Correlation between the rise of COVID-19 cases and Montenegrin’s government new economic plan

Facts, control, empathy, stable democracy and civic culture have helped democratic governments preserve lives, democracy and freedom during the COVID-19 crisis. Public health participation and leadership are essential components to successfully managing a public health crisis.¹ On the other hand, populism is the opposite of representative or participative democracy. It requires a specific and voluntaristic policy that aggravates and purifies democracy and strips it of what it considers important.² In Europe, the outbreak of COVID-19 has further deepened authoritarian and protectionist sentiments, allowing a range of populists to consolidate their positions.³ COVID-19 is tailor-made for populist governments and actions to distribute counterfeit medical information and conspiracy hypotheses, thereby keeping citizens off balance.⁴ In addition, some governments responded with campaigns of denial and disinformation by shutting down media, prosecuting critics and dismissing scientists who attempted to provide accurate information. This article will argue recent populist actions taken by the current Government of Montenegro, which is trying to increase its rating among citizens through new economic solutions. However, these solutions require milder COVID-19 prevention measures, which leads to a severe uptick in infection cases.

Fig. 1.

Total number of COVID-19 cases in Montenegro. Source:  www.covidodgovor.me

Public opinion polls conducted in December 2021 show that only 18% of Montenegrin citizens trust the Government led by Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić.⁵ Due to the severe political crisis that is shaking the country and preventing it from advancing towards its path to the European Union and the dissatisfaction of the parliamentary majority that supports the Government, it is becoming more evident that early parliamentary elections will take place. In this situation, Krivokapic’s cabinet is trying to create a good ground for forming his future party through populist decisions. This populism is best reflected in the draft budget for 2022 and the controversial decision to increase the minimum wage by eighty percent—from 250 to 450 euros.⁶

Since it is necessary to fill the budget in all ways possible, the Government has started easing measures to combat COVID-19. However, the situation in the country on this issue is worrying. The arrival of the omicron variant in Montenegro at the end of December 2021 did not worry the Government, despite health experts arguing against the New Year’s and Christmas celebrations and advocating for the complete closure of all caterers until further notice. The Minister of Health announced her propositions of very radical measures but had retracted them under the pressure of the Finance Minister, citing economic preservation as the base argument.⁷

In the days following Christmas, a significant increase in the number of newly infected people with the new omicron strain began. Thus in just 10 days, Montenegro became the second country globally by the number of infected citizens per million inhabitants.⁸ The rising number of COVID-19 cases in Montenegro can be seen from the line graph above.

To date, the Montenegrin government has not presented new measures to curb the spread of a pandemic that threatens to totally decimate the Montenegrin health care system, all with the aim of preserving the economy and the new economic plan.

N. Perunovic, MSc Candidate

A. Barovic, MSc Candidate