You are reading a daily contextual review of the news that marked the previous day.
By Ljubomir Filipovic, CdM observer
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar met with the Prime Minister and the Parliament Speaker yesterday. The conversation with the Prime Minister in a tweet of the American Embassy emphasized the importance of preserving a sovereign and civil Montenegro, and in the conversation with the Parliament Speaker, the concern that the census at this moment could cause additional tensions.
After the meeting with Mr. Escobar, the Prime Minister held a press conference at which he spoke about many things, but as if he wanted to emphasize the message that he would not resign from the position of Prime Minister. He said that three ministers deserved to be dismissed and that he did not talk to Escobar about the minority government.
Escobar also met with Minister Milojko Spajic, and supported his Marshal Plan, as Spajic pointed out.
Escobar later met with representatives of the NGO sector, but also with young leaders, as they stated in a tweet from the Embassy – “civic parties”. Representatives of some parties there could not be classified as civic parties, but many are wondering if this would be what a new parliamentary majority would look like.
Helicopter from Rama and antibodies growth
Answering the question whether the information that the Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama said that the Montenegrin Prime Minister announced in Belgrade that Montenegro would be a member of the EU in 2022, was correct, PM Krivokapic claimed that he said then that Montenegro would be in the EU in 2024 and that it would replace the UK. “If you fulfill that, I will personally buy you a helicopter”, Rama promised this, according to Krivokapic.
Answering the question why he has not yet been vaccinated against coronavirus, he said that no one asks the question whether when you have antibodies, you can become infected with Covid-19. He said that his number of antibodies was growing and that, in consultation with the doctor, he decided not to get vaccinated until they fell below a certain level.
Christian Democrats and cigarette smuggling
The leader of the Movement for Changes (PzP), Nebojsa Medojevic, announced yesterday at a press conference that the Christian Democratic Party of PM Zdravko Krivokapic would be financed through cigarette smuggling. “Sasa Pekic is in friendly relations with Krivokapic, and he is in charge of cigarette smuggling for the Grand team”, said Medojevic. He called on Krivokapic to state his connections with Mr. Pekic.
€10m for party-affiliated recruitment
According to Pobjeda, the new managements of the Montenegro’s power supplier, EPCG, the Montenegrin Power Distribution System, CEDIS, and Pljevlja’s Rudnik Uglja coal mining company have employed 1,100 workers under temporary service contracts since April. CEDIS has employed 350 people in this way, as many as Rudnik Uglja, while EPCG, which owns the two companies, has hired 400 people. On a monthly basis, these three companies would have a monthly expenditure of €788,700 (€9.46m a year) for 1,100 freelancers.
On 23 October, EPCG had €38.76m in its accounts, and the new management found €62.7m in the accounts at the time of the company takeover (24 March).
Ratko Mladic graffiti in Podgorica as well
Graffiti dedicated to the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic appeared on the façade of one of the residential buildings at the Stari Aerodrom neighborhood in Podgorica. During the day the graffiti was removed. The graffiti was in Aerodromska Street, and the author is unknown. It was created in the days when there are great tensions regarding the mural with the image of Mladic in Njegoseva Street in Belgrade.
That’s it for today. See you again on Monday.
