Politicians in Montenegro, in the race for church mercy

“The influence of the church on the citizens is very strong, albeit in the wrong direction. When politicians have discovered how much power the church has, we have seen their race to be at its mercy. This has been expressed before, but has now become quite apparent“, Says Djukanovic for Radio Free Europe.

In recent days, leaders of Montenegro’s ruling majority have been in Belgrade for consultations with the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije.

Although officially the topic of the talks was the signing of the Basic Agreement of the state of Montenegro with the Serbian Orthodox Church, the statement of the Patriarchate has announced that the relations between the parties in Montenegro have also been discussed.

As reported on January 28, Porfirije told Montenegrin politicians that the church, in no way, interferes in party contests.

Montenegrin Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, who also met with Porfirija, said that politics in Montenegro would be done without outside interference.

Asked by reporters whether talks with representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church would be held to restructure the Montenegrin government, Abazovic said the church’s behavior, in the context of political events in Montenegro, was very correct.

“Metropolitan Joanikije [peshkop ortodoks serb që shërben si mitropolit i Malit të Zi] has said that they are not interested in confrontations of political parties and that they do not want to become part of them in any way. “I think we should not expect more than that.”said Abazovi..

Earlier, the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro announced that “does not take part, neither now nor in the future, in inter-party calculations and political solutions ”.

However, the same statement said that “one should not expect that the Metropolitan will support the formation of a government, which, directly or indirectly, would return the previous regime to power.”

The URA civic movement in Montenegro – led by Abazovic – has proposed a minority government as a solution to the country’s political crisis.

The ruling coalition, made up of the pro-Serbian Democratic Front, Democrats and the URA, won parliamentary elections in 2020, ending Milo Djukanovic’s 30-year Socialist rule.

But since it was formed in December 2020, the cabinet of Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapic, which has a small parliamentary majority, has been riddled with quarrels between coalition partners – pro-Serb and pro-European – which has led to a contraction. of public support for it.

On February 4, with the proposal of the URA, the motion of no confidence in the Government of Krivokapic is expected to be voted. Djukanovic’s Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) has also expressed support for the motion.

New liturgies against the Minority Government

Ruling Democrats, lawmakers from smaller parties operating within the Democratic Front and Krivokapic’s loyal ministers are staging protests in the form of ecclesiastical liturgies, accusing Abazovic of the DPS of links to the DPS and “betrayal of the will of the people”. ”.

The rallies start in front of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Podgorica, while the participants hold ecclesiastical icons.

Radio Free Europe asked one of the participants, the Montenegrin MP Vladimir Dobricanin, why church iconography is used in political protests for the fate of the Government and if the church has anything to do with the current protests. Dobricanin has said no.

“The start of protests by the church is a stimulating force, because the liturgies have brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. “I hope that all future protests will be similar to the liturgies, will be peaceful and democratic”, said Dobricanin, adding that the church should not interfere in political developments.

The liturgy in the form of liturgies was organized in 2020 by the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, to oppose the Law on Freedom of Religion. With this law, the then Government, led by the DPS, made attempts to transfer ownership of church buildings to the state.

Following the liturgical protests, which were supported by the then opposition, a change of government took place in Montenegro in August 2020.

Due to the possibility of forming a minority government, which would be supported by the DPS, together with politicians protest organizations close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, such as: “Miholjski zbor”, “Zavjetnici Tvrdos Niksic” and “Stupovi” .

All of them also protest against the expected overthrow of the Government of Krivokapic.

Sociologist Andrija Djukanovic says these are protests similar to those of 2020.

“But for now, it seems farce, because the church is left out of these events, except through some pre-church organizations.“, he says.

According to him, there is no dilemma that the church, in general, interferes a lot in politics.

“Sometimes voluntarily, sometimes not politike Political rallies can not be held without the church, athletes visit churches and receive icons as gifts… We are witnessing a change in the character of society, from civil to theocratic, which is not good“, Says Djukanovic.

The opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Montenegro believes that the Serbian Orthodox Church has previously coordinated the political activities of pro-Serb parties in Montenegro.

“The behavior of the Serbian Orthodox Church will be in line with the interests of the neighboring state of Serbia. This institution is recognized in the strategic documents of the state of Serbia as a powerful instrument of influence in the countries of the region. “We have a continuum of behavior, which is contrary to the interests of Montenegro,” said SDP official Bojan Zekovic.

Krivokapic’s government, the fate of which will be decided by lawmakers on February 4, is close to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which has directly influenced the election of the prime minister and most of the ministers./REL

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