Milan Knežević, one of the leaders of the Democratic Front (DF), expects the representatives of the ruling coalition to sit down together in the next ten days or so and see how much progress has been made in aligning their respective political positions. The DF MPs have walked out of the National Assembly and demand sweeping changes in order to return to parliament. The ball is in the Democrats' and URA's court now. However, Knežević points out for Kurir that they don't rule out the possibility of Krivokapić securing the support of Milo Đukanović's DPS to stay in power, adding that that would be Krivokapić's political suicide, however long Đukanović keeps him at the helm of government.
You attended the meeting of the ruling coalition representatives, aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis. Do you believe that a solution will be found?
"It is our duty and responsibility towards the citizens to find a suitable and appropriate way of resolving the crisis that both the government and the Parliament are in. The DF proposed that a new government be elected with the support of the current ruling majority and that the national minority parties be invited into this new coalition arrangement. We also proposed that a coalition agreement be signed which would clearly stipulate the rights and duties of all the members of the parliamentary majority which would support the new government, to be made up of the representatives of the political parties winning in the 30 August election."
What are the Democrats and the URA saying? What do they see as the resolution of the political crisis?
"The URA is ready to take into consideration all the options which could help resolve the crisis. They haven't made any explicit statements and haven't reiterated their position that they categorically support the Krivokapić government. The Democrats reiterated that there needs to be a government reshuffling, supported by Prime Minister Krivokapić."
What's next?
"Now we need to move to the next phase of the talks. We expect that in the next ten days or so we will sit down together again and see whether our political positions have been brought closer together. We think that, if we are unable to bridge the differences between us, a caretaker government needs to be formed in order to make sure the election is held no later than by the end of 2021."
What is the DF's deadline for bridging these differences?
"The DF has made it clear that it does not support this sort of government, and that at the other end of the parliamentary majority there are at least 27 MPs who acknowledge that this situation is untenable. We made a clear move by walking out of Parliament, and now it's up to the other members of the parliamentary majority – and by that I mean the Democrats and the URA – to be serious-minded and responsible, and accept the facts of the matter, i.e. that state-wide changes are necessary and that this situation cannot go on indefinitely. There are clear constitutional restrictions as to how long the status quo can go on, and I believe that we can reach an agreement in that time, i.e. the next three months. Parliament must be dissolved then, and a snap parliamentary election called."
What happens if Krivokapić secures the support of the DPS, and ends up staying in the government while you go into opposition?
"Krivokapić has secured the support of the DPS before – when they adopted the Srebrenica Resolution. That option, which we have considered, is politically legitimate, but from a moral standpoint, it would constitute a brutal betrayal of the will of the electorate who support him. I'm sure that, if he decides to go ahead with it, it would be his political suicide. It doesn't matter if he would be prime minister for a year or two, he would go down in history like Novak Kilibarda, who betrayed every cause that he championed. I believe Krivokapić will decide against it, but if he does opt for it instead, the people will pass their judgement on both us and him in the election."
How do you comment on Krivokapić distancing himself from Serbia and the Serbian Orthodox Church, and stating that Serbia should stop interfering with Montenegro's internal affairs?
"That is one of the reasons why we have found ourselves in this crisis and why radical changes are needed. This anti-Serbian narrative, used by Duško Marković and Đukanović, has been ramped up to such an extent during Krivokapić's government that it's really no wonder that some opposition MPs have suggested to him that he should be heading the DPS election list in the next election. Serbia doesn't interfere with Montenegro's internal affairs. Rather, Montenegro interferes with Serbia's internal affairs. It has recognized Kosovo; it has sent and will be sending military officers to Kosovo and to Croatia, to attend the celebration of Operation Storm; it has adopted the resolution on Serbs being a genocidal nation; it has refused to sign the Fundamental Agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church. If we wish to be objective, then it's clear that Montenegro under Krivokapić continues its bellicose anti-Serbian policy, which is unacceptable to people who support Krivokapić."
Blackmails
'Bečić hides behind Krivokapić'
The Speaker of the Montenegrin Parliament, Aleksa Bečić, said that politicians could go into government, but provided Krivokapić agrees. How do you interpret that? Is Bečić's fear of Krivokapić preventing him from voicing his opinion?
"Bečić is trying, hiding behind Krivokapić, to prevent the people from the DF from going into government, although he is aware that he no longer has the legitimacy to continue as the Speaker of the Parliament. Krivokapić doesn’t have a single MP and his political integrity has been fully compromised as the entire list – which used to support him – has now turned against him. All this points to the DF's perfectly logical position that it is necessary to elect a new government without any pressures or blackmailing. Should there be more blackmailing, which happened when the Krivokapić government was being formed, then those who think they can engage in blackmailing ought to be ready for a suitable response and losing all posts that they obtained as a result of supporting the DF."
Katarina Blagović
