In just over two years of Milojko Spajić’s Government, the Prime Minister has appeared in the parliamentary plenary on only 11 of the 18 sessions planned (61%). Notwithstanding the established practice of holding Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQ) on a monthly basis during the regular sittings of Parliament, in 2025 Spajić answered MPs’ questions on only five of the eight scheduled dates.
The Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Montenegro stipulate that PMQs are to be held at least once every two months during the regular parliamentary sitting. Although such wording may leave room for differing interpretations, neither the governing majority nor the opposition disputes that the Prime Minister is required to respond once a month – in practice, eight times a year, or once for each month of the regular (spring and autumn) sittings of Parliament.
This interpretation was fully observed by Spajić’s predecessors. Zdravko Krivokapić, Prime Minister of the 42nd Government of Montenegro, answered MPs’ questions eight times during his one-year mandate – four times during each of the four months of regular parliamentary sittings. His successor, Dritan Abazović, Prime Minister of the 43rd Government, answered MPs’ questions three times during the four months of his government’s tenure. Despite the fact that, following the fall of the 43rd Government, Abazović remained in the position of Prime Minister in a technical mandate for more than a year, no PMQs were held during that period. According to media reports, this stemmed from an agreement among the heads of parliamentary groups, leaving the executive branch without parliamentary oversight for over a year.
The Government led by Milojko Spajić, leader of the Europe Now Movement (Pokret Evropa sad! – PES), was formed on 31 October 2023. In this two-year period, Spajić answered MPs’ questions on only 11 of the 18 sessions planned. Furthermore, in the past two years, five Prime Minister’s Question Time sessions were subject to one or more postponements, while in 2025 only five of the eight scheduled sessions were ultimately held.
From the outset of Milojko Spajić’s 44th Government, this parliamentary oversight mechanism has been undermined in a number of ways – predominantly through the postponement and cancellation of PMQ sessions. On numerous occasions, the Prime Minister has responded exclusively in writing, publishing his replies on the website of the Government of Montenegro rather than addressing the parliamentary plenary. And on other occasions, the opposition has physically blocked the functioning of Parliament, as was the case during the PMQ session at the end of December 2024.
The first PMQ session following the formation of the 44th Government of Montenegro was held on 28 December 2023. The next, however, took place only four months later; Spajić complied with his obligation under the Rules of Procedure in early April and May of 2024. Session scheduling was accompanied by repeated postponements, lack of communication between the executive and legislative branches, and the alignment of dates with the Prime Minister’s other commitments. Thus, the PMQ session scheduled for 30 April 2024 was postponed to 9 May, when it was eventually held. This is just one of many examples of delays, followed by cancellations of PMQ sessions, which has effectively become a routine practice.
Just 24 hours before the fourth PMQ session, scheduled for 29 June 2024, Spajić informed the Parliament and the general public that he would not attend due to an official visit to Brussels, proposing 1 July as an alternative date for the session. On 29 June, the Speaker of Parliament, Andrija Mandić, opened the session and announced that it would continue on the date proposed by the Prime Minister, which prompted objections from part of the opposition. When the session resumed on 1 July, representatives of the opposition Democratic Party of Socialists prevented the PMQ session from being held, claiming that Spajić had shown a lack of respect for Parliament and the citizens of Montenegro by cancelling his attendance at such short notice. The Speaker subsequently scheduled new sessions for 19 and 26 July. Spajić did not respond to either invitation; a further postponement followed due to his trip to Paris for the opening of the Olympic Games. Ultimately, the PMQ session was held on 30 July.
By the end of 2024, two additional PMQ sessions were held, on 29 October and 22 November, respectively. The final PMQ session in 2024, despite having been scheduled, did not take place on 22 December due to a boycott and physical obstruction of Parliament by opposition MPs. The Speaker of Parliament, Andrija Mandić, announced that disciplinary measures would be imposed on MPs for obstructing parliamentary work, while the Prime Minister published his replies to MPs’ questions on the website of the Government of Montenegro.
In 2025, five PMQ sessions were held. The March session was also subject to a change of date: instead of 28 March, it was held on 26 March due to what was described as the Prime Minister’s international commitments. Referring back to obstruction activities in December of 2024, the Speaker of Parliament only imposed disciplinary measures, including suspension from parliamentary sessions for 15 days, on 3 February 2025. Article 109 of the Rules of Procedure provides that sanctioned MPs may not submit a parliamentary question at the first subsequent session dedicated to MPs’ questions, prompting, once again, objections from part of the opposition MPs.
The practice of continued postponement of PMQ sessions is further illustrated by the session that was ultimately held on 28 July 2025. Although originally scheduled for 27 June, Spajić informed the Parliament that he would not attend due to an Intergovernmental Conference. On that occasion, the Prime Minister proposed 30 June as an alternative date; however, the Speaker of Parliament, Andrija Mandić, responded that Parliament was unable to schedule a PMQ session due to prior commitments. Ultimately, the PMQ session was held on 28 July, when Spajić stated that he would not answer MPs’ questions. This decision by the Prime Minister was met with objections from the opposition and the public alike, and without an adequate response from the presiding officer, Boris Pejović, Deputy Speaker of Parliament and an MP from Spajić’s Europe Now Movement.
The autumn sitting reflected a somewhat different approach towards Parliament, with one PMQ session held in each of October, November and December 2025, without the disputes and postponements seen earlier. Nevertheless, the unpredictability of the Prime Minister’s attendance and the conditions governing his participation continue to affect the stability of parliamentary work and, more broadly, undermine the fundamental role of PMQs in overseeing the executive branch.
The analysis was prepared within the framework of the project “Fostering Public Debate and Improving the Quality of Public Discourse in the Legislature,” implemented by Institute Alternative with the support of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The analysis is the sole responsibility of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of the National Endowment for Democracy.