What unites Vasilij Čujkov and Tomislav Momirović? The correct answer is - China. Both of them left their mark there and then went down in history. Specifically: Chujkov defended Stalingrad, and Toma Mon is on the verge of having the sky and Vučić as his limit. In other words, there is every chance that he will sit in the prime minister's chair.
"Eh, Tom Mon for Prime Minister", the reader blows off and rolls his eyes. But wait a minute. What does Vucic say? Didn't he clearly and loudly inform the public to get rid of bazaar stories since no one but him knows the names of the prime minister and ministers? Does anyone mention Toma Momirović in that personnel carousel? No, although it should.
Of all the children, pardon the ministers, only Toma Mona received the medal for the last Statehood Day. This recognition can be illustrated in the following way: the entire government stands on the stage, and only it is illuminated by the spotlight. And why was he awarded? For the trade agreement with China, which is being finalized at a higher level anyway, and he has only completed the bureaucratic part of the work? Come on, please... Part of the public therefore speculates that he received the order for other merits, but it is not convenient to award them.
What could it be?
Cynics say - Parisian. Well, Momirović showed everyone that he is ready to take a bullet for the Boss. In other words, for the first time in his life, he ate both his and Vučić's share of Parisian food, and he praises, rewards and improves for such sacrifice.
However, realists warn of something else and say that Toma Mona, as Minister of Construction, controlled the largest budget in the recent history of Serbia. All in all, some five billion euros over two years. Why is this important? Because in the background of that mega-construction lies a mega-construction. But to be clear - not Momirović's, but the regime of which he is a part.
By advancing the progressive way of distributing people's money, Toma Mona climbed a few steps higher. In the capacity - as regime officials like to talk about themselves - of the chairman of the Committee for Economy and Finance, he now decides what the government will discuss and what it will not. Just about everything? Not at all, only when serious money is involved. That's why - no matter how unmanly and benign Tom Mona seems in public - it's not wise to hold a grudge against him. Because whoever he vetoes on anything of a material and financial nature, no one in the government is able to help him, not even Siniša Mali.
Like any hyperactive boy with promise, Momirović is not a prisoner of the office, secretary and ficus. On the contrary, he does not hesitate to get his hands dirty on the field. It is about - no matter how fantastic it sounds - the "Serbian world". Where Vulin shouts and messes up, Toma Mona finishes quietly. Everything is there: creating coalitions, taking care of personnel and their appointments, special messages in private, offers that cannot be refused... In general, promoters and politicians from the entire "Serbian world" and the surrounding area do not take the name of Tomislav Momirović lightly.
They also know why. During the African tour, Toma Mona was accompanied by representatives of civil and military services. What are they doing with the Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade? They certainly didn't catch fire in Rwanda and Uganda because of the confectionery industry. Rather, it will be that it is currently the most sought-after commodity in the world - weapons and ammunition. If this is true, then Toma Mona is the one who negotiates and contracts, exports and re-exports, and people from the service come as expert collaborators. In that direction, it is probably more appropriate to ask him where those rockets and grenades from Serbia in Ukrainian launchers and howitzers came from than the Minister of Defense. There is no doubt that the services, together with their subcontractors, thank him for his discretion.
It is common knowledge that this minister and hotelier has the political weight of Lahore, rooted in the party like primroses in early spring and that he depends exclusively on Vučić's goodwill. But now things can get out of control.
As the midwife or executioner of projects dependent on the government, the holder of a diplomatic passport of the "Serbian world", connected with "special" businesses and the endowment of the secret services, Tomislav Momirović is a picture and opportunity from the real deep state. Anyone who expects guys like James Bond or a buttoned-up bureaucrat whose name nobody knows is wrong. Colorless, uncharismatic and inept in public, Toma Mon actually belongs to the small number of people who essentially rule the country out of the spotlight. Regardless of all his power and influence, Aleksandar Vučić only holds a political umbrella for them.
Because of this and a few others, the election of Momirović as prime minister or any minister is not a political issue. The point is that his participation in any new government would reinforce all the toxicity in society and the state. The progressives will leave at some point, and Tom Mona will stay. He needs only one mandate to achieve that.
