Montenegro’s Europe Now Party (PES), which won the June 11 snap general election, has ruled out working with either the former ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) or outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic’s URA, leaving it with only one viable option: a coalition with the nationalistic pro-Russian For the Future of Montenegro (ZBCG) coalition. 

PES, a party set up only last spring, beat the DPS in the local elections last autumn, the presidential election in April and most recently in the snap general election, promising a new era of politics in Montenegro. However, in the weeks since the vote it has been struggling to put together a majority in parliament. 

PES will have 24 out of 81 MPs in the new parliament and with the red lines it has drawn on cooperating with the DPS or URA is left needing the support of ZBCG and some or all parties of ethnic minorities to put together a majority. 

ZBCG has already proposed the same formula, while PES has said it will start coalition talks with the pro-Russian formation.

Former partners 

The two formations are no strangers to each other as the founders of PES – Spajic and President Jakov Milatovic – gained popularity while serving as ministers in the former government of Zdravko Krivokapic, which was supported by 20 parties, including those comprising ZBCG.

However, the experience was not a positive one. The coalition of 20 parties that backed Krivokapic’s government after the August 2020 general election managed to oust the DPS from power but doomed the country to stalled reforms due to major policy differences.

A PES-ZBCG coalition would most likely also be an unstable one, and is highly unlikely to bring the country closer to its Western partners. 

Today, Montenegro needs urgent reforms that require agreement between political parties. However, even if they genuinely want to bring Montenegro closer to EU membership, Spajic and Milatovic will, in the best scenario, be blocked by ZBCG – a coalition that is openly against EU membership and wants the country out of Nato.

Europe Now 2.0 

ZBCG has a track record of blocking reforms instead of supporting them since 2020, which means they are likely to thwart the agenda set out by PES’ leaders. 

Spajic and Milatovic managed to draft and put in force a reform agenda named Europe Now while serving as ministers of finance and economy in Krivokapic’s government.

The two politicians have said they are ready with Europe Now 2.0 – a programme of new reforms that would further increase income, boost investment and modernise the country.

Meanwhile, to show his commitment to EU accession for Montenegro, Milatovic picked Brussels for his first official visit as president. 

Spajic and Milatovic had successful careers in Western institutions before turning to politics and insist they are firmly pro-Western. 

However, their detractors have raised questions about their ties to Serbia – and by extension Moscow, considering the Kremlin’s warm relations with Belgrade.

Ahead of the April 2 presidential vote, information emerged that Spajic has Montenegrin and Serbian citizenship. The leader of PES was quickly disqualified from the presidential race, although he said he had given up his Serbian citizenship three days before handing in the documents for his candidacy. Milatovic does not have Serbian citizenship but there were rumours he owns property in Serbia.

Western-oriented parties excluded 

Although both the DPS and PES are pro-Western and pushing for reforms that would bring the country closer to EU membership, the political newcomer is reluctant to join forces with the former ruling party over several major corruption scandals that have burdened its reputation over the years. Among PES’ top internal political priorities is ousting the DPS from all state institutions and sending it into political retirement.

URA, meanwhile, is no longer a potential coalition partner after the rift between URA’s leader, the outgoing Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, and PES leader Milojko Spajic. A week before the general election, Abazovic shared information about a letter apparently from fugitive crypto mogul Do Kwon saying he had business ties with Spajic and had funded PES’ election campaigns. PES claimed in a statement on its website that Kwon, who has since been sentenced to prison for trying to exit the country with fake documents, was forced to sign the letter in exchange for his release on bail.