Updated 3/4/2023 10:41 AM
For more than three decades, Milo Djukanovic has defined politics in the tiny Balkan nation of Montenegro, for better or worse. But that’s over now. It remains to be seen what path his successors will take.
Apparently, the candidate of the new Europe Now party, Jakov Milatović, won the presidential elections in Montenegro. According to election researchers, the political newcomer, backed by the pro-Serb camp, won 59 to 60 percent of the electorate in Sunday’s runoff. Pro-Western incumbent Milo Djukanovic had to settle for 40 to 41 percent of the vote.
In Montenegro, this marks the end of an era that lasted more than three decades, in which Djukanovic largely determined the policies of the small Balkan state on the Adriatic Sea. The 61-year-old led the former Yugoslav Republic to independence in 2006 and to NATO in 2017. At the same time, his rule has been repeatedly overshadowed by corruption, nepotism and close ties to organized crime.
The outgoing president congratulated his successor on election night. “The result is what it is and sometimes you lose elections,” he told his supporters in Podgorica. Preserving a multi-ethnic civil state remains his profession.
Milatovic sees the road to Europe as a priority
Milatović’s supporters were greeted at the “Europe Now!” Celebrated, who shouted in choruses: “Milo (Djukanovic), it’s over!”. “This victory will change Montenegro,” said the winner of the election. Crime and corruption will no longer be present in the country’s politics. The road to Europe remains the priority.
The failed incumbent entered the runoff with the highest number of votes from the first round two weeks earlier, but was not considered a candidate. Because his rival Milatović supported the entire pro-Serbian camp, which started with several candidates in the first round.
Among them was the pro-Russian, pro-Serb Democratic Front. Its president, Andrea Mandić, finished third in the first round. During Milatović’s election night speech, he stood right next to him.
In the highly polarized political climate, the need for fresh, new people prevailed among the electorate. This favored the 36-year-old Milatović, who was close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which Belgrade controlled.
He was Minister of Economy in the short-lived pro-Serbian government that served from December 2020 to April 2021. After this government ended, he and others founded the new party “Europe Now!” , who serves as its vice president. The party is committed to the planned accession to the European Union, but at the same time supports its close relations with Serbia.
Djukanovic’s departure could lead to a strengthening of the pro-Serbian forces
With the loss of the presidency, Djukanovic left the last position of power left to him. More than two years ago, his DPS party was defeated by an alliance of pro-Serbian and reformist parties in the parliamentary elections.
In Montenegro, the president, who is elected for a five-year term, has only protocol powers. But in times of crisis, it can be updated. The largely pro-Serbia governments that took place after 2020 proved unstable. As a result, Djukanovic dissolved parliament three days before the first round of the presidential election. At the same time he called for new elections on 11 June.
This move was considered controversial. But parliament proved unable to elect a successor to Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, who was ousted in a vote of no confidence last August. He remains in office today at the head of an acting government.
According to observers, Djukanovic’s departure could change the direction of the country’s foreign policy, as pro-Serbian forces are likely to dominate the parliamentary elections in June. In the run-up to 2020, Montenegro has been a leader among Western Balkan countries in rapprochement with the European Union.
It is likely that future pro-European Union-Serb alliances will not turn their backs. But at the same time, they can slow down EU integration by closer relations with neighboring Serbia, which is not willing to reform.
© dpa
teaser image: © Image Alliance/Associated Press/Risto Bozovic
