Will the young liberal economist Jakov Milatovic bring down the inalterable Milo Djukanovic, who has been in power for three decades in this tiny Balkan country? The second round of the presidential election, this Sunday, April 2, promises to be tense.
This election will she be the one too many for Milo Djukanovic61, the veteran of Balkan politics, who has reigned over Montenegro for 32 years with the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), alternating the functions of Prime Minister and President of the Republic?
This time, he is not approaching the ballot as a favourite, analyzes our special correspondent in Podgorica, Jean-Arnault Derens : in the first round, on March 19, he won only 35% of the vote and has almost no vote reserves, while all the other candidates went to his rival, Jakov Milatovic, a liberal economist 36 years old, presented by the movement Europe, now. He became known two years ago when, Minister of the Economy, this former member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), launched an ambitious program to increase wages and pensions of retirement.
Blocking
Milo Djukanovic took over at the age of 29, backed by Belgrade strongman Slobodan Milosevic. But as Serbia became a pariah on the international stage, he was able to distance himself. He moved closer to the West, broke with Belgrade and won the independence of Montenegro in a referendum in 2006. Under the aegis of Milo Djukanovic and his party, Montenegro joined NATO, became a candidate for the European Union and left the Russian sphere of influence. His critics nevertheless accuse him of generalized corruption and links with organized crime, which the person concerned strongly denies.
Milo Djukanovic tries to dramatize the issue by presenting his adversary as subservient to the Serbian Orthodox Church, even to Putin’s Russia, but these accusations do not take much, especially since Jakov Milatovic has always affirmed his European and pro-European commitment. western.
Montenegro could therefore well turn a page in its history for good this Sunday. And even if the president essentially only has a representative role in Montenegro, the ballot could be decisive for the balance of powers in the run-up to early legislative elections convened for June 11. The country has been blocked for months after the August 2022 overthrow of the government, which has however since been in charge of current affairs.
(And with AFP)