Good news from Montenegro
#158
My Dear Friend of Democracy,
Almost twenty years ago, the Montenegrins decided to have their own country. I assume that the majority did not regret independence from Serbia.
Here is why I think so.
The small country with its 600,000 inhabitants enjoys the highest possible protection as a NATO member (Montenegro officially joined NATO on 5 June 2017).
The economy is growing strongly, with 6 per cent GDP growth adjusted for inflation last year. It is driven by booming tourism and private consumption, also supported by an influx of foreigners, primarily Russian and Ukrainian citizens, the World Bank says.
Montenegro successfully reduced its public debt from 103.5 per cent of GDP in 2020 to 60.7 per cent in 2023, aided greatly by high nominal GDP growth.
Poverty rates have been falling for years and are expected to fall further. The World Bank again: "Poverty is projected to decline by 1.5 percentage points from 2023 to 7.5 per cent in 2026."
Maybe the best thing about the developments in Montenegro is that peaceful power transfers happen. Last year, long-time leader Milo Đukanović was ousted as president by Jakov Milatović. Milatović was a co-founder and, until this year, the deputy leader of Europe Now!, a liberal and pro-European political party in Montenegro that is currently the largest single party in the Montenegrin parliament.
There are so many positive stories about democracy to tell, aren't there?
See you in Europe,
Johannes