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If they were to win the presidential and parliamentary elections, and if after that, as a responsible government, we would return to reforms, no longer than two or three years, we would be able to finish all the work on that topic and say - we are ready for membership, he said. President of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and current President Milo Đukanović in Rožaje.
He spoke in the hall of the Cultural Center about the importance of the upcoming presidential elections, and expressed his belief that the parliamentary elections will follow after that.
We need a victory in the presidential elections, a victory in the presidential elections launches us in the parliamentary elections so that after them the DPS will once again become the backbone of state politics - he told the audience at the beginning of his presentation.
In his address, he highlighted three main political goals: defense of the civic concept of the state, a strong investment cycle, economic development, an increase in the standard of living and the achievement of membership in the EU in the next five years. In this regard, Đukanović said:
The most important thing is to defend the civil state of Montenegro and to defend its multi-ethnic and multi-religious harmony, that is the most important thing. Second, we must urgently return to the policy of a strong investment cycle in Montenegro and dynamic economic growth and development during that period, but urgently from the first day after that victory. All political engagement makes sense if there is one product in the final, and that product is the growing standard of living of the people. And thirdly, I think that this is the period in which Montenegro must become a member of the European Union, and in that five-year period, Montenegro will be a member of the EU. I know very well what we still need to do, and I know very well how we can do it. And if they were to win the presidential and parliamentary elections, and if after that, as a responsible government, we would return to reforms, no longer than two or three years, we would be able to finish all the work on that topic and say - we are ready for membership - he said. is Đukanović.
Rožaje gave the most important seal in the construction of civil and multi-ethnic Montenegro
The president of DPS pointed out that Rožajke and Rožajci gave the most important seal to the construction of civil and multi-ethnic Montenegro and wrote the most brilliant text of the new Montenegrin history.
In the upcoming presidential elections, we are defending a civil, multi-ethnic and European Montenegro. In many previous battles, Rožajke and the people of Rožaj gave the most important stamp to the construction of the foundations of such a Montenegro. Rožaje gave 91.3 percent support in the referendum on the establishment of an independent Montenegro, without which there could be neither civil, nor multi-ethnic, nor anti-fascist, nor prosperous, nor European Montenegro. In this way, the citizens of Rožaj wrote the most brilliant text of recent Montenegrin history, and that is something that should never be forgotten - said Đukanović.
In the continuation of his speech, the President of Montenegro thanked the citizens of Rožaj who live abroad, have the right to vote and always respond when Montenegro needs it.
I want to repeat my sincere gratitude to all of you, to all citizens of Rožaj, to all residents of Rožaj, wherever they live, because not only we who have been in our country for 365 days participated in that victory, but also those people who are citizens of Montenegro, those people who are for existential reasons now at some other addresses, in order to provide a quality life for their family, their offspring, but who have never severed their ties with Montenegro and their Rožaj and who always respond when needed. They responded that way in the referendum and I am convinced that they will respond this time as well in the presidential elections on March 19 - pointed out Đukanović.
The past two and a half years - a time of value destruction
The President noted that the past two and a half years were years of destruction of all those values that characterized modern Montenegro until August 30, 2020.
Today, as we can see, we are witnessing a complete institutional paralysis of Montenegro. The origin of the problem is functionality - in an illegitimate government. We had one government that was a service of the Serbian Orthodox Church, that government fell, another government came, which is also a service of big-state nationalism and which is a service of the greed for power of certain people who today sit in that government without any leeway, which with four percent support they take over itself the responsibility of managing the state. If people thought that they should run the country, they would give them 40, not four percent. So even then, when they lost legitimacy in the parliament, as you can see, they do everything to prolong their importance or the idea of their non-existent value for a few days - said Đukanović.
Dispersed investors
Đukanović reminded that the government that came in two and a half years ago drove away investors and systematically destroyed the image that Montenegro had as a tourist destination.
In recent years, Montenegro has been written about as one of the most prestigious destinations in the world, it was just a question of whether we are on the second, third or first five of the world's top tourist destinations. And during these two and a half years, these two governments managed to disperse all these symbols of the new tourist profile of Montenegro. The most prestigious tourist brand in the world is Aman. Aman came to Montenegro, they chased him. They shut down Montenegro Airlines, without which there is no arrival of tourists. So, if someone is ready to come to Montenegro, he is not ready to go through Europe three times. That's why national tourist carriers are at your service. They also managed to extinguish it. So, I want to tell you that part by part of the investors, one by one, they are dispersing, part by part of the businesses are shutting down, decimating what are the economic resources of Montenegro - pointed out Đukanović.
To correct the attitude towards pensioners
He said that the new government has brought healthcare to a state where oncology patients do not have timely and adequate therapy.
With those adventurous ideas contained in the "Europe Now" program, where they abolished the contribution for mandatory health insurance, they have today introduced a health insurance system in which oncology patients do not have adequate therapy, but have to go to a health institution in Montenegro - said the DPS candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.
Đukanović pointed out the poor position of pensioners and said that this attitude towards the oldest population must be corrected.
I was talking about the problems in the healthcare system, which unfortunately affect every citizen of Montenegro, especially the elderly. But that is not the only thing that affects them. I think that during these two and a half years, this government has shown an absolute lack of commitment to pensioners, to a population of 120,000 people in Montenegro, to people who have honored their country during their working life, but who, unfortunately, exist today on the edge of sustainability. Therefore, it must be very well corrected in the coming period, and I am absolutely sure that we know how to do it, how to provide this formula of intergenerational solidarity and how to provide the conditions so that people who have completed their working lives with honor can safely enjoy at a late age in his life - Đukanović is clear.
Real salary lower than a year ago
He also stated that in January of this year, the real salary fell compared to the real salary from last year, that excise taxes are increasing and prices are rising.
"Through the "Europe Now" program, we received a promise of wage growth, and as recently as yesterday, official information appeared in our media saying that in January of this year, the real wage in Montenegro fell by 5.1 percent compared to the real wage from January last year, so in one year. So much for the increase in wages, because on the one hand wages are increasing, on the other hand excise taxes and taxes are increasing. When excises and taxes go up - the price of the products you buy with that salary goes up. So, the result of that is that this January, for the same money, you can buy five percent less products than you could last year," stated Đukanović.
Choices of opportunities to end the agony
He said that we must end the agony created by the current government and that the first opportunity is in the elections on March 19, and then, according to him, the parliamentary elections will follow.
Only with those two victories do we end the agony I was talking about. We are returning to a stable Montenegro, a Montenegro that will use its real resources to ensure a dynamic economic and democratic development and become a member of the European Union - said Đukanović.
He stated that the decision in these elections is easy because two options are chosen.
So, no matter how rich and varied this offer in the presidential elections seems, basically we are choosing between two options. Either we will support that policy which, as I reminded, achieved all these results based on a very clear vision of development stability, and which, as I announced in the coming period, in the next presidential term, will bring Montenegro into the European Union, or there will be a review of the past times and we will return again to the Balkan impasses, misunderstandings, lags, instability, mutual extermination on religious and ethnic grounds. This is chosen, let's not forget all of these who we have as opponents in the presidential elections, no matter how they pretend, now sprinkled with ashes, presented as peacemakers and conciliators. We know them well, we wish we could trust them, but we can't - said Đukanović.
DPS has never betrayed the Montenegrin interest, others have
He recalled the results of his involvement in politics.
But we are always in a situation to choose, not to look for the ideal, but to find the one whose values prevail in relation to on flaws, because we are all made up of virtues and flaws... What no one could ever tell us, and they can't tell us today, that we were representatives of the politics that betrayed Montenegro. We also differ in this hall on which party we will round up, but we take good care to never round up a politician who betrays his house. I know for sure how you would think about a member of your immediate or extended family who would work against your house and against your family. The same is true at the state level. The hardest thing is to betray the first time, when you know the first time, you no longer have limits. DPS has never betrayed Montenegrin interests, and these my opponents in these elections have, by God, not once - said Đukanović.
Opponents are silent about Srebrenica, about writing in the Ruzica church...
He reminded that his opponents avoid giving a position on important issues.
They have not yet skipped over the basic question, which is - whether genocide took place in Srebrenica. They claim it is not. And I claim that anyone who has not cleared up these issues should be very careful, if similar opportunities arise, he would repeat that genocide. They didn't even speak up a few days ago, when the Ruzica church was written like that, and we know that those who wanted to further cause bloodshed between people of different religions and nations in the territory of Montenegro wrote. So, until we hear them clearly and loudly that they have accepted the fundamental values of modern Montenegro, until we hear them that there are no first and second category citizens in Montenegro, until we hear them that Montenegro is a civil state and that it belongs equally to every citizen regardless of religion, nation, we cannot trust them. Until we believe them, we have to defeat them - said Đukanović.
Source - POBJEDA
