The end of the Đukanović era

This is the real end of an era: not only does Đukanović’s party no longer have a majority in the country's parliament, but the president himself will leave the presidential residence.

Đukanović’s resignation was equally desired in the West, in Serbia, and in the circles of pro-Russian and pro-Serbian forces in Montenegro itself. But the main beneficiary of this collapse is the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church, whose property interests were challenged by Đukanović. Milatovic is its candidate, an ethnic Serb known for his close ties to the church. However, now the Serbian Church has a new battlefield - it publicly supports... the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and accuses the Ukrainian leadership of persecuting Orthodox Christians. In Montenegro, it all started the same way.

Therefore, the end of the era of Đukanović may mean not only the collapse of a corrupt politician, but also the collapse-or at least the reformatting of the Montenegrin state project itself. Milatović, who won with the support of the church and pro-Russian forces, may become not a "new face" but the face of revenge. Much depends on the West, which will have to keep Serbia from having too many ambitions, prevent Russia from returning to Montenegro, and now support pro-European forces in Montenegro itself. Otherwise, we run the risk of having another "Trojan horse" in NATO, like Hungary. And, by the way, Ukraine's accession to NATO and security guarantees for our country will have to be forgotten for many years.