Everything you should know about new Serbian government: Term until 2022, 11 women and "new players"
The new government will have 21 departments and 23 ministers, two of which will be without portfolios
There are a few hours left until the official formation of the new Government of Serbia, and the story about the executive power will be completed after today's session convened by Parliament Speaker Ivica Dacic with one item on the agenda - the confirmation of the government and the swearing in of the prime minister and the cabinet members.
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From the announcement of new elections before we even got a new government, through surprises in the list of the candidates for ministers, to waiting for the formation of the executive power, the second cabinet led by Ana Brnabic is particular for several reasons.
Limited term of government even before it was formed
Before it was even formed, the new Government of Serbia was given a deadline of lasting until April 2022 at the latest, which means that it will last a little less than a year and a half. Practically, that means that Serbia will hold elections in 2022 at all levels: presidential, parliamentary, local, and in cities.
The new government will be what's knowns as "concentrated" because it will include all parliamentary parties in Serbia, with the exception of two representing minorities, and will have the support of almost all of the 250 deputies (members) in the National Assembly (parliament).
As many as 10 women minsters
Ana Brnabic will be the head of the government for the second time, and besides herself, the cabinet will consist of as many as 10 other women, which is why the composition of the government has attracted the attention of both the domestic and international public.
With this, Serbia has become one of the countries with the greatest balance when it comes to the number of women and men in the executive branch. The new cabinet pushed Serbia from the bottom of the list to among the top 10 countries when it comes to gender equality.
In addition to Brnabic, the new government will have Andjelka Atanaskovic, Irena Vujovic, Tatjana Matic, Maja Popovic, Marija Obradovic, Gordana Comic, Jadranka Joksimovic, Darija Kisic Tepavcevic, Zorana Mihajlovic and Maja Gojkovic.
The list of candidates for new ministers was a surprise
The new Serbian government will have 21 ministries, including three new ones - for human and minority rights and social dialogue, for family and demographic care and for rural areas. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced the names of new ministers after an SNS party presidency session, including some names that caused great surprise.
As many as five ministers will continue to hold portfolio they already had. Sinisa Mali, Jadranka Joksimovic, Vanja Udovicic, Branislav Nedimovic and Zlatibor Loncar remained at the helm of the ministries of finance, European integration, youth and sports, agriculture, forestry and water management, and health.
The five ministers who have been left out of the new cabinet are Goran Knezevic, who until now headed the Ministry of Economy, Nela Kuburovic, who was Minister of Justice, Zoran Djordjevic, who headed the labor department, Mladen Sarcevic, who headed education, and Vladan Vukosavljevic, now the former Minister of Culture.
Andjelka Atanaskovic replaces Knezevic and takes over the position of Minister of Economy, Maja Popovic replaces Kuburovic, Darija Kisic Tepavcevic takes over the Ministry of Labor, while Branko Ruzic will replace the Minister of Education.
Many future ministers are more or less known, but two of them were a real surprise, since there was not even any speculation that Tomislav Momirovic and Andjelka Atanaskovic - the new ministers of construction and economy - would join the cabinet.
Vulin and Stefanovic exchange roles
Aleksandar Vulin and Nebojsa Stefanovic "exchanged" their departments. Vulin, who has been the head of the Ministry of Defense until now, will lead the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while Stefanovic will take over the position of the Minister of Defense.
Speaking about this, President Aleksandar Vucic said that at the session of the Presidency of the SNS, "they measured who can do what in the coming period." He also pointed out that the Ministry of Defense is not a consolation prize, since he became president of Serbia after holding that office.
Speaking about the new government, Vucic stated that the most important thing for him is to set clear goals in order to measure the results at the end of 2021, if the party gains trust, and make changes in a new government.
Dacic becomes parliament speaker, SPS and SPAS get one ministry each
"Ivica Dacic will be the President of the Assembly of Serbia," President Vucic announced after the meeting of the SNS presidency, and that was the news that caused the biggest surprise. However, the SPS will have one ministry, the Ministry of Education, headed by Branko Ruzic. In addition, the minister without portfolio, Novica Toncev, will be from the ranks of the SPS where he is one of the vice presidents.
The ministry that will be led by a member of Aleksandar Sapic's SPAS is that of care for the family and demographics, which will be headed by Ratko Dmitrovic. As President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, said, this came at his insistence.
"He (Sapic) only asked to talk about the future of Serbia. He did not have any demands, as politicians usually have, he just wants to support the policy and take part in it. At my insistence, I must admit, the SPAS party will have one seat in the government," President Vucic said as he addressed citizens after the SNS Presidency meeting.
A minister from the Democratic Party
Gordana Comic has been given the new Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue, which means that the new Government of Serbia will include a former high-ranking official of the (now opposition) Democratic Party as its member.
"As for Gordana Comic, we never agreed on anything. Her family and she were the most prominent ones in the fight against me. That did not stop me from sitting down with the prime minister to talk about Gordana Comic and her experience, and later with herself," said SNS leader and President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic, after the party presidency session at which Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic announced the new ministers in the Government of Serbia.
Five deputy prime ministers, division of parliamentary committees
Branislav Nedimovic, Zorana Mihajlovic, Maja Gojkovic, Nebojsa Stefanovic and Branko Ruzic, four ministers from the ranks of the SNS and one from the SPS, will hold the positions of deputy prime ministers in the new Government of Serbia.
Chairs of parliamentary committees have also been elected, so the Committee for Control of Security Services will be led by SNS MP Igor Becic, and the Committee for Defense and Internal Affairs by SNS MP Aleksandar Markovic.
The new president of the Committee for Culture is SNS MP Sandra Bozic.
The parliamentary committee for finance, the state budget and the control of public fund spending will be led, as before, by SNS MP Aleksandra Tomic, while an MP from the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians, Elvira Kovac, was elected as chair of the parliamentary committee for European integration.
MP Muamer Zukorlic was elected as president of the Committee of Education, Science, Technological Development and Information Society, while SNS MP Katarina Rakic will head the Committee of Spatial Planning, Traffic, Infrastructure and Telecommunications.
(Telegraf.rs)