Status: 08/20/2022 07:17 a.m
In Montenegro, the government under Prime Minister Abazovic was overthrown by a vote of no confidence – after just three and a half months in office. The background is a dispute over an agreement with the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Dritan Abazovic had been in office as Prime Minister of the NATO member state Montenegro for just three and a half months – now he and his minority government have been overthrown by a vote of no confidence in parliament.
In the vote, 50 of the 81 parliamentarians voted for the motion of no confidence in Abazovic’s pro-Western government, a coalition of several small parties. Only one MP voted against the motion, the other MPs boycotted the vote.
Abazovic himself attributed the failure of his government to the influence of organized crime in his country, which wanted to prevent the fight against corruption. With this aim, the head of government, who has now failed, campaigned for himself as prime minister before he took office. He also wanted to promote Montenegro’s efforts to join the EU.
Dispute over special rights for the Serbian Orthodox Church
However, a controversial agreement between Abazovic and the Serbian Orthodox Church had recently caused tensions between the head of government and the President of Montenegro, Milo Djukanovic. The agreement was intended to grant special rights to the Serbian Orthodox Church. However, Djukanovic is considered a harsh critic of this church.
Today’s Montenegro, a former Yugoslav republic, became independent in 2006 – at that time in agreement with the Serbian state. Today, Serbia is trying to regain more influence in Montenegro through the church and local pro-Serbian parties and organizations.
The previous government also failed due to a vote of no confidence
Montenegro has been going through a phase of political instability for some time. The previous government, which was primarily made up of pro-Serbian and pro-Russian parties, was only overthrown in February by a vote of no confidence. Now President Djukanovic must appoint a new head of government. There could also be early elections.