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Rising SNP from the ashes – a difficult mission for Jokovic

The Socialist People’s Party (SNP) got a new leader at yesterday’s 8th extraordinary congress. Vladimir Jokovic was elected to succeed Srdjan Milic, who led SNP for 11 years.

After being elected, Jokovic said at a press conference that he hoped SNP would “choose the path of progress” because, as he said, the last elections showed the party fell to “the lowest point so far”.

However, few people believe that once the strongest opposition party will be able to rise from the ashes after everything that happened in the past few years.

At the very press conference it could be seen that Jokovic’s election would not help SNP much. Some delegates, dissatisfied with the result of the vote, left the hall. Some of them even said that “SNP did not exist for them any longer”.

Jonica and Joković

But the most striking detail happened while Jokovic was addressing the media after the congress. During his speech, some of his party delegates were cursing and insulting him.

Jokovic only remarked that “nervousness was evident” but that he hoped it would pass soon. The awkward situation somewhat ended when Snezana Jonica, Jokovic’s rival for the party leader position, calmed dissatisfied members of her faction.

These events show that the new SNP leader’s wishes to “stop polarisation in the party” and “focus on progress” will be almost impossible to fulfil.

Jokovic won 224 votes, whereas former MP Snezana Jonica was supported by 199 delegates. This clearly shows that despite the numerous divisions in the party, this process is not finished yet and that SNP is still deeply divided. What’s more, disintegration of the once the strongest opposition party is in its final stages.

However, the newly elected party leader is not responsible for the situation the party ended up in. Jokovic simply encountered the “total damage” caused by his predecessor Srdjan Milic.

Former and new leader: Milić and Joković

Milic resigned in May, which was expected following a series of turbulent splits in which the party lost almost all voters.

The first split in the SNP during Milic’s term of office occurred in 2012 when a part of officials led by Predrag Bulatovic and Milan Knezevic left the party. They formed the Democratic People’s Party (DNP), which became the constituent of the Democratic Front.

The second big break during Milić’s term of office happened in 2015 when Aleksa Becic, Velizar Kaludjerovic and Neven Gosovic with a large number of officials mostly from Podgorica committee left the party and founded the Democratic Montenegro (DCG).

The third big blow for the party was MP Aleksandar Damjanovic’s withdrawal from SNP. The party executive committee dismissed Damjanovic in March for alleged violations of the party’s statute. He recently announced he would establish a new party and that a part of SNP officials would join him.

 

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