of Religious Communities, the Law on Credit Institutions, the Law on Rehabilitation of Credit Institutions, and the Law on Fiscalization in the Trade in Products and Services. Also, the MPs re-adopted the amendments to the Labor Law, Law on Civil Servants and Employees, Law on Health Care. The laws were voted in favour by 41 MPs, and there were no abstentions. The DPS immediately announced that it would candidate the adopted laws for the constitutional review.
Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić has said he hopes in the political experience of President Đukanović, and that he was convinced that Mr Đukanović would sign the laws this time. The Prime Minister also said that he did not congratulate the Day of the Serb Republic, but accidentally called President Cvijanović on 9 January to thank her for her congratulations on his appointment. The Prime Minister really finds all a little intellectually insufficient, not to say stupid. Could someone ask the Prime Minister why he did not congratulate the Day of RS and why he finds this holiday morally and legally problematic, to give it up so easily?
It was interesting to see the exchange between URA’s MP, Mr Miloš Konatar, and SDP official Mr Bojan Zeković, who responded on Twitter to Konatar’s reprimand to opposition MPs for not attending the session. Mr Zekovic told Mr Konatar that, unlike URA, they have no obligation to violate the laws and rules of procedure on the orders of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Raško Konjević also criticized URA, i.e. Ms Božena Jelušić, to be more precise, stating that with her vote in favour of the laws she proved that she “disagrees with her opinion”. And she did it in public.
A meeting with the President after all
We wrote yesterday that it would be extremely strange if the President were invited for consultations by the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister, and we were right. As it was explained from Đukanović’s office, the meeting with the president was requested by Minister Radulović himself, and he asked that Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Abazović, also attend the meeting. In the meantime, the minister has initiated disciplinary proceedings against five ambassadors.
Sparkles in Budva
After the reconciliation under the patronage of the church and around the litanies and elections, the good old rivalry between the Democrats and the DF in Budva is being renewed. Mr Carević has accused Mr Radović, the head of the Assembly, of deliberately postponing the session by knowingly violating the rules of procedure. Recall that before last year’s truce, it was Mr Radović who had called Mr Carević a servant of the DPS and the mafia. It looks like we’re going to witness a collision of titans. Mr Carević is in problems, as one part of the DF coalition, including the SNP, PZP, and Prava Crna Gora (Real Montenegro), has stopped supporting him. Democrats are obviously using this to put their pressure on him as well. And the obvious reason behind this all are negotiations on the distribution of €40+ million of municipal money.
Constitutive Assembly of “21 May”
The “21st May” initiative which in a short period of time managed to gather enormous support from the citizens, urged people to apply through this form to participate in the constitutive Parliament of this organization. It is, as they said, a supra-party broad social movement, which should unite sovereignist and state-building forces in Montenegro.
Recommendations for reading
Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke addressed the Montenegrin public on the eve of the inauguration of the American president and especially drew attention to the importance of preserving and protecting democratic institutions. She underlined and expressed concern over the increasingly extreme public discourse, insults, and threats that are becoming normalized in Montenegrin society.
Mr Miloš Milošević, the leader of the prestigious Fleka company, addressed the government about the branding of the new airline, emphasizing the importance of preserving the identity of the old company, which has become a recognizable brand for many of us, as well as globally.
I also wrote a little about my current preoccupation with URA, and its leader Mr Abazović. The reason why I deal with URA more than with other parties is that, paradoxically, I see that party in the new government as ideologically closest to me. In principle, they are a sovereigntist party, a party of pro-Western orientation, green and liberal party, which advocates progressive policies. At the same time, they were relatively unencumbered. Still, is it really all like that? I have long ago lost the illusion that, as Mr Raško Konjević would say, the URA agree with their own opinion. That is why I made this parallel between the leadership styles of Mr Abazović and Mr Vučić, and I think that it is not at all absurd.
So much for today. Until tomorrow at the same time and in the same place.
