Country faces more instability – and early elections – after PM Zdravko Krivokapic’s government falls victim to the infighting that dogged it from the start.
Montenegrin Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic and Deputy PM Dritan Abazovic in parliament. Photo: Parliament of Montenegro
Montenegro’s coalition government collapsed on Friday after parliament backed a vote of no-confidence called by the smallest coalition bloc, Black on White, and opposition parties, worsening the country’s political instability.
The no-confidence motion was supported by 43 MPs from Black on White and the opposition and 11 MPs from ruling Democratic Montenegro. United Montenegro and Prava Crna Gora were against the no-confidence motion.
MPs from the largest ruling bloc, the Democratic Front, Demos and the Socialist Peoples Party, SNP, boycotted the vote.
Black on White and opposition MPs earlier rejected the government’s proposal to shorten parliament’s mandate as a way of moving toward early elections.
Deputy PM and Black on White leader Dritan Abazovic said he would start negotiations within the ruling majority on forming a new government.
“A new government should be formed as soon as possible, and the new Prime Minister-designate could be anyone with support of at least 41 MPs [in the 81-seat chamber]. If the negotiations fail, we will go on to early elections,” Abazovic told the media.
The government was under constant pressure from the start from the largest ruling coalition bloc in it, the Democratic Front, over its demands for ministers appointed by the ruling parties to replace non-party experts.
The crisis within the shaky coalition then escalated on January 19, when Black on White and opposition parties proposed a no-confidence motion in the government, saying they needed to see if it still had the support of the majority in parliament.
The proposal came after, on January 17, Black on White leader Abazovic called for the formation of a minority government to overcome the political stalemate.
One of the Democratic Front leaders, Milan Knezevic, then accused PM Zdravko Krivokapic and Abazovic of betraying the results of the parliamentary elections of August 2020, which ended the long rule of Milo Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS.
“Instead of cooperation with the Democratic Front, they were lobbying … in Western ambassies against us. If Djukanovic’s DPS supports a new government, it will be a betrayal of our electoral win and it will provoke serious instability,” Knezevic said.
According to the constitution, Djukanovic, also President of Montenegro, can propose a new Prime Minister-designate if more than 41 MPs sign their support in the parliament.
As all the opposition parties announced they would support a minority government, President Djukanovic said on February 2 that his own DPS could also vote for that government.
Opposition DPS MP Danijel Zivkovic said dialogue was needed in the current crisis. “We are ready to negotiate with anyone who wants Montenegro as a stable county and future member of the European Union,” he said.
On February 3, Prime Minister Krivokapic accused Black on White of undermining his government and of seeking to restore Djukanovic’s DPS to power.
His non-party cabinet was elected on December 4, 2020 by 41 votes from three coalitions – the pro-Serbian For the Future of Montenegro, Peace is Our Nation and Black on White.
The three blocs won a slender majority of 41 of the 81 seats in parliament in August 2020, ousting Djukanovic’s DPS.
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