The government coalition in Montenegro has collapsed

Montenegro’s parliament today voted in favor of a no-confidence motion against the government, bringing fresh political turmoil to the country.

The motion of censure was upvoted by 50 MPs, 30 boycotted the process and only one voted against.

“We need elections and a stable government,” said the initiator of the censure motion, Daniel Zifkovic.

The government coalition led by Dritan Abajović came to power only last April and became the shortest-lived in the country’s history.

Political tension had been at a peak in recent weeks over a controversial deal between the Montenegrin government and the Serbian Orthodox Church over the ownership status of hundreds of monasteries and holy temples in the Balkan country. Many consider that it does not protect the interests of the State.

Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic, who has been accused of wanting to nationalize church property, used the deal to destabilize the government and push for early elections, political analysts said.

An architect of Montenegrin independence, Djukanovic wants at all costs to reduce the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the country and establish a separate national identity, even if it means creating another independent Orthodox Church.

Religious issues in Montenegro, which gained independence from Serbia in 2006, are one of the main causes of the toppling of the last two governments.

A third of the country’s 620,000 inhabitants identify themselves as Serbs. The Serbian Orthodox Church, which is powerful in Montenegro, is accused by its critics of serving the interests of Belgrade.

Source: AMPE