Montenegro

Executive Summary

Another eventful year is behind Montenegro. Politicians of a new generation assumed leadership positions in the country, with Jakov Milatović taking over the presidency from Milo Đukanović, who had been either president or prime minister for most of the last three decades, and Milojko Spajić becoming prime minister after lengthy political negotiations with many twists and turns. Both Milatović and Spajić hail from a relatively new political option, the Europe Now Movement (PES). The Parliament barely functioned until late October, when the new government was formed, due to a prolonged political and constitutional crisis. The outgoing government therefore ruled without a functioning Parliament from March to October. With the new government in office for only two months at the end of 2023, its trajectory was still consolidating. However, some initial signs of consensus-building were seen in November when the new government finally reached agreement on the appointment of the seventh Constitutional Court judge, and in December when the long-overdue census was conducted. The latter has been a contested issue in Montenegro, given the country’s pronounced ethnic cleavages. Also in December, Spajić’s minority government assembled the qualified parliamentary majority necessary to appoint three members of the Judicial Council. Each of them was appointed with 65% or more votes of MPs.