Weekly Briefing, Vol. 46. No. 3 (ME) December 2021
Social summary – Montenegro 2021
Summary
The end of 2020 made it possible to anticipate certain problems that were happening in the society during 2021. This primarily refers to the problem of nationalism and the continuation of the fight against the pandemic. Also, the issue of living standards was expected to be in focus. Yet these social problems, as well as the demographic problem, seem to have culminated during 2021, despite promises of a brighter future following the political changes that occurred in 2020. Moreover, corruption, nepotism and social divisions have even intensified. Some important issues such as the protection of the green agenda were not so much in focus, except as a decorative speech of certain politicians during the local election campaigns.
Dangerous social divisions
In a very short period of time, Montenegro has gone from a country where tolerance and coexistence of people of various nationalities and religions have been valued, to a country of intolerance. Politicians are largely to blame for this. Politicians in the Montenegrin parliament are mostly populists and nationalists. In such an environment, during 2021, more attention was paid to mass management than to influencing people’s self-awareness, spreading tolerance and coexistence. The political changes that took place on the wings of Serbian nationalism disguised in demands for freedom of religion brought about the aggravation of political relations, and consequently the creation of new social divisions, primarily on national and religious basis. Such an irresponsible policy could quickly bring Montenegrin society to the brink of conflict.
Civil protests, directed against several Montenegrin government decisions, were organized during 2021. The reasons were various, but all of them essentially needed the citizens of Montenegro to react against anti-Montenegrin laws or decisions. Some of them were intended changes to the Law on citizenship, deliberated obstruction of the work of the Faculty of Montenegrin Language and Literature, forcible seizure of municipal property and allocation to the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the like. Thus, politicians who came to power using rhetoric aimed at reducing divisions in society, created more intense national divisions by siding with Serbian nationalists and trying to abolish everything with the prefix “Montenegrin”. They tried to do that through culture and education, and impose on the public a sense of Montenegrin nationalism. Through the replacement of theses, Serbian nationalism flourished unhindered during 2021. The major positions in state companies, public health and educational institutions were filled by people who deny the Montenegrin nation, Montenegrin language and culture, in other words, Montenegrin identity. In some cases, protests could escalate into violence, especially during the inhumane and violent police attack on peaceful protesters during the enthronement of a Serbian metropolitan in a non-Serbian Orthodox monastery, and the arrogant behaviour of the Prime Minister’s driver who nearly killed protesters during a protest against citizenship law.
The idea of a “Serbian world” that is openly promoted by Serbian politicians and some intellectual and religious circles is supported by the most dominant coalition within the Montenegrin government. This is a very dangerous nationalist idea according to which Montenegro should be “drowned” in the Serbian national being, and deprived of the Montenegrin national spirit and culture. Numerous decisions of the current government have contributed to the growth of such populism, which has resulted in the suppression and stigmatization of the statements and thoughts of the self-conscious people. Feeding the idea of the Serbian world accompanied by a dangerous mythological approach to the super nation and religious dogmas which created a cult of Serbs as “God’s nation” has become very dangerous in a Montenegrin society where social networks became a basic source of information. Affirmation of the created “truths” about the nation, language, religion was placed among the younger population, so it seems that Montenegrin society is increasingly trapped by cults that feed a destructive ultranationalist ideology. In 2021, the achievements of the secular state of Montenegro were severely shaken, in which the new government played a significant role.
Consequently, numerous cases of intolerance, discrimination, and the restriction of freedom have been reported in Montenegro. The 2021 was characterized by the degradation and relativization of those values that shaped the free spirit of the Montenegrin people, but also the relativization of behaviour that was considered immoral, anti-human and retrograde in the Montenegrin tradition. This primarily refers to the increasingly loud glorification of fascism. This may have been a political strategy to distract the minds of the people from real life problems, given that the government recorded disastrous results in policies that were supposed to enable a better standard of living, protection of individual freedoms, and the like. However, not everything can be attributed to the bad intentions of a political actors. The manifestations of savagery, intolerance, lack of culture, collective hatred of the growth of fascism are only a consequence of some processes that took place in previous years. Poor education, neglect of skills, political employment, corruption and nepotism have occurred in previous years. Such a practice has continued, and its social consequences were visible in 2021.
Poorer living standards of citizens
During 2021, there was a significant deterioration in living standards in Montenegro. The reason for this was partly a pandemic that affected the weakening economy and the closure of a number of jobs. However, in an economy dependent on tourism, this was even more pronounced. Unemployment has risen significantly over the last year. The number of registered unemployed persons at the end of December 2021 amounted to almost 57.4 thousand, which is around 10 thousand more than in the same period of 2020 (growth of 21%). The unemployment rate has increased by 4.3 percentage points during the same one-year period. The increase in unemployment is particularly pronounced among women and those with lower levels of education (with lower incomes), which further puts pressure on the growth of poverty. On the other hand, the average (net) salary did not grow as much as prices rose, so real incomes were lower.
Over the 2021 Montenegro has been hit by a wave of rising prices. The growth of prices affects the most disadvantaged sections of the population because data from official institutions indicate that the most significant price increase in 2021 was recorded for goods in everyday use (clothing, vegetables, solid fuels, bread and cereals, shoes and other footwear, fuels and lubricants for motor vehicles). The rise in inflation was partly due to developments in international markets. Prices of oil and oil products have peaked. The trade union proposed fuel’s price limitation which would last as long as there are negative market trends caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, the government has done nothing to limit the rise in oil prices because it is taking large excise revenues. On the other hand, the price of bread is limited by a decree for a certain period. However, the inflation bubble is huge and this has further affected the living standards of citizens.
The answer to the catastrophic social policy arrived at the end of the year in the form of a questionable plan which envisages an increase in the minimum wage by 80%. Yet, despite the fact that such a plan has passed in parliament, the question is if it is financially sustainable in a country where there is no productivity growth.
The fight against the pandemic was ineffective
The 2021 data on the number of deaths from coronavirus warn of a very low level of organization when it comes to state institutions that are most responsible for adopting and implementing a set of measures aimed at preventing the spread of the pandemic. This is indicated by the drastically higher number of deaths and infected in 2021 compared to 2020 (even if we take into account that the pandemic has not been present during entire 2020). Namely, the number of infected, as well as the number of deaths from COVID-19 in 2021 was 3.5 times higher than in 2020! The total number of deaths from the pandemic reached as much as 0.4% of the total population of Montenegro, making Montenegro one of the most catastrophic countries. Also, according to the number of infected per 100 thousand inhabitants, it is among the worst countries in the world. This trend has been present for a long time, and the negligence of the competent ministry has only deepened the crisis (rejection of vaccines donations, ambiguities about measures that were often contradictory and that undermined confidence in the system, etc.). In addition, the general health of the population is impaired, as indicated by data on a very large number of cases of malignant diseases, as well as increased mortality. Also, for the first time, Montenegro registered a significant negative natural increase. In addition to the slightly lower number of newborns during 2021, there is a big difference between the number of deaths in 2021 compared to 2020. During 2021, 7525 people died, while in 2020 the number was 5710. This was also influenced by the pandemic, but the fact is that health and demographic policy has completely failed.
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Montenegrin society is still strongly pressured by various problems such as ubiquitous corruption, nepotism, poverty, lack of implementation of green policies, etc. However, during 2021, the government did not try too hard to emphasize the importance of these issues, but was more committed to religious issues, creating additional divisions. This led to the growth of clerical-nationalism, religious fanaticism and fascism. However, the policy of strong social divisions did not conceal the significant decline in living standards and the catastrophic health situation in the country.