Eurasia Press & News
Montenegro’s former leader tells media that his high-profile role in the October election campaign had ‘opened a door’ to his potential return to government.In interview published on Wednesday in the Belgrade-based weekly, Novi Magazin, Milo Djukanovic, chairman of the Democratic Party of Socialists, DPS, said that participating in the October 14 general election campaign had “opened the door” to his potential return to a top position in the country.
Djukanovic served three consecutive terms as Prime Minister from 1991 to 1998. He was President of Montenegro from 1998 to 2002 and Prime Minister again from 2003 to 2006, when he quit from frontline politics. But he returned as Prime Minister in February 2008, remaining until December 21, 2010, when he stepped down.
Since his resignation at the end of 2010, he has continued to exercise significant political influence as the head of Montenegro’s ruling party.
The former premier and President said that he had been “exposed more than I wanted to be in the [election] campaign, which has raised certain expectations”, adding that his party will decide how best to satisfy those expectations.
In the election, the European Montenegro coalition, headed by Djukanovic, won most seats – 39 our of 81. It is now expected to form a new government, with the support of one or more ethnic minority parties.
The election campaign was marked by Djukanovic’s frequent speeches, prompting speculation about whether he was intending to return once day as Prime Minister.
In an ironic reference to that speculation, Djukanovic at one point responded that for the love of the opposition, he was ready to be Montenegro’s Prime Minister again.
