BIRN Fact-check: Has Montenegro’s Government Kept its Promises

Addressing parliament in 2016, Markovic committed to the negotiation process with the EU, promised to cut state borrowing from international lending bodies, to keep the country's tax policy unchanged and press ahead with construction of the Bar-Boljare highway.

He stressed the need for dialogue with political opponents of the DPS, with civil society and media and the influential Serbian Orthodox Church. Markovic pledged to promote good regional relations and calm tensions with Russia after Montenegro accused Moscow of backing an alleged coup on the day of the 2016 election.

Like previous DPS-led governments, this one promised to reform the bloated public administration and bring down unemployment.

Read our detailed fact-check overview of the Montenegrin government promisesWorsening relations at homeSerbian Orthodox Church members rally against property law in Montenegro. Photo: EPA-EFE/BORIS PEJOVIC

Having pledged to listen to criticism from opposition MPs, media and civil society, Markovic has presided over yet more polarisation, culminating in protests last year by opposition parties, civil society activists, journalists, and intellectuals under the banner 'Odupri se', or Resist.

The 'Odupri se' movement began in early February 2019 as an outpouring of anger over widespread corruption and long-standing allegations of ties between Montenegro's political elite and organized crime.

Markovic, however, rejected a central demand for the creation of a government of national unity to prepare the ground for the next parliamentary election.

"We are here to talk," the prime minister told parliament. "But there will be no talk of blackmail or 'take it or leave it' models in Montenegro."

Markovic also...