Черногорская демократическая партия социалистов: История и современность

Montenegrin political partyInfobox political party
| name = Democratic Party of Socialists
| native name = Демократска партија социјалистаDemokratska partija socijalista
| native name lang = cnr
| logo = Democratic Party of Socialists logo 2021. svg
| logo size = 240px
| colorcode =
| leader1 title = President
| leader1 name = Danijel Živković
| leader2 title = Vice Presidents
| leader2 name = Ivan Vuković (politician), Ivan Vuković, Jevto Eraković, Aleksadra kuč Vuković, Abaz Dizdarević
| leader3 title = Secretary General
| leader3 name = Aleksandar Bogdanović
| founders = Momir BulatovićMilo ĐukanovićSvetozar Marović
| foundation =
| predecessor = League of Communists of Montenegro (SKCG)
| headquarters = Podgorica
| ideology = Social democracy, Populism, Montenegrin nationalism
| position = Centre left
| european = Party of European Socialists (associate)
| international = Progressive AllianceSocialist International
| colours =
| seats1 title = Parliament
| seats1 =
| seats2 title = Mayors
| seats2 =
| seats3 title = Local Parliaments
| seats3 =
| flag =
| website =
| country = Montenegro
| footnotes = cnote|A|The DPS has been a catch all party since its formation but had been described as left wing until 1997, and after that as centre left or centrist, with some factions which are right wing, populist and nationalist. and populist political party in Montenegro. A former long time ruling party sitting at the opposition for the first time as of 2020, it was formed on 22 June 1991 as the successor of the League of Communists of Montenegro, which had governed Montenegro within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia since World War II, and has remained a major force in the country ever since. The party is a member of the Socialist International and the Progressive Alliance, and an associate of the Party of European Socialists. During the 1990s, DPS was the major centre left, social democratic party in favour of Serbian–Montenegrin unionism. However, since 1997, the party has embraced Montenegrin independence and has been improving ties with the West, slowly turning into a catch all party embracing Atlanticism, Montenegrin nationalism, neoliberalism, and pro Europeanism. Since its formation and the introduction of a multi party system, the DPS has played a dominant role in Montenegrin politics, forming the backbone of every coalition government until the 2020 parliamentary election, when it entered the opposition. This marked the first time since 1945 that the party, including its predecessor incarnation, had not been in power. Prior to the 2020 election, the party strongly supported the controversial religious freedom law, causing tensions across Montenegro and the rise of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegrin politics. The Church gaining more power gave motivation for the ethnic nationalist faction to rise in the party, with which some members such as the civic nationalist Filip Vujanović had issues since 2011. The ethnic nationalist wing of the party also supported renewing the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which led to the DPS being accused of creating a "party church".

The party evolved from the League of Communists of Montenegro as a reformist force after Yugoslavia's dissolution. In the 1990s, party was based on democratic socialism, social democracy, and Serbian–Montenegrin unionism. In the 2000s, the party switched policy towards a common state with Serbia and would become the main proponent of the independence of Montenegro in 2006. In the 2010s and 2020s, the party is characterized by populist, alongside elements of nationalism and a pro European stance towards European integration. After its ninth congress in November 2019, the DPS dominantly increased its ethnic Montenegrin nationalist discourse by officially and institutionally supporting the rights of the canonically unrecognized Montenegrin Orthodox Church, announcing its "re establishment". According to the ODIHR and Freedom House reports that the party established a hybrid regime as well an electoral authoritarian system. After the fall of its populist regime from the position of power after 30 years due to results of the 2020 Montenegrin parliamentary election, the party said that the Krivokapić Cabinet, a big tent ruling coalition, represents "threat for Montenegrin statehood and its independence". The period before the 2020 parliamentary election was marked by the high polarization of the electorate. Several corruption scandals of the ruling party triggered 2019 Montenegrin anti corruption protests, while a controversial religion law sparked another wave of protests. Election monitoring observer OSCE stated that "[a]buse of state resources gave the ruling party an unfair advantage" and of inciting ethnic hatred, and said that although the elections were competitive, the governing party also benefited from a lack of independent media. In foreign policy, the party maintains Atlanticist and Europeanist positions, condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine and positioning itself in an anti Russian role. According to some analysts, the DPS, together with its coallition partners, as well some newly founded nationalist parties, started pushing the narrative of "Montenegro being left to Serbia by the United States and the EU", but these assessments have no foundation in the post Ukrainian invasion international scenario.

The history of the DPS begins with the political turmoil in Yugoslavia in the late 1980s. After Slobodan Milošević seized power in the League of Communists of Serbia, he went on to organize rallies that eventually ousted the leaderships of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia local branches in Vojvodina, Kosovo, and Montenegro. This series of events, collectively known as the Anti bureaucratic revolution, swept into power new party leadership in Montenegro, one allied with Milošević, personified in Momir Bulatović, Milo Đukanović, and Svetozar Marović. Under this new leadership, the League of Communists of Montenegro won by a landslide in the 1990 Montenegrin general election, the first relatively free multi party election in Socialist Montenegro, held in December 1990, taking 83 out of 125 seats in the Parliament of Montenegro. The party had a significant head start in the elections, as it had the entire established party structure at its disposal, while newly formed competition had to start from scratch. The party changed its name to the Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro (Demokratska partija Crne Gore) on 22 June 1991. With Bulatović as the president, the DPS closely aligned Montenegro with Serbia and the policies of Slobodan Milošević. The party was firmly in power during the turbulent early 1990s, which saw the breakup of Yugoslavia and the beginning of the Yugoslav Wars. During these years, the party endorsed a union and close relations with Serbia, its sole partner in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) from 1992. The party maintained the support of the electorate in this difficult period for Montenegro, winning both the 1992–1993 and 1996 parliamentary elections.

Following the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević on 5 October 2000, the DPS showed signs of greater support for Montenegrin independence. The campaign for the 2002 parliamentary elections was devoted to the question of Montenegro's independence. The European Union mediated negotiations between the DPS and the newly elected democratic government in Serbia in 2003 imposed a three year waiting period before an independence referendum could be held. The transitional period saw the transformation of the FR Yugoslavia to a loose union called Serbia and Montenegro. During the existence of the union state, the party congress added the goal of a "democratic, internationally recognized, independent Montenegro" to its official platform. The party then spearheaded the pro independence campaign ahead of Montenegro's referendum in 2006. With 55.5% of voters opting for independence, Montenegro became an independent state on 3 June 2006.

At the 2006 Montenegrin parliamentary election as well as the subsequent 2009 and 2012 parliamentary elections, the DPS confirmed its position as the strongest political party in Montenegro. The party has formed the basis of all parliamentary majorities and has been the backbone of all government cabinets since independence, usually with its now traditional ally the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro and ethnic minority parties. Former party vice president Filip Vujanović served as the president of Montenegro for three terms from 2002 until 2018, having won presidential elections in 2003, 2008, and 2013, being succeeded by party leader Milo Đukanović in 2018. Đukanović remains the party president and its undisputed authority, serving either as Prime Minister or President of Montenegro from 1991 to 2006, 2008 to 2010 and 2012 to 2016. In 2006, the party leadership chose Željko Šturanović, former Minister of Justice, to succeed Đukanović as Prime Minister, until his resignation on 31 January 2008 for health reasons, whereupon Đukanović replaced him, only to resign again in December 2010 while retaining his role as DPS party leader. After winning the 2012 parliamentary elections, Đukanović once again assumed the position of Prime Minister. In 2015, the centre left Social Democratic Party left the coalition with the DPS, accusing ruling party of corruption and abuse of power. At the 2020 parliamentary election, DPS decided to run independently, with single candidate spot on the electoral list given to the nationalist Liberal Party of Montenegro. Election eventually resulted in a victory for the opposition parties and the fall of the authoritarian DPS, after governing the country for 30 years, since the introduction of the multi party system in 1990.

No. (Number)PresidentAgeTerm startTerm end Time in office1Momir Bulatović1956–201922 June 199119 October 19972Milica Pejanovićborn 195919 October 199731 October 19983Milo Đukanovićborn 196231 October 19986 April 20234Danijel Živkovićborn 19876 April 2023Incumbent

ElectionParty leaderPerformanceAllianceRankGovernmentVotes%Seats+/–1990Momir Bulatović171,31656.18%New 1st1992126,08342.66% 37 1st 1996 150,237 49.92% 1 1st1998 Milica Pejanović170,08048.87% 13ECG 1st2001Milo Đukanović153,94642.04% 2ECG 1st2002167,16648.00% 1ECG 1st2006164,73748.62% 1ECG 1st2009168,29051.94% 3ECG 1st 2012 165,380 45.60% 3 ECG 1st2016158,49041.41% 3 1st2020143,54835.06%6 1st Support 2023Danijel Živković70,22823.22% 12Together!2nd

+ President of MontenegroYearCandidate1st round popular votes% of popular votes2nd round popular votes% of popular votes1990Momir Bulatović170,09242.22%203,61676.11992Momir Bulatović123,18342.8%158,72263.41997Milo Đukanović145,34846.71%174,74550.792003Filip Vujanović139,57464.2%——2008Filip Vujanović171,11851.89%——2013Filip Vujanović161,94051.21%——2018Milo Đukanović180,27453.90%——2023Milo Đukanović119,68535.37%154,76941.12%

+ Parliament of Serbia and MontenegroYearPopular vote% of popular voteSeatsMontenegrin seats±GovernmentBallot carrier1992160,04068.6% 23Miloš Radulović1992130,43147.3% 6Radoje Kontić1996146,22150.8% 3Radoje Kontić2000Election boycotted 20Election boycotted