After a months-long saga, a new Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was elected with Nermin Nikšić as Prime Minister. The coalition partners quarreled over the names of the ministers, so before the appointment itself, the Party for BiH and the NES were replaced by Ramo Isak and the HDZ in 1990. Even the changes did not escape criticism, and some members of the public questioned the competence of certain ministerial personnel. Who are the new ministers in the Government of the Federation of BiH, what are the tasks before them, and what are the expectations of the citizens?
Nermin Nikšić, the president of SDP, will represent the Federal Government as Prime Minister for the next four years. Nikšić previously held this position. He will have five more ministers from the SDP with him. SDP cadres are mostly trained professors, and some have previously held ministerial positions at the county level. Nikšić’s deputy will be Vojin Mijatović, who heads the federal Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Crafts Development.
The second deputy is the cadre of HDZ BiH and Minister of Finance Toni Kraljević. He is the Minister of Finance in the Government of the West Herzegovina County and the Vice President of that government. Apart from him, the HDZ has four other ministries. Andrijana Katić Filipović, sister of the representative in the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Darijana Katić Filipović, is the Minister of Transport and Communications. Vedran Škobić, head of the Ministry of Justice, is a lawyer by profession. Certain HDZ cadres also have experience in ministerial positions at lower levels of government.
Our party and Narod and Pravda each have two ministers. Mostly, personnel who have some experience in politics, but also in the real sector, such as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management. The HDZ came to power in 1990 with Nediljko Rimac as Minister of Health, who is a doctor by profession. The federal police will be headed by Ramo Isak, a former member of NES.
After more than eight years, 16 new ministers and a new, old prime minister will sit in the ministerial chairs in the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who will manage the processes in the Federation for the next four years.
Journalist Rubina Čengić says that she does not have high expectations from the new government. The biggest problem, she believes, is the narrow majority in the House of Representatives of the Federation Parliament. As she says, the competencies of individual ministers are disputed.
“Let’s say you have a minister of health who is a doctor, but he was the prime minister in a canton where no one really boasts about an organized health sector. Or, for example, that famous Ramo Isak. It is incredible that such a large group of political parties could not find better people. Perhaps we can single out, for example, three names that instill confidence at this moment – Mrs. Duraković and Mrs. Pozder and the Minister for Displaced Persons, who has already dealt with it,” says Čengić.
The most reactions were caused by the appointment of Ramo Isak to the position of Federal Minister of the Interior, who has two final judgments. Nikšić says that they had to swallow certain things in order to reach the goal.
“He was convicted, yes. I think, based on everything I checked, everyone treats him as a man who, when he gives his word and when he takes on something, works seriously,” explains Nikšić.
Political scientist Danijel Vidović believes that the new coalition of parties can bring some new changes, compared to the old partners in the Federation.
“After the SDA, which was not only targeted as a disruptive factor, but it turned out that this party behaved like that all along, a more normal, less tense atmosphere should be created in which a long-term and high-quality political agreement could be reached,” Vidović says.
Citizens’ opinions are divided. While some have high expectations from the new government, some of them still believe that nothing will change.
The new ministers have a lot of work to do. In the next four years, they will show what their priority is, care for citizens or care for positions.
