The conservative Montenegrin government led by PM Zdravko Krivokapic fell in a no-confidence vote on February 4, deepening the political crisis in the tiny Balkan country.

The collapse of the broad coalition government is now likely to lead to a new government backed by the former ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and early parliamentary elections in May together with regular local elections.

The conservative coalition has arguably been doomed since the start due to the huge differences between its 20 small parties. 

The government was toppled in a 43-11 vote in favour of the no-confidence motion, filed by a junior government partner, the civic movement United Reform Action (URA), following internal disputes among the ruling parties. The Montenegrin parliament has 81 MPs. MPs from the parties which are close to Krivokapic left the session.

“At the third extraordinary session in 2022, the assembly accepted the motion of no-confidence of the 42nd government of Montenegro,” the parliament announced.

The proposal for a no-confidence vote was presented by MP Milos Konatar from the progressive URA movement.

“From the beginning, this government has been functioning as a minority government. It often happened that we could not get 41 votes of support. It is clear that the 42nd government does not have the confidence of the parliament,” Konatar was quoted  as saying by broadcaster RTCG.

URA also accused the government led by PM Krivokapic of poor management of the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, a slowdown in EU integration and a failure to create more jobs.

Parliament Speaker Aleksa Becic said earlier that if MPs vote to shorten their mandate with at least 41 votes, then Montenegro could hold early parliamentary elections in May together with regular local elections.

Spokesperson of the European Commission Ana Pisonero told broadcaster RTCG that the new government in Montenegro should be formed without undue delay.

"The formation of a new government is the responsibility of political actors in Montenegro. We believe that this will happen without undue delay," Pisonero was cited as saying.

The current crisis stems from the latest in a series of problems between the coalition partners, beginning even before Krivokapic’s government was elected in December 2020. It unfolded in January after Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic proposed a new start for the coalition with a minority government and excluding the far-right pro-Russian Democratic Front, as well as the DPS.

Abazovic’s idea was not well received by the rest of the ruling coalition, which includes the Democratic Front but not the DPS, and in response he initiated a no-confidence motion against his own government, arguing that this was the normal democratic way to find out whether the government still has enough support.

In return, Krivokapic initiated a motion to remove Abazovic. However, the MPs did not discuss the dismissal of Abazovic on February 3, a day before the no-confidence vote, after the agenda did not receive the necessary support.

63-year-old Krivokapic, a university professor is one of the founders of the NGO dubbed "We won't give up Montenegro", stood up in support of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro after a controversial religion law by the former DPS government targeted the legal status and the church’s property.

His close relationship with the church often led to speculation and controversy from Montenegrin nationalists and supporters of the DPS.

Krivokapic will continue to serve as PM until the election of the new government.

Abazovic proposed the establishment of a minority government, which would prepare the conditions for snap elections.

Montenegro declared independence from Serbia in 2006. It launched EU accession talks in 2012 and became a Nato member in 2017.