The meeting of the Coalition of Three (Troika) HDZ and opposition parties from RS has been postponed again. The foundations for the formation of a possible new state coalition could be laid on April 14. Nenad Grković from the Justice and Order List announced that he would come to the meeting. He says that if an agreement is not signed, there is nothing more to discuss. By the way, it is known that until then each of the participants will lobby for their own interests. There are many reasons for compromise, and one condition, it seems, is the Election Law proposed by the HDZ of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A compromise means that no one gets everything they want – said Nermin Nikšić, president of the SDP. In definition, that is the case, but it mostly means that one side gets more. In the compromise of building a new state coalition, the HDZ of BiH is not giving up on its demands – changes to the Election Law. Regardless of the fact that it has already been sent to the House of Peoples and that the focus of every negotiation at the state level, the Troika continues to deny that they are conditioned.
“The atmosphere at these meetings is not ‘take it or leave it’. But, of course, through your actions you show whether you are ready for additional steps or not,” said Nermin Nikšić, president of the SDP.
Even a direct address by Dragan Čović, who admits that the American ambassador persuaded him to form a coalition with the Troika and that the only condition for its survival is an Election Law tailored to Čović’s needs, was not enough for them.
“I came out clearly and said what I think about the partnership. However, in order for anything to be done further – Bosnia and Herzegovina is so complex – someone has to sit down again, make an agreement and say that we are creating slightly different relations between the majority and the minority. You are simply not able to articulate your need not to allow the Croatian people to elect their own member of the Presidency,” stressed Dragan Čović, president of the HDZBiH.
Nikšić says that he would not support the proposal submitted by the HDZBiH.
“We made that very clear at that meeting. We are ready to work on solutions that will implement both the decision of the Constitutional Court and the decision of the court in Strasbourg,” says the SDP president.
Although he has officially started negotiations with the RS opposition, his statements contradict his actions. At the last session of the House of Representatives, only HDZ representatives were against the dismissal of SNSD personnel. This once again confirmed that, as Čović says, they do not give up on their partners so easily.
“HDZ and SNSD are in a strategic partnership. Now they are looking to find cracks in it, but there will be no cracks,” says Staša Košarac, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SNSD).
Perhaps this is also the reason for the delay in the final meeting with the opposition and the Troika, where they should also agree on the coalition statute. The meeting has been postponed for the second time, the reason is unclear.
“I haven’t checked our groups or phones, I will in the afternoon when I finish my working day. I understand that this is a request from the HDZ, there should be no ultimatum or condition,” says Elmedin Konaković, president of NiP.
Is Čović buying time or, perhaps, is he just not sure that he will get what he wants from the so-called Troika from RS.
“He is asking, first of all, that is clear, for the amendments to the Election Law that he sent to the House of Peoples to be adopted. That, allegedly, as he says, some kind of partnership tests be shown. I took the last tests when I was 18 when I took my driving test. And Mr. Čović should have given those tests when he formed a coalition with the SNSD,” said Nebojša Vukanović, president of the Justice and Order List.
The HDZBiH, more precisely Borjana Krišto, could very easily resolve the blockade – at least in the Council of Ministers – if they appointed Nebojša Vukanović to the position of Minister of Security. Both dismissals and appointments are currently at a standstill. What is being waited for, or rather, who is being waited for? Perhaps an acquittal or pardon for Dodik, who certainly supported the idea of the Election Law. Some European institutions have even called on the Troika to give Dodik a new chance.
“We have clear positions and goals and we will persist in them. We are not someone who will be a substitute for certain political parties in the context of resolving certain political positions, but truly real desires to ensure lasting peace, stability and equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, however someone understands it, simply those are our goals and we will persist in them,” said Borjana Krišto, Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HDZBiH).
So, the HDZ is conditioning the Troika and the opposition from the RS with the Election Law. The opposition is conditioning the Troika with the appointments of their personnel. Only the Troika parties are not in a position to choose, at least if they want to retain power. The question is how far they are willing to give in to their compromise, BHRT writes.
