November 7, 2020 - The future Government is based on four key areas that are the current priorities for Montenegro. These are the rule of law, finances, education, and health, said Prime Minister-designate Zdravko Krivokapic, presenting the new Montenegrin Government's proposed composition on Thursday, November 5.
He said that the model drew from the Netherlands and Finland, as examples of good practice, and that in essence, rationalization should offer an answer to the challenges facing Montenegro.
This was the message of the Prime Minister-designate in his address to the public, recalling that the agreement between the three winning coalitions harmonized the expert Government and that the executive power will not count "blood grains, nor take into account nations and religion."
There are 12 ministries in the prime minister's office, three of which are headed by women. The chief negotiator's office remains with the prime minister's office due to the importance of the EU accession process.
The Prime Minister-designate previously announced that the Government's work would be limited to 200 days to a year, as estimated to be needed to reform sectors necessary for the organization of fair and free elections:
"The Government will have 12 ministries, and for me that has the symbolism of the 12 apostles that our metropolitan (Amfilohije) constantly taught us about. We want to make a sacrifice so that Montenegro can be different, and be the right place for the life of our descendants, so that they do not leave this area, but build a common future here, in this beautiful environment," Krivokapić said.
Krivokapic plans to reduce the number of always by merging several departments into one. Public administration will be attached to the Ministry of Justice, and the departments of culture, sports, and science to the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Finance will cover the area of labor and social welfare. Two new ministries are also planned - those of ecology, and capital investments.
Krivokapić announced that it was his and his team's choice to head Tamara Srzentić the Ministry of Public Administration, Digital Society and Media. Their candidate for the chief of the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism is Dr. Ratko Mitrović, Professor at the Faculty of Architecture. The Ministry of the Interior proposed chief is Nikola Terzić.
Djordje Radulovic was nominated for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakov Milatovic for the Ministry of Economic Development, and Mladen Bojanic for the Ministry of Capital Investments.
Aleksandar Stijović is the candidate for the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Vesna Bratić is the Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, Jelena Borovinić Bojović is the Minister of Health, Vladimir Leposavić is the Minister of Justice, Minority and Human Rights, and Milojko Spajić is the Minister of Finance and Social Welfare. The Ministry of Defense is not yet staffed," Krivokapic said.
Krivokapic said that the Government is based on seven pillars. Five are related to work on European integration - the first pillar is the green economy, the second is digital transformation, the third is regional cooperation and connectivity, and the fourth is improving competitiveness.
"As a rule, the fifth pillar is not so defined, but we want to show an outstanding attitude towards all social problems, and so we called it social protection. That sixth pillar is known as equal socal opportunities and the seventh pillar good governance, with which we want to start the process of integration towards the EU, "said the Prime Minister.
He believes, as he said, that the Police Directorate should not be an independent body and that it should return to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior.
"I hope that with this model and the choice of these professionals, Montenegro will be different, not to look at who is what and not to examine his blood line, but to measure the results of our actions," said Krivokapić.
Reactions of coalition partners to Krivokapic's proposal to form a new government
After hearing the Prime Minister's proposals at the meeting of the winning coalition party leaders, which was held in Podgorica, there were reactions from his coalition list Together for the Future of Montenegro.
"The government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Zdravko Krivokapic is an experimental autocratic, theocratic one," said the Movement for Change (PZP) leader Nebojsa Medojevic. He added that the candidates for ministers are unknown persons, without any experience and references, and that everything is, as he stated, "a great betrayal of the people and a dangerous game to play with the fate of the state."
After the meeting with Prime Minister-designate Zdravko Krivokapic, the leaders of the Democratic Front, Andrija Mandic and Milan Knezevic did not hide their dissatisfaction.
"The Prime Minister-designate proposed a composition where authentic representatives of the Serbian people cannot hold any public office. We told him that we were not interested in his candidates," Knezevic said.
"We will not allow this situation to be abused. In the end, together with our people, we will have the opportunity to change Montenegro. It will pass quickly. We will have free elections," stated Mandic.
After the meeting, URA leader Dritan Abazović announced that the Government's proposed concept is close to the principles that URA stands for, and later the proposal of Zdravko Krivokapić was supported by the party bodies of URA.
"The objection remains that the proposed composition of the Government did not respect Montenegro's diversity of identity, more precisely that there are no members of minority nations and that there is a lamentably low number of women in the composition of the Government. However, we believe that these two principles will be more respected in the in-depth structure of the Government," stated the Presidency of URA. The Presidency also supports Dritan Abazović to be the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.
Democratic Montenegro, which won 9 parliamentary seats in the August elections, has not yet made a public statement on the new Government's proposal.
The day after the elections, on August 31, the leaders of the three winning coalitions, Zdravko Krivokapic, Aleksa Becic, and Dritan Abazovic, announced the principles on which the future Government will rest. Among which was the direction "that the government will be expert, constituted by experts in specific fields, regardless of their political, religious, national, or any other characteristics."
Krivokapić sent a request to the Assembly to hold a session. "I expect that a session of the Assembly will be organized as soon as possible, at which I will present the program as Prime Minister-designate and propose the composition of the new Government of Montenegro," Krivokapic wrote on his Twitter account.
