New president will have hard time reforming Montenegro

Significance

Djukanovic has governed as either prime minister or president since 1991, overseeing its 2006 independence, the start of EU membership talks and the 2017 accession to NATO. Milatovic has pledged to eradicate rampant corruption and bring the country into the EU; however, he is seen as sympathetic to the Russia-aligned Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC).

Impacts

• The EU will insist on the holding of a general election later this year.
• Montenegro’s relations with Serbia will improve.
• Milatovic’s pro-EU reformist agenda will be tempered by vested interests in the political system, state administration and the economy.
• There will not be a change in Montenegro's pro-Western foreign policy.