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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
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DE RUEHPOD #0143/01 1621818
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111818Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY PODGORICA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1349
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHPOD/AMEMBASSY PODGORICA 1438

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PODGORICA 000143 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL MW
SUBJECT: PM DJUKANOVIC, "NEW" GOVERNMENT CONFIRMED 
 
REF: PODGORICA 139 
 
PODGORICA 00000143  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: More than ten weeks after elections, 
Parliament has formally elected Milo Djukanovic as Prime 
Minister.  This will be Djukanovic's sixth term as PM.  As 
expected, his new "government of continuity" contains many 
holdovers, although there will be several new ministries and 
ministers.  Former Serbia-Montenegro State Union president 
Svetozar Marovic has returned to government as DPM for Political 
Affairs (reftel).  Djukanovic's program, presented to Parliament 
before the vote, contains few surprises:  it continues the 
previous government's focus on coping with the global economic 
crisis and on pursuing membership in NATO and the EU.  He stated 
that further rule of law reforms are essential, as are "better 
results" in fighting corruption and organized crime. END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
Djukanovic Elected For Sixth Term 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶2. (U) Late on June 10, Parliament elected Democratic Party of 
Socialists (DPS) leader Milo Djukanovic as Prime Minister by a 
vote of 48 to 22. Three Albanian MPs abstained, and a number of 
mainly opposition deputies were absent.  The outcome of the vote 
was never in doubt, as the DPS and its coalition partners -- the 
Social Democratic Party (SDP), Bosniak Party (BS), and Croat 
Civic Initiative (HGI) control 48 of Parliament's 81 seats; the 
Democratic Union of Albanians (DUA), which has returned a 
Minister to the GoM, also has one MP.  Djukanovic becomes PM for 
the sixth time; he also served one term as President. 
 
 
 
New Cabinet:  Many Familiar Faces, A Few Changes 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Djukanovic, who presented his Cabinet to Parliament on 
June 9, had promised voters that the new GoM would be a 
"government of continuity."  Indeed, most ministers (including 
FM Rocen and MoD Vucinic) are returning.  There will be few 
personnel and organizational changes, with the exception of the 
following: 
 
 
 
--DPS Vice President (and former Serbia-Montenegro State Union 
President) Svetozar Marovic will leave his lucrative business in 
Budva to become Deputy PM for Political Affairs.  He will join 
DPM for "International Economic Cooperation, Structural Reforms, 
and Improvement of the Business Environment" (and Djukanovic 
favorite) Igor Luksic and DPM for Economic and Financial Policy 
Vujica Lazovic (from the SDP) at the DPM rank; 
 
--Gordana Djurovic will lose her DPM title, but returns as 
Minister of the newly created Ministry for European Integration. 
 (Note:  Djurovic is the only woman in the Cabinet); 
 
--The Ministry for Economic Development will be split into the 
Ministry of Economic Development, to be headed by newcomer 
Branko Vujovic (previous director of the GoM Agency for Economic 
Restructuring and Foreign Investment), and the new Ministry of 
Urban Planning, headed by Branimar Gvozdenovic (previous 
Minister for Economic Development); 
 
--The Ministry Health, Labor, and Social Welfare will be split 
into the Ministry of Health, headed by previous Minister Miodrag 
Radunovic, and the new Ministry of Labor, headed by Suad 
Numanovic (Minister without Portfolio in the previous GoM); 
 
--Rafet Husovic (president of the Bosniak Party) and Slavoljub 
Stijepovic (previously DPS Deputy Parliament Speaker) will be 
Ministers without Portfolio; 
 
--DUA leader Ferhat Dinosa will replace party-mate Fuad Nimani 
as Minister for the Protection of Human and Minority Rights; and 
 
--SDP Vice President (and former MP) Ivan Brajovic will replace 
Jusuf Kalamperovic (also from the SDP) as Minister of Interior. 
 
 
 
New Program:  Crisis Fighting and Euro-Atlantic Integration 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
 
PODGORICA 00000143  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
 
¶4. (U) On June 9, Djukanovic also presented his new government's 
program, focused largely on coping with the effects of the 
global economic crisis.  He noted that his previous government 
had already taken action, for example, spending on 
infrastructure development projects (with the biggest to be the 
Bar-Bojare highway), assisting the unemployed, reducing business 
barriers, and cutting the budget deficit.  He also promised to 
complete the privatization of Montenegro's remaining state 
companies within the new government's four-year term, and said 
he would strengthen Montenegro's legal system and "expand 
economic freedom."  Djukanovic also noted that tourism and 
energy sector development remained priorities.  He vowed to 
improve Montenegro's urban planning, environmental protection, 
and system for reporting statistics. 
 
 
 
¶5. (U) Djukanovic stressed that the new GoM's strategic goals 
remain unchanged, particularly its desire for membership in the 
EU and NATO.  He said that EU and NATO integration were 
compatible processes which would encourage Montenegro's economic 
and political development, and expressed the hope that public 
support for NATO could be raised.  Djukanovic also promised that 
Montenegro would continue to contribute to regional stability. 
Djukanovic also emphasized the importance of institutional 
development for Montenegrin democracy and rule of law.  He 
emphasized that further rule of law reforms were essential, as 
were "better results" in fighting corruption and organized 
crime. 
 
 
 
Parliament Q&A 
 
-------------- 
 
 
 
¶6. (U) Opposition MPs followed the presentation with criticism 
of the new GoM's program as "superficial" and "more like a 
political pamphlet" than a serious plan for governing the 
country.  According to one MP, "the only continuity about this 
government is broken promises."  NOVA leader Andrija Mandic 
accused Djukanovic and the DPS of being "anti-Serb," and other 
parliamentarians (such as opposition leaders Srdjan Milic and 
Nebojsa Medojevic) questioned the PM's commitment to combating 
corruption and his ties to business elites. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) In his three-hour rebuttal on June 10, Djukanovic 
defended the previous GoM's record, which he said had increased 
prosperity and stability.  He said that his business connections 
dated from his time out of government, but added that, "it is 
logical that those businessmen have government as a partner." 
Responding to criticism of his role in the GoM's December 2008 
bailout of Prva Banka, whose largest shareholder is the PM's 
brother (the PM himself also owns a small stake), Djukanovic 
said the GoM needed to help the bank's "10,000 depositors."  He 
also stressed that Serbs enjoy full rights under Montenegrin 
law, and defended Kosovo recognition, saying that it had not 
harmed Serbia's interests and had contributed to regional 
stability. 
 
 
 
Deputy Speakers Elected Despite Opposition Boycott 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) In other developments on June 9, Parliament elected DPS 
member (and former PM) Zeljo Sturanovic and SDP VP Rifat 
Rastoder as Deputy Speakers.  According to parliamentary 
regulations, the opposition also was supposed to get a Deputy 
Speaker position, but they refused to propose a candidate after 
the coalition declined their demand for four parliamentary 
committee chair positions.  The coalition had offered two 
chairs, of human rights and budget and economic policy.   (Note: 
 DPS sources had originally insisted that SDP would not get a 
Deputy Speaker slot - in fact, arguments within the coalition 
over the positions delayed the initial session of Parliament in 
late April - but conceded in the end.  DPS Political Director 
Predrag Sekulic told us recently that, "They (the SDP) always 
get what they want and more in the end.") 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
PODGORICA 00000143  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
------- 
 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) The new GoM's confirmation was long overdue, coming 
more than ten weeks after the March 29 parliamentary election 
and almost five weeks after President Vujanovic nominated 
Djukanovic as PM.  Internal DPS politicking between Marovic on 
one side and Djukanovic and Luksic on the other was reportedly 
was a major cause for the delay (reftel).  An initial look at 
the new Cabinet suggests that Marovic not only failed to upstage 
Luksic, but failed to bring his allies into key economic 
ministries (as some observers had predicted).  Gvozdenovic, who 
reportedly clashed in the past with Marovic over commercial 
development in the coastal town of Budva, is the new Minister of 
Urban Planning, and Vujovic, a strong Djukanovic loyalist, will 
head the Ministry for Economic Development.  And for fans of 
Montenegrin Kremlinology, the press made much of the fact that 
PM Djukanovic mentioned Luksic's name first when announcing his 
new Cabinet.  Moreover, Marovic himself did not attend the 
session. 
 
 
 
¶10. (SBU) Apart from this intrigue, the new GoM represents a 
continuation of essentially the same people and policies. 
However, the return of Marovic highlights the continued 
co-mingling of Montenegro's business and political elites, an 
issue that must be addressed as Montenegro pursues NATO and EU 
membership.   It does not help Montenegro's image that Vujovic, 
though subsequently acquitted, was indicted on charges of 
improperly overseeing the privatization of Montenegro's former 
state oil company. 
MOORE