When the political elite underestimate citizens - Parliamentary elections in Montenegro
When the political elite underestimate citizens - Parliamentary elections in Montenegro

Author(s): Zoran Stoiljković, Miloš Vukanović
Contributor(s): Daliborka Uljarević (Editor)
Subject(s): Politics, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
Published by: Centar za građansko obrazovanje (CGO)
Keywords: Montenegro; parliamentary elections; political elites; citizens; 2020;
Summary/Abstract: The recent parliamentary elections in Montenegro are predominantly characterised by (1) high voter turnout and voters’ motivation within (2) the created climate of strong political tensions, mistrust and uncertainty and, of course, (3) the election result itself, which, thanks to the synergy created by the unification of the opposition into three electoral columns, led to the narrow victory of the opposition. The pre-election survey of the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) did not intend to directly address electoral forecasts, actors and their win chances. It had a profound character and it was focused on the citizens of Montenegro - their political attitudes and values, perceptions of reality, degree of (dis) trust in social and political actors and institutions, as well as personal expectations, anxieties, fears and hopes. Citizens are not the direct creators of change, nor can the composition and the structure of the future government be predicted on the basis of their election decision. However, they are the power which can, at least indirectly, change the scene and the (post-election) course of action and the plots on it. Therefore, anyone who is a serious political actor, and aspires to be an analyst, must carefully analyse their, most frequently vague, and even contradictory messages. This particulary pertains to countries like Montenegro, in which political change comes after three decades of uninterrupted rule of one structure and in which the adult generations do not remember the other ruling party, nor the time in which the president of that party and its embodiment, Milo Đukanović, was not a key political figure.

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