Montenegrins happy with the government but not about the economy

On February 18, the Gallup Europe and European Fund for the Balkans roadshow stopped off in Podgorica for an event entitled “Montenegro and the EU: Government knows best”. Gallup Europe CEO Robert Manchin presented the latest Gallup Balkan Monitor survey results; they showed that roughly half of Montenegrins (48%) thought that the government’s performance was excellent or good. This was despite the fact that only 37% were satisfied with their material situation (down from 45% in 2008). The results also showed that almost half (47%) of Montenegrins now felt the country was going in a bad direction (up from 29% in 2008) and only 31% felt the economy was improving (down from 49%). Finally, just under a quarter of Montenegrins (23%) felt that ‘petty’ corruption might be more useful than harmful – the highest figure in the Western Balkans.
Following an introduction by EFB Programme Manager Igor Bandovic, a lively debate ensued. Miodrag-Misko Vukovic, Head of the International and European Relations Committee of the Montenegrin Parliament, agued that the survey results showed that Montenegro was a stable, tolerant, and politically mature society; one in which its citizens did not change their opinions easily. Many problems that Montenegro faced, including such corruption, he added, were shared by other European countries, but were just more visible in Montenegro due to its small size. Daliborka Uljarevic, Director of the Centre for Civic Education, however, believed that the survey results were an expression of the authorities’ fear and Montenegrin citizens’ lack of education. According to Uljarevic, the Government did not have the courage to go through with the necessary painful reforms and the electorate felt the same way; both groups appeared to be happy with the situation. The CEMI Monitoring Centre’s Zlatko Vujovic, however, argued that Montenegrin and Kosovar citizens appeared to be the most positive because they were the least open in their responses about the Government.