The Popular Movement of Montenegro (, NP), commonly known as simply Popular Movement, is a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

regionalist

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

, formed in February 2021 from the political alliance of the same name. The alliance, which was formed back in May 2020 prior to the August parliamentary election, ran within the common opposition "

For the Future of Montenegro For the Future of Montenegro ( Serbian: Za budućnost Crne Gore / За будућност Црне Горе, abbreviated as ''ZBCG'') was a catch-all, mainly cultural conservative and populist pre-election opposition political coalition in Monte ...

" list. The party also seeks to represent Serb ethnic interests. Party founder and current leader is Montenegrin-Serbian businessman Miodrag "Daka" Davidović, who is known as a great benefactor of the Serbian Orthodox Church and a longtime financier of the Montenegrin

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

during the a thirty-year long DPS-led regime in Montenegro. NP has no seats in the

national parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and is yet to contest the elections, its currently operating regionally within the country's second-largest municipality of

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

and its surronding areas.

History

Political alliance

In July 2020

United Montenegro United Montenegro (, UCG) is a conservative political party in Montenegro. Party founder and de facto political leader is Goran Danilović, former Minister of Interior Affairs in Government of Montenegro. History The United Montenegro was founded ...

(UCG), Workers' Party (RP) and Independent group in the parliament (composed of former members of SNP and DEMOS parties), agreed to form a new cultural conservative political alliance under the name ''Popular Movement'', continuing its activity within the joint coalition with Democratic Front (DF), Socialist People's Party (SNP) and the

True Montenegro The True Montenegro (; abbr. Права / Prava or ПЦГ / PCG) is a right-wing populist political party in Montenegro, formed in January 2018 from the political movement ''Resistance to Hopelessness'' (OB), prior to the March 2018 presidential ...

(PCG). During July 2020, Popular Movement was joined by another minor right-wing parties, such as

Democratic Party of Unity Democratic Party of Unity ( cnr, Демократска странка јединства, ''Demokratska stranka jedinstva'', DSJ) is a minor extra-parliamentary national conservative Serbian-Montenegrin unionist political party in Montenegro. ...

(DSJ) and

Democratic Serb Party The Democratic Serb Party ( sr, Демократска српска странка, Demokratska srpska stranka; DSS) is a minor conservative political party in Montenegro, representing the Serbs of Montenegro. History The Democratic Serb Party wa ...

(DSS). The newly founded coalition initiator and de facto leader is controversial Belgrade-based Montenegrin businessman

Miodrag Davidović Miodrag "Daka" Davidović (; born 1957) is a Montenegrin businessman, economist and politician, prominent representative of Serbs from Montenegro, benefactor of the Serbian Orthodox Church and a longtime financier of the Montenegrin opposition du ...

. On 2 August 2020, the Popular Movement officially decided to enter the common opposition electoral list with Democratic Front and the SNP, in order to participate at the forthcoming

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, forming big tent "

" pre-election coalition. At the joint electoral list, NP leading candidate was

(UCG) member Vladimir Dobričanin, by holding seventh position on the list, their other candidate was Maksim Vučinić, leader of the Workers' Party (RP), who hold only the twenty-seventh place on common electoral list. The founding members in July 2020 were: *

, national and cultural conservative party (2 MPs) *

Non-partisans Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers s ...

, moderate conservative (2 MPs, ) * Workers' Party, socially conservative and left-populist party (1 MP) *

, conservative Christian democratic party (non-parliamentary) *

, national conservative party (non-parliamentary) All constituent members of newly founded alliance employed a more significant cultural and socially conservative discourse, advocating Serbian Orthodox Church rights in Montenegro, due to the 2020 Montenegrin political crisis, and an open conflict between the

Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro Eastern Orthodoxy in Montenegro refers to adherents, religious communities, institutions and organizations of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Montenegro. It is the largest Christian denomination in the country. According to the latest census of ...

and the

Democratic Party of Socialists The Democratic Party of Socialists of Montenegro ( cnr, Демократска партија социјалиста Црне Горе, Demokratska partija socijalista Crne Gore, DPS) is a populist political party in Montenegro. A former long-tim ...

-led

Government of Montenegro The Government of Montenegro ( cnr, Vlada Crne Gore, Влада Црне Горе) is the executive branch of state authority in Montenegro. It is headed by the prime minister. It consists of the prime minister, the deputy prime ministers as we ...

, following the adoption of the disputed law on the status of religious communities in the country. The August 2020 election resulted in a victory for the opposition parties and the fall from power of the ruling DPS, which has ruled the country since the introduction of the multi-party system in 1990. Dobričanin and Vučinić both was elected to the Parliament, after the coalition won 32.55% of popular vote and 27 seats in the parliament, while Montenegrin professor close to

and Davidović's alliance,

Zdravko Krivokapić Zdravko Krivokapić ( cyrl, Здравко Кривокапић; born 2 September 1958) is a Montenegrin professor and politician who served as Prime Minister of Montenegro from 2020 to 2022. In addition to his professorship at the Universities ...

was selected new

prime minister-designate A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

of Montenegro by the new parliamentary majority in September 2020, announcing economical reforms, fight against corruption, as well as withdrawal of the disputed law on religious communities. During October and November, Davidović repeatedly stated that the leaders of the populist Democratic Front (of which he was one of the founders in 2012, as well as longtime financier) were trying to obstruct the political agreement on forming a new government, by unfoundedly accusing him and the

of influencing Prime Minister-designate Krivokapić decisions and the composition of the new cabinet of the Government of Montenegro. He told the media that the Democratic Front would not succeed in that because, as he said, "the prime minister-designate has the support of the people of Montenegro."

Political party

On 21 November 2020, at the church's holiday of Holy Archangel Michael, the businessman

announced that he is founding a political party under the name the Popular Movement (of Montenegro). Davidović announced new party founding in front of the Monastery of Saint Sava at the Golija Mountain near

, which is his endowment. He said that the new party practically emerged from the short-lived For the Benefit of All coalition, which he initiated in 2019, and which consisted of the Socialist People's Party (SNP),

(UCG), the Workers' Party (RP) and the independent parliamentary club in the parliamentary led by Aleksandar Damjanović. Davidović announced that the high-ranking members of the new party will be the members of the Matica Srpska in Montenegro, NGO "We won't give you, Montenegro", as well as some of members of the cabinet of

. On 1 February 2021 in Nikšić, Davidović and his associates presented the program and ideological identity of the new party, announcing participation in the March 2021 local elections in Nikšić, as well expressing support for Prime Minister Krivokapić and his government.Niko ne može da nas ucijeni: "Narodni pokret" predao odborničku listu
15 Fwbruary 2021 Since its foundation party accepted a

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term develop ...

discourse, advocating

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

and

cultural conservatism Cultural conservatism is described as the protection of the cultural heritage of a nation state, or of a culture not defined by state boundaries. It is usually associated with criticism of multiculturalism, and opposition to immigration. Cultu ...

anti-corruption Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive meas ...

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

rights in Montenegro, rule of law, decentralisation,

labour rights Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influe ...

and agrarianism.O nama
Народни покрет - Миодраг Дака Давидовић, Retrieved 2021-01-09 Party failed to achieve a significant result in competition with another right-wing populist list led by Democratic Front alliance, which enjoyed support by the SNS-led regime in Serbia. SNS-controlled media and its affiliated political outlets in Serbia, Montenegro and

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is locat ...

publicly supported Democratic Front-led list, launching a negative campaign to discredit Davidović and his newly-formed party, as direct competition seeking support from the same voter base, among local Serb community. Davidović's party continued to operate locally within Nikšić municipality, where it currently has a single representative in the 41-seat assembly.DPS izgubio većinu u Nikšiću, stranke na vlasti na državnom nivou slave pobedu
14 March 2021. Retrieved 2021-05-11

References

{{Montenegrin political parties 2020 establishments in Montenegro Political parties established in 2020 Conservative parties in Montenegro Serb political parties in Montenegro Christian democratic parties in Montenegro Social conservative parties Pro-European political parties in Montenegro