The fall of Zdravko Krivokapić's Government: As it came, so it went

Formal by a vote of no confidence in the 42nd Government of Montenegro, the factual situation that has been burdening the Montenegrin political scene for months has just been made official. Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic for a long time he did not have the support of a large part of the parliamentary majority that elected him. The absence of opposition support goes without saying.

Hence, the crucial data is not who voted for the removal, but who supported the Krivokapić Government, and that was only eleven members of the Parliament of Montenegro. This number confirms the environment in which it functioned and the fact that it was actually in the position of a "minority government". The government has been swallowed up by the Bermuda Triangle, the vertices of which are shifts Minister Leposavić, enthronement metropolitan of Montenegrin-coastal Ioanniki in Cetinje and the recent interpellation of three ministers, and the prime minister's refusal to replace them. The vote of no confidence was only the final act of what had been expected for months.

It is precisely such a context that exposes the political absurdity that a significant part of the causes that brought the Government into the fall zone is connected with what the professor Krivokapić and brought him to the top of the electoral list "For the future of Montenegro", and then to the position of the first man of the executive power: all three vertices of this deadly zone in the Montenegrin political sea are related to political attitudes that flowed through the church chambers. Litija, which generated a critical mass for the overthrow of Milo Đukanović's regime, increased the ambition of the spiritual authorities to penetrate deeply into political life and transform themselves into a real force that would influence the secular state. That fact became a counterweight to Montenegro's European path and greatly encouraged the conflict between two value systems and different visions of democracy. That is exactly why the executor was the URA, a political group that sees European integration as its main program goal.

We should also not forget the fact that the permanent conflict between Krivokapić and the Democratic Front, or rather the New Serbian Democracy of Andrija Mandić, was generated already on the first day after the election and the signing of the tripartite agreement Krivokapić-Becic- Abazovic. It was already visible then, and then it became completely clear, that this platform was not an expression of the will of the dominant political group on the "For the Future of Montenegro" list. This was the source of the Government's instability, and certainly it was only a matter of the political moment when the Democratic Front Krivokapić would lose the chair. The fact that their deputies left the parliamentary session during the vote on the initiative to replace the government has the same political weight as the vote for its overthrow. In simple terms, that meant - we do not support the government, but we will not overthrow it with the DPS. And, of course, it is at the same time an expression of intolerance not only towards Đukanović, but also towards Krivokapić.

Political alibi "just not with DPS Milo Đukanović" served not only the Democratic Front, but also almost the entire "For the Future of Montenegro" list. This kind of political mimicry was among the main generators of the months-long crisis. Such an alibi is primarily an expression of political impotence, relative inconsistency, but also the formulation of a political practice that keeps the entire system in a kind of blockade. It is just a pre-election message to the citizens, which removes the guilt.

With this initiative, the URA accepted the risk of being the culprit for the overthrow of the first post-Djukanović government, but it also showed political courage to end the experiment of an "expert government" in which it itself participated. What price this courage will have will be seen very soon. Already in the next days. Searching for a majority that will support the new president will not be easy at all. And the price of support can be so high that Abazović will not agree to it. Otherwise, he could indeed repeat the role of Positive that he once abandoned.

Essentially, the removal of Zdravko Krivokapić's government is a significant democratic step forward. But, far more important than that is the question - do the citizens have the strength for another experiment? And, of course, who gets a breath of fresh air from postponing the extraordinary parliamentary elections, which can realistically still happen? Maybe the overthrow of the Government is just a matter of catching the momentum for a new election race.

SDP MP Draginja Vuksanović's comment that the Government "as it came, so it left" corresponds to the real situation to a considerable extent. The political groups that elected Krivokapić replaced him. DPS just seized the opportunity.

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