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New Leader Pledges War on Montenegro's Mafias

16 11 2006  Opposition warns that premier faces an uphill battle against tycoons that dominate economy.

By Nedjeljko Rudovic in Podgorica (Balkan Insight, 16 Nov 06)

Montenegro's new government has set European integration and the fight against corruption as its priorities, though as a European progress report has indicted, the corruption issue is likely to dog the country for years.

The new administration took office last week under Zeljko Sturanovic, a senior official of the Democratic Party of Socialists.
 
It was the first new government to take power since the republic proclaimed independence in May after a referendum.
 
While Sturanovic's government has put the European Union high on the agenda, a new EU report has warned that corruption still causes Brussels deep concern.
 
The European Commission progress report published on November 9 had mixed words of praise and criticism for Podgorica.
 
"Montenegro has shown the determination to step up its battle against corruption," it said, "although it is a problem of staggering proportions. The country's entire institutional order is prone to corruption."     
 
Sturanovic, 46, is not personally held responsible for this scourge.
 
The successor to Milo Djukanovic, who ruled the republic in various capacities for 17 years, the ex-justice minister has an impeccable record and is untainted by scandal.
 
Djukanovic quit as prime minister after his party won an absolute majority in the last parliamentary election on September 10 along with its junior partner, the Social Democrats, led by Ranko Krivokapic.
 
He left on a high note, having achieved independence for Montenegro after 88 years of various forms of union.
 
But with separation from Belgrade now out of the way, other pressing issues are coming to the surface, with corruption in first place.
 
The rise of a nouveau riche elite that has gained its fortunes improperly is deeply unpopular and has become a hot issue that the government would dearly like to solve.
 
In his inaugural speech, Sturanovic stressed that the formation of a special team to fight organised crime would be a priority.
 
"We plan to further strengthen the institutional capacities of combating corruption and organised crime, including the formation of a special police unit to investigate corruption-related felonies and protect all individuals who testify against the offenders," he said.
 
The premier pledged also to downsize the government administration, provide more equipment for the police force, cut taxes and build new roads.
 
He will need to act fast, as the corruption issue is a gift for the opposition parties who claim the local tycoons are often linked to the ruling party.
 
These tycoons, most of whom amassed fortunes in the 1990s by smuggling rackets with cigarettes and petrol, are now busy legalising their business interests, often by buying up hotels and resorts on the sought-after Montenegrin coast.
 
This situation angers most of the public, the pro-Serbian opposition parties and the Movement for Change, a former NGO that has become a major party in its own right, under Nebojsa Medojevic.
 
They have all criticised Sturanovic's government, saying he has failed to address the heart of the problem.
 
"The government did not say what it plans to do with Montenegrin tycoons who made millions of euro in a very short period of time," said Medojevic.
 
He said Sturanovic's position would be uncomfortable heading a government whose priorities "will be defined neither by him nor by the party that put him in office" - referring to the tycoons and the mafia in the background. 
 
"The prime minister will try to balance between Brussels' demands for genuine reforms and implementing European standards on one side, and anti-reform pressure on the other, from the local tycoons who oppose any pro-European change," added Medojevic. 
 
Other opposition parties are even less charitable towards the government than the Movement for Change.
 
Andrija Mandic, one of leaders of the opposition Serbian People's Party, said the country's tycoons and the mafia bosses "are the only ones looking forward to the government's programme because it is intent on changing nothing".
 
The party leader, Dragan Soc, said Sturanovic would find it difficult to crack down on organised crime, as he would then "encounter the invisible forces that actually control Montenegro".
 
The Socialist People's Party also said it doubted the newly inaugurated government would achieve any progress.
 
"There was not a word about those who have made instant profits," a senior official, Dragisa Pesic, complained during a parliamentary debate.
 
The EU, for its part, has said it wants to be a real partner to Sturanovic's government provided that it undertook reforms that were real and not cosmetic.
 
Sturanovic is keen to take up the offer, promising to do his utmost to speed up the EU integration process.
 
"Now we have resolved Montenegro's status... our ability to adopt and implement the best European practice and experiences will be the only barometer of our success," he said.
 
"That is a massive responsibility but it also offers a realistic chance for Montenegro to achieve its strategic goal during this present government's term." 
 
The republic's president, Filip Vujanovic, for his part, has said the new government has "enough energy and motives to do well" while Djukanovic has promised to help Sturanovic to the best of his abilities.
 
Svetozar Jovicevic, a prominent political analyst, said the new government "faces a tough battle" confronting the negative elements that had engulfed Montenegrin society over the past few two decades.
 
"Facing up to crime and corruption is inevitable if he wants to make Montenegro a better society," he said.
 
"The new government... would be under a massive delusion if it tried to just draw a line and say everything will be different from now on. All the more so because many of these people pulling the strings are still around one way or the other." 
 
Nedjeljko Rudovic is a journalist with Vijesti. Balkan Insight is BIRN's online publication.