The Prime Minister's Op-Ed: Montenegro can no longer wait and must not wait

From the moment this Government presented the "Europe Now" programme, on which we have been working hard, together with domestic and foreign partners, for the past six months, the pressures have been increasing day by day.

Although, as Prime Minister, I officially started the process of Cabinet reshuffle - a process that, given the diversity of the parliamentary majority, requires some time - just a month after Minister of Finance and Social Welfare Milojko Spajić announced an increase in the minimum wage from 250 to 450 euros and an increase of all salaries by 17%, the largest component of the parliamentary majority responded with a press conference, with the key message: "We are initiating the election of a new Government".

Earlier, the largest component of the parliamentary opposition, in response to the plan to increase all salaries in Montenegro, said that they hoped that early parliamentary elections would take place as soon as possible.

Who is opposed to the project on which the quality of life of every citizen of Montenegro depends the most and why? Who is opposed to the programme that, after three decades, puts people at the center of tax and social policy in a sustainable way and why? Who is opposed to the plan that will finally help Montenegrin citizens to live better and why?

Is the Cabinet reshuffle - a process I started myself - more important than the increase of the minimum and average net wages? Is the Cabinet reshuffle more important than the change of the income tax, from the current 39% to 21%, which creates conditions not only for increasing salaries for all employees, but also for more intensive economic growth and attracting new foreign investments? I will let citizens draw their own conclusions.

Is the Cabinet reshuffle, which I personally initiated, more important than the change of the Prosecutorial Council, the Prosecutor's Office? Is it more important than finally, after three decades, bringing justice within everybody's reach? That justice knocks on the door of those who have trampled on it and made it meaningless for three decades. Is the Cabinet reshuffle more important than tackling the unsolved murders, attacks on journalists, suspicious privatizations, and the squandering of state resources? Again, the citizens are invited to draw their own conclusions.

Is the Cabinet reshuffle more important than amending legal texts, on which the life of every Montenegrin citizen directly depends? I would like to remind you that this Government has already submitted more than thirty legal texts to the Parliament, which are awaiting adoption.

After the "Europe Now" programme, these days we will present to the citizens a capital project - "Montenegro Now", which is a comprehensive plan for sustainable infrastructure development of Montenegro, which, as I have mentioned several times so far, in 2022 will make Montenegro large construction site. Is all this less important than who will be heads of government departments?

As far as I am concerned, as an ordinary man and Prime Minister, I have not the slightest dilemma: now as before, I will make all my efforts to implement the mentioned capital projects. However, neither I nor this Government can do that without the help and unity of the parliamentary majority.

In the implementation of all its programmes and plans, from the very beginning we found the selfless support of our partners - Democrats, URA, the True Montenegro, including some members of the Democratic Front, SNP and smaller coalition partners, who helped us, both publicly and secretly. In that sense, I owe great respect and gratitude to all of them.

Therefore, this time I call on the largest component of the parliamentary majority to join our joint partners in the interest of all our citizens, and to timely vote on the budget that we will send to the Parliament soon, as well as more than ten legal solutions that are inevitable for the project. "Europe now", so that all citizens would receive significantly increased salaries on 1 February next year, which will be just the beginning of the joint work of the Government and the parliamentary majority in the fight for a European, prosperous and developed Montenegro.

Because Montenegro can no longer wait and must not wait.