Good morning! Representatives of the Orthodox Church of Serbia in Montenegro are again directly interfering in politics; Becic promises that there will be no obstruction in Parliament; amount of salaries at the Ministry of Finance; what the government’s nepotism looks like on the example of CGES; how the attack on Draginja Vuksanovic Stankovic was being prepared.
Desecularization of Montenegro
Excessive political engagement of the Orthodox Church of Serbia in Montenegro, its political goals and the power it has accumulated through political changes in Montenegro, have created a strong anti-religious sentiment among citizens. However, it should not be forgotten that atheism is not a universal value. Although atheism is not a universal value, one of the achievements of world civilization is secularism, the principle of separation of church and state, which was ultimately preached by Christ himself, answering the Pharisees’ provocative question about whether taxes should be paid:
“Show me the tax money.” And they gave him a dinar. And he said unto them: “Whose is this image and superscription?” They said to him, “It’s emperor’s.” Then he said to them: ” Render therefore unto Emperor the things which are Emperor’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22: 15-22).
The history of literature records many references to the fact that the church fell where Christ resisted the temptation of the devil, when the devil offered him the earthly kingdom from the cliff. Thus, struggling to accumulate great wealth and great power, the church distanced itself from the basic message of faith and from Christ.
The Orthodox Church (or churches) is in all countries where the Orthodox population is the majority, positioned as part of the establishment, which is naturally associated with conservative political forces, which insist on patriotism and national interest, among others. It is the same in Greece, it is the same in Russia, Bulgaria, etc. What puts Montenegro in a different position, similar to the one Ukraine is in today, is that the dominant Orthodox Church is loyal to another state, and has these ties and partnerships with the conservative forces of that other state, with whose national interests it harmonizes its actions.
Even before the political changes, the Serbian Orthodox Church had strong power in our society. The money it accumulated through direct donations from the state and the establishment, citizens’ contributions, property sales, as well as special informal tax status, it used to fill the gaps left behind by the state administration, especially in the field of social policy. Thus, in order to expand its influence, the Serbian Orthodox Church opened national kitchens, gathered the poor, waiting for the right moment to capitalize on its investment in the elections.
That happened on 30 August last year, when the Serbian church largely staffed key positions in the Montenegrin government, starting with the prime minister and the head of the ANB. Thus, the process of desecularization of the state apparatus of Montenegro has begun, which continued with the staffing of the head of the university and head teacshers.
In Montenegro, a complete takeover of the state by the church was thus being prepared. While in Serbia, the Serbian Orthodox Church is a servant of the state, in Montenegro it was supposed to master all state flows.
However, the actions of awakened citizens, the opposition, civil society, the actions of our partners from the West, who are often unfairly criticized for the passive relationship in Montenegro, prevented this intention from coming to an end. Dissatisfied with the Prime Minister’s insufficient engagement in the Fundamental Agreement, and his insufficient cooperation with the regime in Belgrade, the Serbian Orthodox Church let go of him.
Yesterday, the dissolved episcopal council of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro addressed the public to send a message that clearly states that they do not care about the fate of Krivokapic, but that they clearly oppose Abazovic’s intention to form a government with the help of the DPS. The church blackmailed Abazovic, whom Vucic is holding on a short leash through the DF. That is why Abazovic is running to satisfy the Serbian public opinion, he goes to Zivkovic and the patriarch, thinking that the DPS, SDP and others will do things for him when it comes to the Montenegrins.
As the situation now looks, Abazovic will have to decide in the near future, because both sides are losing patience. And those two sides are not two extremisms as he and his mentors and sponsors like to interpret, but two national interests that are breaking down in Montenegro. One is the Montenegrin national interest, or rather the national interest of Montenegro. The other one is the national interest of Serbia. Dritan will have to decide quickly which kingdom he will side with.
Becic promises that there will be no obstructions
At yesterday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Collegium, the manner of work at the upcoming sessions, convened for Thursday, Friday and Monday, was agreed upon, said the Parliament Speaker, Aleksa Becic. “I will not allow anyone to abuse the Rules of Procedure, nor will anyone be allowed to obstruct the work of Parliament”, Becic added on Twitter, where he explained in detail how long the sessions will last.
CGES, incubator of nepotism
The Montenegrin state energy sector has become the subject of jokes and anecdotes when it comes to the nepotism of the new authorities. CEDIS and what the Democrats are doing seems to be a topic for some future comedians. My colleague Miras Dusevic “scanned” CGES for you and in this text he presents in detail the map of nepotism in this company.
Salaries in Spajic’s ministry
The Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare announced the salaries of managers in that Ministry in January. You can see the salaries of officials in the detailed table published here.
Attack on Draginja
The presence of extreme organizations in Montenegro, branches of Belgrade fan groups, which overlap with the militant fraternities of Orthodox youth and the like, is something that all of us who deal with politics and criticize the work of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Greater Serbian nationalism in general must count on. Draginja Vuksanovic Stankovic is often the target of the Belgrade propaganda machinery, which inspired one of these groups to encourage and plan a physical attack on Draginja. What is an even bigger problem, is that the ANB was silent about it.
That’s it for today. We wish you a pleasant rest of the day.
Kind regards,
Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM analyst
