Councilors in the Municipality of Centar officially confirmed the impeachment of Mayor Srđan Mandić. The citizens will have the final say in September. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the president of the People and Justice party, Elmedin Konaković, spoke about the impeachment of Mandić, the Troika, the state coalition, the Federation, the EU’s path to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dnevnik 3.
“It’s no secret that within NiP we had different views on this matter. I am skeptical that we have any good solution if Mandić is impeached. Today there were many people who asked me if the impeachment of Mandić affects the relations in the Three, I communicated with both presidents because I want us to have honest and good relations. I think and we will do everything to keep the Troika stable and compact. We didn’t need this in the Center. However, this is not the only problem. We had a similar situation in New Sarajevo, where the SDP, led by Mayor Tanović, made a majority with the SDA and replaced the leadership of Our Party and People and Justice,” Konaković said.
He states that they had criticisms of Mandić’s work, but that impeachment is a radical option that should ultimately result in a better solution. He says that he spoke with the NiP councilors in the Center and that their vision is to form a majority with the Party for BiH or the SDA, which, he is categorical, will not happen.
“The people and justice stick to their agreement and the extended hand, and we are recognized for that, but I will listen to them because this is not a society of one person,” says Konaković.
He adds that there are many dissonant tones and different views in NiP, but that so far they have not diverged on any important topic.
“I was not in favor of impeachment, the councilors were, they remained compact. It is unlikely that the referendum can happen on the 17th, because now the procedure, the procurement of ballots, led by Mandić, and a number of other things are going on.”
When asked if, due to the impeachment of Mandić, he expects revenge from the Troika parties in which Ilidža mayor Nermin Muzur could be next, Konaković says that the partners have the right to be angry, but that Muzur is by far the best mayor in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the citizens of Ilidža would support him and , as he said, if we all joined together to depose him.
“The Three is not threatened, in the viber group Forto, Nikšić and I hastily exchanged some information and I think that as serious people we should preserve and stabilize relations and maybe come out of this stronger with some clear indicators that we should each search everything once again within our party , and the relations within the coalition itself, so that a few individuals would not disrupt what we have been building for four or five years and which has produced serious results, especially in Sarajevo Canton”, says Konaković.
When it comes to the stability of the coalition at the state level, he points out that it will depend on several parliamentary sessions in August, which he calls crucial for confirming whether it is functioning.
“Dodik has his other side, it’s nothing new, it’s something we see from him and we’re used to it. Maybe it’s a shade louder than before, but if we only watched what Dodik was saying, then no one would ever sit down at that table. Previously, both SDA and DF were in coalitions. We do it much better than them, we deliver results with this kind of Dodik. If he fulfills the promises he made to us at the last meeting, then this whole story makes sense,” says Konaković.
As a reminder, Dodik announced at that meeting that he would start the process of filling the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina due to the lack of judges from the RS, but then he said that he would not do so until the Law on the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is adopted.
When asked whether there will be an appointment of Srđan Amidžić as the Minister of Finance of Bosnia and Herzegovina if Dodik does not initiate the filling of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Konaković states that several parallel processes have been agreed upon, including the appointment of the Minister of Finance. There are several important laws in the first round, Konaković says that they have an agreement that these laws and the appointment of the minister will be adopted in a few days. However, the Law on the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is something that not everyone views the same and – he points out – they are not in favor of foreign judges leaving it at this moment.
“We have nothing against the working groups to sit down and start working on the law, we will bring our proposals, SNSD and HDZ theirs, and talk about all 14 (priority conditions that BiH must fulfill before the start of EU membership negotiations) should start immediately, only what is realistic is that some will be adopted in a short period of time, and some will last a little longer”, said Konaković.
He also referred to numerous meetings in the region and the world that he had so far as Minister of Foreign Affairs. He claims that the concrete actions of Brussels, Washington and other major centers show that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s door is wide open, wider than in the last 10 years.
“This is a momentum that we should not miss. This could be another crossroads like the one with the April package, when after a missed chance, Bosnia and Herzegovina entered a deep crisis. Especially Brussels opened a story about the Western Balkans that was generated by us, the Minister of Foreign Affairs
businesses from the region, which means more rights before membership, access to the common market. “Bosnia and Herzegovina was ‘honored’ on the funds, perhaps precisely because of our good work with 303 million euros in grant funds, which was 57% of the total amount for the entire region,” pointed out Konaković.
He adds that these are all signs that Bosnia and Herzegovina is finally where it belongs – in the focus of decision makers. That’s why, he points out, everyday polemics and internal turbulence are difficult for him.
He was asked to comment on the controversies regarding the statements of BiH ambassador to Serbia, Aleksandar Vranješ, who said that the female students who glorified war criminals only expressed their position. Because of this, Bećirović and Komšić asked Konaković to call him for consultations, and he asked them to dismiss him. Konaković says that his dismissal is within the jurisdiction of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He says they nominated him and voted for him, and Željka Cvijanović proposed him.
“He was not an unknown person, and before his appointment he made similar statements. I can’t re-educate anyone. I called him, he told me that he will not answer and I have no way to sanction him after that. But the members of the Presidency have the right to initiate his dismissal. I can’t even reduce his salary, I don’t have any tools to sanction him”, said Konaković.
At the end, he also touched on the relations in the Federation, saying that the coalition is stable, but that we should “react more seriously to some misinformation”.
