Zdravko Krivokapic in charge in forming the next Montenegrin government

Zdravko Krivokapic in a press release

 Following the Democratic Front's victory in the August parliamentary elections, Djukanovic charged the opposition leader with forming the new government.

Montenegrin President Milo Djukanovic charged opposition leader Zdravko Krivokapic with forming the next government. The 62-year-old was in the August parliamentary elections, the main candidate of the largest opposition alliance led by the Democratic Front (DF).

Zdravko Krivokapic is a professor of mechanical engineering and does not belong to the pro-Serbian Democratic Front. Together with two smaller, pro-Western groups, the alliance won 41 of the 80 seats held by the Montenegrin parliament.

Dritan Abazovic, Zdravko Krivokapic and Aleksa Becic

Continuity in foreign policy

The Democratic Front as the strongest force in the next coalition is considered pro-Russian. But with two possible partners - the Liberal Democrats and the URA party - the DF has agreed on a kind of continuity in foreign policy.

Thus, Montenegro's membership in NATO, which has existed since 2017, is not expected to be put into question. Nor is the recognition of Kosovo expected to be annulled.

Djukanovic, who was considered all-powerful, may now face restrictions from a government majority of political opponents.

Djukanovic is considered in the EU as a guarantor of the country's pro-Western orientation, but critics accuse him of massive corruption, involvement in organized crime, and the suppression of critical media.

Following independence from Serbia in 2006, Montenegro began accession negotiations with the European Union in 2012.