Weekly Briefing, Vol. 33, No. 3 (ME), October 2020
Social issues in Montenegro are colored by political colors
Traditionally, social issues in Montenegro are often related to political developments in the country. This may be due to the imposition of topics by the media, which are now much easier to shape social thought and consciousness, but are also able to shift the focus to some social issues more effectively than before. Topics that dominated the media in October were, in addition to the spread of the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the issue of the Population Census and opposition to holding military exercises on mountain Sinjajevina.
The COVID-19 pandemic leaves traces on the lives of Montenegrin citizens
The spread of the pandemic is certainly significant because it affects not only the deepening economic crisis and consequently the poorer standard of living of citizens (due to rising unemployment), but also the organization and functioning of many institutions and entire systems.
The impact of a pandemic is still most noticeable on living standards, although sometimes the data can be misleading. Namely, the data of the Statistical Office (MONSTAT) indicate that the net average salary in September in Montenegro amounted to 524 EUR. This means that the average salary compared to August recorded a growth of 0.2 percent, while compared to the same month in 2019 it recorded a growth of 1.6 percent. However, consumer prices in September compared to August 2020 recorded an increase of 0.7 percent, which means that real wages are lower by 0.5 percent.
An additional indicator to support the thesis of worsening living standards is the fact that the pandemic has led to a significant reduction in the number of employed persons. According to the Employment Agency of Montenegro (EAM), since the beginning of the pandemic (slightly more than seven months) over 7600 people have lost their jobs in Montenegro (almost 5% of the total number of registered employees). Also, the fact that women make up 59% of the total number of unemployed is worrying. Montenegrin citizens will feel changes reflected in rising unemployment through declining disposable income and greater exposure to poverty risk. Compared to the beginning of the year, the data from October indicate that there was a decrease in the number of employees in each area. MONSTAT data also show that the reduction in the number of employees is most pronounced in the wholesale and retail trade sector (more than half of the total number of lost jobs). Also, the construction sector recorded a significant decline in the number of employees, as well as the sector of accommodation and food services, which is a consequence of the poor tourist season due to the pandemic. Also, pandemic stopped some economic activities, but it did not stop some lasting demographic problems. In the past months, and even now, the health sector is facing one of the biggest challenges in history, but despite that, there is a decrease in the number of employees. This points to the fact that the pandemic did not stop the process of emigration of medical personnel from Montenegro.
The need for digitalization in all areas of functioning of social life is more than present. After the regular start of the school year (with new regulations and measures of conduct at school), the spread of the pandemic in some municipalities has forced a re-transition to online teaching. Despite the considerable readiness for this type of teaching, various social problems arise that can leave far-reaching consequences than it initially seemed. First of all, the question arises of the effect of online teaching on the social life and socialization of young people, especially those in primary school for whom socializing and contact, in the opinion of many psychologists, is necessary for personality development.
Population Census – in focus earlier than expected
The population census, which is held every 10 years, according to the MONSTAT plan, should be conducted in the spring of 2021. However, it is a topic that received a lot of public attention in October. Why talk about it so much before it should happen? Politics seems to have contributed to such media pressure. Namely, the results of the recent parliamentary elections probably infiltrated some of the pro-Serbian parties in the future government. The representatives of these parties often speak in public about their support to the policy of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro and its metropolitan who denies the Montenegrin nation, i.e. he supports the idea of the Montenegrin people as part of the Serbian nation. Such rhetoric is taken seriously by the pro-Montenegrin state-building parties. Also, some intellectuals from Serbia who openly advocate “national engineering” or “Serbization” of Montenegrins are also making the problem. In addition, official Serbia gives them space in its national media, and the President of Serbia himself stated that he is not so much interested in parliamentary elections in Montenegro as in the census of population itself. Some analysts see this as a wish of many Serbian nationalists to revive the idea of a “Greater Serbia” which is now being implemented under the slogan “Serbian world”. Some Serbian historians have hinted even before the election that the victory of pro-Serbian parties in Montenegro in the elections would only be a means to more easily gain the levers of power that should be used to achieve favourable result on the population census. And for them, such a result would mean that census should show that Serbs, not Montenegrins, are the majority population in Montenegro.[1]
Even on this topic, the European Union has stated that all national decisions on data collection on sensitive and non-binding census topics, such as ethnicity, religion and language, should be based on inclusive public consultation and the principle of free self-expression.[2] And some civil society organizations (CSOs), have asked top government officials and prime minister designate, not to collect data on ethnicity, religion, or language during the upcoming census. Such a request seems justified, especially in a situation where the Census is perceived as a competition between Montenegrins and Serbs. In essence, the census is not perceived by most citizens as a statistical tool to provide data that can support and guide government policies. Therefore, the opinion of the CSO is justified because the continuation of the current practices would mean the continuation of the policy of destroying the social being of Montenegro on religious and national frameworks and further moving away from the principles of the civil state. It seems that a census without data on religion, nation and language would be desirable until the political and ideological abuses of national identity are overcome. But it is questionable how much the new government will agree to that.
Military exercises on mountain Sinjajevina – environmental protection or politicization of the event
The announced military exercises on mountain Sinjajevina have caused huge public attention, protests from the local population, but also from some environmental activists, as well as the URA political movement. Still, the question is why are they protesting against the military exercise right now, if it is known that the same mountain has been used for the same purposes before? Also, a detailed assessment of the damage to the environment has not been done by any CSO, so it is not known why the reaction was so harsh. Bearing in mind that Sinjajevina is part of the UNESCO Tara River Biosphere Reserve, the Montenegrin Army turned to UNESCO and informed the organization of the decision, and UNESCO confirmed that everything was done in accordance with the recommendations.
Then, what is the reason for the protest? Whether the fact that Montenegro is now a NATO member plays a role and whether the politicization of this issue is ahead of real environmental protection? It remains to be discovered in the near future. In any case, the presence of political representatives in the protests is clear, given that the Civic Movement URA has recently been admitted to the Greens of Europe, which play a significant political role in the EU. Therefore, for URA, it is primarily a populist and diplomatic move.
However, the division of Montenegrin society was reflected in this situation as well. After the protest in Sinjajevina, a large number of citizens, in support of the army, offered their land for military exercises. This is another proof of the strong antagonism of the Montenegrin people on almost every social issue. Traditional divisions and conflicts continue in Montenegro.
[1] The plan of Serbian historian is published in the Serbian newspaper Politika (in July 2020), according to which the Realization of the idea of “Serbian world” means the formation of the Serbian space with the dominance of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the triangle Banja Luka – Belgrade – Podgorica. According to the plan of that historian, it is impossible without the overthrow of the Montenegrin president, which would be followed by national engineering, which would reduce the members of the Montenegrin nation in Montenegro to a percentage that will not exceed 25 percent.
[2] The official statement of the European Commission (EC) spokeswoman.