For the first time in three decades, President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic and his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) lost parliament elections. The “For the Future of Montenegro” coalition, led by Zdravko Krivokapic, formed a new government to deliver its promise on church affairs free from state influence. As the coalition won elections on this promise, the new government will now have to keep state affairs free from church influence and focus on strengthening the county’s Euro-Atlantic perspective. Otherwise, it will risk further destabilization by returning to church-state relations marked by the ethno-nationalistic discourse between Serbs and Montenegrins.
In August 2020, parliamentary elections revealed the people’s will as they voted against President Djukanovic and DPS, primarily for their role in adopting the Law on the Freedom of Religion in December 2019. Among other provisions, the Law’s Article 62 stipulated that all religious property without evidence of ownership before 1918 – when Montenegro became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes – shall constitute state property. The Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) has strongly criticized the Law as a classic example of confiscation (nationalization) by the state. Soon after, SOC organized daily processions with masses demanding amendments to the Law. As president Djukanovic stood by the original version, the opposition leader Krivokapic supported the Law’s amendments. On December 29, 2020, the new parliament majority led by the now Prime minister Krivokapic adopted the Law’s amendments.
However, on January 2, 2021, President Djukanovic refused to sign the new document into Law, demanding its re-examination for legal and procedural issues. The next parliamentary session is scheduled for January 20, 2021, where the narrow majority of 41 parliament members will likely re-adopt amendments. Concurrently, President Djukanovic will likely sign the document into Law. With the pre-election promise fulfilled, the new government might focus more on the EU accession process, advancing the critical chapters 23 and 24. Judiciary efficiency and accountability, fight against corruption, and freedom of expression still lack progress, following the need to adopt standard operating procedures on financial investigations and strengthen the institutional capacity in migration, asylum, and border management. Concurrently, the new government might also reinforce its NATO commitment, as recommended by the NATO 2030 policy paper. Addressing these priorities will be vital for the country’s overall stability.
The new government is likely to switch focus from church-state relations to the country’s Euro-Atlantic obligations. Once President Djukanovic signs the amended Law on the Freedom of Religion, Prime minister Krivokapic will get a chance to move the county towards the EU by addressing the burning issues mentioned in chapters 23 and 24. With the amended Law in force, the church-state relations may become marginal. However, the matter could escalate if the new government decides to use momentum to further the existing ethno-nationalistic polemic between Serbs and Montenegrins by questioning the country’s Euro-Atlantic perspective.