In Montenegro, parliament overthrew the government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, who had been in office for just three and a half months. On the initiative of President Milo Djukanovic’s DPS party and four other parliamentary groups, 50 of the 81 deputies voted in favor on Saturday night. Eco-liberal Abazovic angered the head of state two weeks earlier because he had signed a controversial contract with the Serbian Orthodox Church. For now, Abazovic is likely to continue to rule on an interim basis until a decision is made on his successor.
Abazovic, 36, only took office on April 28 after the previous predominantly pro-Serb government was overthrown in parliament. Like Djukanovic, Abazovic is considered pro-Western. He led a minority government, with a motley coalition that included his URA party, Greens, Social Democrats, ethnic Albanian and Bosnian parties, and a pro-Serb party.
The church’s contract provoked criticism because it granted special rights to the Serbian-controlled Orthodox Church. His leadership never came to terms with the independence of the state of Montenegro. The former Yugoslav republic gained independence in 2006 – at the time in agreement with the Serbian state. Today, the Belgrade government is trying to regain more influence in the NATO country of Montenegro through the church and local pro-Serb parties and organizations.
Prime Minister Abazovic attributed his government’s failure after the vote to the influence of organized crime in his country, which wanted to stop the government’s fight against corruption.
Three days earlier, tensions between Abazovic and parliament also resulted in the failure to elect members to a politically independent judiciary council in parliament. The EU Commission has asked for this measure several times. Montenegro has been a member of NATO since 2017 and intends to join the EU.
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