The Turning Point of No Return

For Antena M by: Miljan Vesovic

The Prime Minister of Montenegro, Milojko Spajić, was in an ebullient mood this Monday night. After concluding the intergovernmental conference with the EU in Brussels—where Montenegro increased the number of closed chapters of the Acquis Communautaire from three to six—Spajić called an impromptu press conference, undoubtedly eager to share his political victory with the media. There were the usual platitudes: “Montenegro has never been closer to the EU,” “2025 will be even better than 2024,” and “2026 even better than 2025.” There was also a Trumpian exuberance: “victories never seen in Montenegro’s history.” Unlike the breakup-stricken hero of a famous Taylor Swift song, Spajić didn’t bring Dom Perignon, but one could almost imagine the corks popping and the bubbles rising to the tops of glasses.

Among all the joy and jubilation, the Prime Minister let a Freudian slip... well, slip. He wanted to convey two ideas simultaneously: that Montenegro’s closure of chapters marked a turning point on its road to the EU, and that EU integration is now irreversible. Thus, Spajić proclaimed that Montenegro had reached “the turning point of no return.” Accidentally, Spajić was right. Montenegro is indeed fast approaching a point of no return. The only problem is that it’s not on the road to EU membership. Rather, it’s on a road to constitutional crisis, destabilization, institutional breakdown, and ethnic tensions—a prelude to the establishment of Georgian- or Serbian-style authoritarianism, firmly aligned with Belgrade and Moscow.

What is the problem? Well, it is who rather than what. Spajić's coalition partners—the anti-Western, anti-European, pro-Serbian, and pro-Russian ex Democratic Front, comprised of New Serb Democracy and People’s Democratic Party (it seems no one has yet told them that their name sounds rather North Korean)—do not want to see Montenegro in the European Union. Nor do they want it in NATO. Moreover, they seek to position Montenegro as an enemy of the U.S. and Western European countries. On top of this, their political power has grown exponentially over the last five years. They control the parliamentary majority, their leader, Andrija Mandić, is the Speaker of Parliament, and they either lead or have loyalists in key positions across all government ministries and agencies—economy, security, diplomacy and foreign affairs, energy, education—you name it. With the risk of sounding like a hero from a zombie apocalypse story in a pulp fiction magazine: they are everywhere. And they are making their presence felt.

As soon as Montenegro received the Interim Benchmarks Assessment Report from the European Commission in June, Mandić and his clique engineered a diplomatic row with Croatia by blackmailing the government and parliamentary majority into adopting the Resolution on Genocide in Jasenovac Concentration Camp. This resolution, dictated to Mandić by Vučić’s spin doctors, was deemed too extreme even for Serbia. However, for Montenegro, Vučić found it perfect. Why? Because it was designed precisely to disrupt friendly relations between Montenegro and Croatia (an EU member) and derail Montenegro’s European integration process. Vučić gave the order, Mandić executed it flawlessly, and Spajić failed to resist the pressure of his pro-Russian coalition partners. The result? Croatia blocked the closure of the critical Chapter 31 of the Acquis, dealing with EU Foreign and Security Policy.

When questioned about their actions (they, by the way, never miss an opportunity to publicly profess their love for the EU)—the DF leaders offered an interesting response. They claim they want to join the EU “with our heads held high” and “our spines straight.” Honestly, if I were them, I wouldn’t talk much about straight spines. Many of them look rather scoliosis-stricken—probably a result of excessive food consumption and a lifetime of lounging in plush executive chairs. However, let’s not split hairs—when they say “with our spines straight,” they mean it metaphorically. The problem is, the metaphor translates to not joining the EU at all. Their statements are almost verbatim quotations of Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, after he decided to (what a surprise) suspend his country’s EU accession. And if the current Georgian Prime Minister is a role model for successful EU integration, then I am Genghis Khan. Literally.

This time, after the closure of the three Acquis chapters, Mandić and his cronies once again made a highly destabilizing move. The Constitutional Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro, chaired by an MP from Mandić’s party, illegally forced three justices of the Constitutional Court into retirement. This, despite the Constitution of Montenegro explicitly forbidding such actions without a request from the Constitutional Court Plenary, which they never received. What they did have was an illegal memo from the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. Illegal, you ask? Well, the Constitutional Court Plenary currently consists of six justices. The Chief Justice is one person. Unless she performed the medical miracle of cloning herself into five other people, she lacked the authority to send the memo. Strangely enough, the Chief Justice is also the close cousin of one of Mandić’s coalition leaders. Coincidence? Perhaps. But with coincidences like this, who needs intent?

The Democratic Front and their cousins have therefore invoked the old communist (Tito-era) prescription: “We shouldn’t follow the law too strictly.” The result? The Constitutional Court can easily be blocked again. With it, Montenegro’s European integration is paralyzed, as is its electoral process. This also clears the way for the parliamentary majority (again led by Mandić) to adopt the controversial Law on Citizenship and Law on Foreign Agents—the latter requiring NGOs receiving foreign grants to register as “foreign agents,” as in Russia—without court scrutiny. It opens the possibility to engineer the impeachment of President of Montenegro Milatovic – a former ally, but now a political opponent of the Democratic Front. 

Prime Minister Spajić assures us that such laws will not be passed or changed without “consensus with the opposition.” The problem is that Mandić doesn’t care what Spajić says. Mandić is successfully employing “salami tactics.” First, he will turn Montenegro into an authoritarian state, neutralizing the current parliamentary opposition and President Milatović. Once that is accomplished, he will turn his attention to devouring Spajić. And he will succeed. Why? Because he has powerful backers in Belgrade and Moscow, while Spajić will have precisely no one to back him. By then, the current Prime Minister will have politically outlived his usefulness.

To cut this long story short—since we have more topics to cover—as of December 17th, 2024, electoral democracy and Montenegro’s European political orientation are suspended. Does this remind you of Russia or Georgia? Yes, me too. In the meantime, Mandić and his allies have retaken control of the Montenegrin police, while they (or worse, Serbia’s BIA and, by extension, the Russian intelligence agencies) have long controlled the Montenegrin intelligence service. Recently, a new director of the Montenegrin Intelligence Agency (ANB) was appointed—a man politically close to the Prime Minister but with no intelligence experience whatsoever. Before this, he ran a boat-rental business. What does this mean? It means he will lack the knowledge to disrupt BIA’s plans for Montenegro—and if he does try, he will be easily sidelined.

Mandić and his cronies claim they are conservatives and defenders of “family values.” How do they defend them? By covering up for pedophiles in high schools. Outrageous? Let me explain. Mandić’s party appointed a public high school principal. A male teacher at this school sent text messages to his female students that would make Ron Jeremy blush—a textbook case of grooming and sexual harassment from a position of power. What did the principal do? She cut his salary by $300, covered up the whole thing and let him continue teaching and organizing school trips.

When the scandal broke, parents and concerned citizens demanded her resignation. In response, Mandić’s entire party, including cabinet ministers, rallied behind her. “They hate her because she is an elegant Serbian lady,” said the Minister of Housing and Urban Development. Parents were labeled “moral freaks, scumbags, and rotten intellectuals,” by the Mayor of Pljevlja. Mandić himself stated, “We firmly support the principal.”

Let me tell you something: as a political conservative, I can assure you—covering up and defending pedophiles is not conservatism. Such “conservatism” would make Winston Churchill, William F. Buckley Jr, or Charles de Gaulle turn in their graves. Even Silvio Berlusconi (were he alive) or Matt Gaetz would shudder at such hypocrisy.

Mandic and his party colleagues in the Government and Parliament are also actively blocking the Law on Gender Self-Determination from even reaching parliamentary debate. Now, we won’t delve into the question of whether—and to what extent—transgender rights represent a natural extension of civil rights. We won’t dignify these two-bit, self-proclaimed defenders of "family values" (for an example of how they actually defend family values, see the previous paragraph) with such an important discussion. However, the EU’s standards on this issue are unquestionably tilted toward a liberal and progressive approach to transgender rights. So, if they are truly as passionate about EU membership as they claim, then at least stop filibustering the damn bill—both in government and in parliament. Let there be a vigorous debate. Let all sides present their arguments. And then let lawmakers vote.

One more crucial point: whenever Mandic and his ilk are criticized, they instinctively resort to accusations of “Serbophobia.” If you oppose constitutional violations? Serbophobia. If you demand an electoral democracy? Serbophobia. If you’re against pedophiles teaching high school students while principals cover up their crimes? Serbophobia. If you advocate for transgender rights? Well, you get the idea.

The troubling reality is that this tactic works. Why? Because it effectively forces the political opposition in Montenegro to tiptoe around, terrified of being accused of stoking ethnic division or hatred. So, let’s make something crystal clear, from the bottom of my heart: I believe Montenegro’s ethnic and religious diversity—Montenegrins, Serbs, Croats, Bosniaks, Albanians, Jews, Roma living together and having equal rights—is the nation’s crown jewel and one of its greatest strengths. Without each and every one of those ethnicities – Montenegro would simply not be Montenegro. Furthermore, as a firm believer in free speech, I affirm that even destructive politicians like Mandic and his allies have the right to express their views and participate in the political process. That’s how democracy works. And lastly—outside of politics—I genuinely wish all the leaders of DF, their party members, their supporters and their families good health, happiness, and prosperity, just as I do for every citizen of Montenegro.

However, none of this should stop us from calling a spade a spade. The Democratic Front—or whatever they’re calling themselves these days— is a malignant political tumor eating away at Montenegro’s institutions, democracy, and security apparatus. Traveling toward the European Union with them at the wheel is like attempting to run a marathon while battling untreated lung cancer. Such an endeavor can only end in one of two ways: either the cancer-riddled runner defies all odds to complete the 26 miles and 385 yards, triumphantly crossing the finish line, or he collapses by the roadside, gasping for air, with blood pouring from his mouth and nose.

And believe me, dear readers, I would truly, truly love to be wrong—but smart money is on scenario number two. Just like in an average Netflix tearjerker, the runner will turn his head toward the sky, catching one final glimpse of the sun before his cancer-ravaged body betrays him. The turning point of no return, indeed.