Andrija Mandic, the pro-Russian head of the New Serbian Democracy party, will continue to serve as the speaker of the Montenegrin parliament after surviving a no-confidence vote.
In a secret ballot, 44 lawmakers voted for Mandic to remain at the helm of parliament, while 27 voted for his dismissal. There are 81 legislators in the Montenegrin parliament.
Mandic's dismissal was sought by the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which accused him of abusing the assembly for "party, nationalist, and anti-European interests."
DPS, the biggest opposition party, was outraged after Mandic received Milorad Dodik, the pro-Russian president of the Bosnian Serb entity on February 27.
Dodik visited Montenegro immediately after meetings with the authoritarian presidents of Russia and Belarus, Vladimir Putin, and Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The visit triggered violent protests in Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, prompting the latter to send a note of protest to the Montenegrin authorities.
The note highlighted that only the flag of the Bosnian Serb entity, Republika Srpska, was displayed behind Dodik at the press conference and not Bosnia's. Dodik has called for the seccession of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska from Bosnia. A quarter of Montenegro's population is ethnic Serb.
"Mandic is a representative of those who implement national-chauvinist politics, a promoter of Greater Serbian nationalism. For him, (Radovan) Karadzic and (Ratko) Mladic are his heroes," DPS deputy Ivan Vukovic said in explaining the request for Mandic's dismissal.
Karadzic and Mladic are Bosnian Serbs who were convicted of war crimes, including genocide, during the Yugoslav wars.
The DPS criticized Mandic for visiting the election headquarters of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's party on the day of the parliamentary elections in Serbia. They also criticized him for placing a tricolor flag identical to the official national flag of Serbia in his cabinet. Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia in 2006.
The DPS called Mandic a "weight on the neck" of European Montenegro and claimed that Western ambassadors bypass the Montenegrin parliament because of his leadership role.
Mandic did not directly respond to the accusations and criticism, emphasizing instead that te public is primarily interested in the results delivered by the parliamentary majority.
"In response to claims by political opponents that I am a hindrance to European integration, I defer to [EU Enlargement Commissioner] Oliver Varhelyi and others in Brussels with whom I have engaged. They appreciate the efforts of the parliament and me," Mandic said.
Mandic received support from his own party as well as members of the ruling coalition, which includes the Europe Now Movement (PES) led by Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, the Democrats led by Deputy Prime Minister Aleksa Becic, and the Socialist People's Party.
However, during the parliamentary session, no member of the Europe Now Movement voiced support for Mandic, despite not voting for his dismissal.
Mandic was the leader of the former pro-Russian Democratic Front, which until 2020 was the main opposition to the DPS, which subsequently lost power.
The program guidelines of the Democratic Front included the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo's independence, the lifting of sanctions against Russia introduced in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, and the withdrawal of Montenegro from NATO.