Đukanović: Their idea is that Montenegro should be reorganized economically and institutionally

At any time, the state needs serious people at the head of the state, and especially when such geopolitical disturbances occur, which are only added to the inherited historical problems, starting with the division of Montenegrin society and lagging behind in development - said the president of DPS and the party's presidential candidate in the upcoming elections, Milo Đukanović from the stand in Sutomor.
Montenegro needs serious and responsible people at its head. Let's try to get such an election result in the presidential and parliamentary elections. I have never radiated illusions, nor have I ever shared unrealistic optimism. What I am telling you is completely realistic for me. I am convinced that I will win the elections on April 2. Victory in the presidential elections completely paves the way for us to win the parliamentary elections. I hope I don't have to convince you of that. So, surely 50 percent of the work for the parliamentary elections will be completed on April 2 - said Đukanović.
Candidates of the Great Patriotic War in Montenegro
In the continuation of the forum and the interactive dialogue with the mixed people of this region, the president referred to his opponents as well as to the course of the campaign so far.
So far, the campaign has shown that most of my opponents actually play for the same national team. They are just different versions of Greater Serbian politics in Montenegro. That's Mandić, you certainly don't need to waste words on that, he declares himself that way. This is Danilović, who spent his whole life with him in the same business. Bečić, who wrote the largest part of his political biography as an SNP supporter, for whom we know the position he held at the time of the referendum, and the position he held all this time. And now, as we can see, it is definitely Milatović. This engagement that you see from Belgrade now on the eve of the second round convincingly confirms this. From Vojislav Šešelj's recommendation to the organization of Montenegrins in Belgrade, the same ones who offered to decide for us on May 21, 2006, whether Montenegro will be independent - pointed out Đukanović.
They have, he adds, a platform opposed to them that is both ideologically and politically perfectly clear.
Each of them will have full support for the further destruction of Montenegro, because the idea is that Montenegro should be reorganized - above all, economically and institutionally. That the institutions should be paralyzed, that the economy should be brought to its knees, that Montenegro should be put in so much debt that it can no longer finance its functions, that then of course there would be a savior who would say - well, we have been telling you since the time before the referendum that you independence is not needed, so now you need to get on your knees in the position of the twenty-seventh electoral unit that we offered you in 2006 - Đukanović points out and says that this is exactly the idea of all four of his opponents.
The attitude is that in these elections we decide whether we want to be a province of Greater Serbia or whether we want to continue on the path we have taken, to upgrade and to further develop and improve our country as an organized European country, as our state house.
I'm reading how Milatović is going to bring Montenegro into the EU?! So, have we seen the effect of the government in which he worked in 2021?! Not only is Montenegro stopped on its way to the EU, but today a huge chasm has been dug between Montenegro and the European Union, which should be the tomb of an independent, civil, European Montenegro. Is what he is recommended to us good enough for the election - asked Đukanović.
He adds that he respects anyone who can stand up and say that he was a good pupil and student.
I really respect that. But we are now on a different field where fives or tens are not enough for us, we are now on the field where we are showing whether we are able to implement what we have learned and learned for the benefit of the state and people. Does he have anything to brag about? Is it his government that, for political reasons, refused vaccines during the time of the coronavirus when there were no vaccinations in Montenegro, when people were dying and when Montenegro was at the top of all countries in the world, it seems to me that it is in third or fourth place in terms of the number of deaths in relation to the number of inhabitants. Is that? Or is it his skill to gather investors and bring them. Can we all together remember one investor who came in recently? Of course we will remember those who left. Not to mention the shameful attitude of the ten Montenegrins at the Belvedere, who if they died - they died. So what does that have to do with the holy goal of Zdravko Krivokapić's apostolic government?! These are the references of the candidate who is now recommended to us as a savior. I don't think a single word should be wasted - said Đukanović.
Through realistic policy and investment development, salaries and pensions were doubled
Đukanović spoke about his past work and the period from 2006 to 2020, in which salaries and pensions in Montenegro were doubled.
Of course you always have those who think they could have been quadrupled?! But, unlike the sower ilusion , we tried to offer a realistic policy, to first create the conditions for investments to develop here. And they developed. And the highway, and the submarine cable, and Portonovi, and Porto Montenegro, and winter ski centers, and not to mention more... Investments worth several billions have been developed. Also, we tried to get as many people from Montenegro as possible to enter the business, because it is not in our interest that only foreigners do business here. We need them for various reasons and for the capital we need for very expensive projects and for the transfer of experience. We now have to build some very demanding buildings that no one from Montenegro has ever built, so we will overcome it more successfully if we do it in co-production with foreign investors who have serious references in the realization of these projects. But I repeat, our goal is not to have only foreigners here, our goal is to start the business potential of Montenegro, to start the entrepreneurial culture of Montenegro. So we worked very hard to create new companies. I looked at the data from 2006 to the end of 2019 - 20,000 new companies were created in Montenegro! Not on paper - 20,000 active companies - announced Đukanović.
He reminded that at that time there was very intensive work, and that in the final, Montenegro became what it had never been in history - the most developed country in our region.
Today, by all parameters, Montenegro is the most developed country in the Western Balkans, and for a long time the most dynamic economy in Southeast Europe. The difference is that when I talk about it, then we add some other countries like Bulgaria, Romania, etc... So, in that period, the largest investments were made here, the largest number of jobs were created, the largest number of people were employed - said Đukanović. .
He agrees that it is always possible to complain - could it have been done faster, could it have been possible to build the highway more slowly and invest more in salaries...
It is best if you invest in what is most difficult and most expensive - infrastructure. Without infrastructure you have no private capital interest. When you develop infrastructure, private capital comes, when private capital comes, jobs come and then you have the opportunity to increase salaries - said Đukanović.
The current situation is leading the country to bankruptcy
I think there are more than enough very obvious reasons for which every person would have to conclude that this way of managing the economy and the country for two and a half years is leading this country to bankruptcy - said Đukanović, referring to the current situation in Montenegro.
The last debt they provided to the state, he adds, is at an interest rate of almost 10 percent.
Let's simplify things to the end. Each of us here in the hall today, if we go to the bank and ask for a loan, we will get it at a cheaper interest rate than the interest rate that the state got. What does that mean? Therefore, states and governments are always the most grateful partner to banks. When I led the government, the banks pushed us money because they take money from depositors, put it in their accounts, pay passive interest rates to those who gave them money, they want to place it somewhere... It is logical that they first of all want to place it with the whom they know will return it to them. The state is therefore the most reliable debtor. And because of that, the state is given a lower interest rate than the citizens - pointed out Đukanović.
He says that today the state is in a situation where it pays a drastically higher interest rate than the citizens, because it is not trusted, because the creditors see that there is no household management of the country.
They see that this country is collapsing, that they had not come from the government to ask for a loan for the second section of the highway for which they would have received it, because when you have completed the first and when the cars travel and pay the road tax and you repay the loan, you have no problem getting a loan for the second share. Rather, they see that the government is coming to borrow money for salaries, and it is not being paid back. So paying an interest rate of 10% is not the worst that can happen to us, the worst is what follows: that you cannot get into debt. Because there is no bank that will give a loan to a desperate person when they see that the desperate person will accept whatever interest rate you want. The one who accepts whatever interest rate you want means that he has no intention of repaying that loan. And no one gives money to such a person. And when the money runs out, there are no salaries, no pensions - pointed out Đukanović.
"The last moment to wake up"
He points out that for reasonable people, it is the last minute to wake up from sleep, in order to stop this agony.
I'm not talking about bankruptcy in 2024 or 2025. I'm talking about bankruptcy in 2023! And here we know each other quite well, I've been here for thirty years and I've never dramatized more than I should. On the contrary, he always calmed me down until I could take the responsibility of realizing what I was talking about on my back. Today I talk about it, but others realize it, those who do not do it in the interest of Montenegro. The smallest problem is that they would like to do the opposite of what I am saying, time will put everything in its place and I do not have any burdens in relation to these people, but the problem is that when we wake up in Montenegro it will be too late. If we don't realize when first salaries and pensions are not distributed, and I repeat to you in 2023, then it is too late. Then we already have a revolution on the street. What do you expect from a pensioner who did not receive a pension, how to live - concludes Đukanović.
He adds, we must all think seriously about this topic when we decide who we trust.
I don't sow illusions, I don't manipulate people, I tell you what you don't like like a while ago. So, we are certainly moving forward, but we are moving forward from realistic sources, sustainably. We create a social product, we develop business, we attract investors and not drive them away, we create jobs and from there salaries and pensions go up, not like this - concluded Đukanović.
Source - POBJEDA