Montenegro’s nationalist Democratic People’s Party (DNP) said members of the government from its ranks will resign this week, deepening a political dispute with Prime Minister Milojko Spajić over identity-related policy demands and raising questions about the stability of the ruling coalition.
Milun Zogović and Maja Vukićević, both ministers representing the DNP in the Montenegrin government, announced they will submit their resignations on Friday at a party presidency session, party officials said. Their move follows the government’s refusal to consider a series of initiatives from the DNP on issues including making Serbian an official language, adopting the Serbian tricolor as a national flag and changing citizenship laws.
Prime Minister Spajić has said the matters the DNP seeks are within the competence of Montenegro’s parliament and not the executive branch, urging that they be addressed through legislative debate rather than used as leverage against the government. Spajić also warned that a “blackmail model of cooperation” would not be tolerated within the governing majority.
The DNP’s resignation announcement underscores broader tensions within Montenegro’s ruling coalition, with some analysts questioning whether the party’s withdrawal from the government would be substantive or largely symbolic, as it may continue to support the cabinet in parliament even after ministers step down.
Separately, other political figures, including President Jakov Milatović, have publicly called on the DNP to leave the government if it wishes to act on principle, while some opposition leaders have said the Serbian community in Montenegro would not benefit from the DNP’s departure.
The developments come amid ongoing public protests in parts of the country over a planned wastewater treatment plant in Botun, which the DNP has linked to its broader political demands.