If Nikšić leads the Federation of BiH like the SDP, dissatisfaction will have to erupt somewhere

By Amra Vrabac

When Nermin Nikšić's mandate as SDP president was extended at the June 2023 Congress, which many members said was convened in violation of the SDP Statute and which they refused to attend, for another two years, no one expected that after those two years, internal party elections would not be held as befits a party that claims to be social democratic.

And if Nikšić leads the FBiH Government like he leads the party, or rather, how the party is led, then things don't look good for the Federation of BiH either.

Although he initially claimed he was not interested in remaining at the head of the SDP because he could not according to the Statute, Nikšić suddenly changed his story and turned everything into a "demand from a critical mass."

"If you think so, there is a critical mass, sit down and talk, and then we will see," Nikšić said in mid-December on Face TV.

So, the decisive NO disappeared overnight, and Nikšić surrendered himself again to the manipulators, the same ones he brought into the FBiH Government and gave power to.

Not even a few open letters from SDP members to Nikšić and the party leadership were enough to implement the "D" from SDP in practice and openly discuss all the problems. And there are problems. The party bodies have never discussed the results of the local elections, even though the SDP lost several municipalities and cities where they had strong bases. While SDP Presidency sessions were regularly held in the previous period, ever since Nikšić brought the party into power at all levels, the party's voice has been heard less and less, and Nikšić, with a few selected associates, decides on the most important issues. The party's Main Board adopted the candidate lists with a questionable quorum and has not met since.

Nikšić has been at the head of the SDP for ten years, and the problems from the top have spread to the lower levels. All this resulted in the loss of mayoral positions in Gračanica, Jablanica, Maglaj, Ključ, Gradačac.

What Nikšić is criticized for within the party, and which few are willing to discuss publicly for fear of losing well-paid positions and future mandates, is now being repeated in the FBiH Government. Favoritism towards certain interests in and around the SDP has resulted in the largest clinical center in the country not having a director for over a year. Although there was initially lobbying for Ismet Gavrankapetanović to take over the position, he never received the consent of the Minister of Health, and Nikšić stated that he had no intention of interfering in that process. However, whether he interfered or not, data on KCUS's losses while it was managed by SDP's Alen Pilav have already surfaced.

Members criticize Nikšić for giving too much freedom to Vojin Mijatović, who immediately became the vice-president of the SDP, dealt with undesirable cadres on Nikšić's behalf, and who today leads key processes in the FBiH Government as deputy prime minister and minister of trade and development. It was precisely in Nikšić's absence due to surgery that Mijatović led the session at which the sudden decision on a minimum wage of 1,000 KM was made, although all along there was talk of a decree on total income which included the non-taxable part.

And while no one can yet say with complete certainty what the consequences of such a decision will be, which enormously increases employer costs at the expense of the FBiH budget at the beginning of the new year, Nikšić, in Mijatović's words, told foreign investors to look for "banana states" if paying a worker 1,000 KM here is too much for them. Nikšić doesn't need the few foreign investors we have. Presumably, Nikšić will open factories and employ the surplus workers who will be collateral damage from the reduction of business in certain sectors. No, he won't. Because Nikšić is not interested in factories or workers, or real relief, but in tenders and money that will flow into the Budget. And then Mijatović will pump that money out of the Federation of BiH into newly established companies, crafts, and whatever else on paper and give subsidies. Who and how, only he knows. Let's hope that the money from these subsidies doesn't circulate like the one from Romanijaputevi, for which Nenad Nešić is in custody.

If we only look at where and what the SDP is today, what kind of cadres they offer us, it is clear that Nikšić cannot offer anything better to the Federation of BiH either.

During Nikšić's first term, state institutions, the BiH Presidency building, were burning. Revolt due to certain harmful decisions that directly affect the economy of the FBiH, from which billions in VAT are mostly paid, could escalate very quickly. I just hope that the BiH Presidency, which was not even burned during the aggression against Sarajevo during the longest siege, will not burn again then. However, it is obvious that there are structures within the SDP that would eagerly await Sarajevo to burn again or to weaken it economically to the point where it eventually becomes deserted.

The idea that the SDP should have nurtured has been extinguished by the insatiable desire of certain cadres for personal enrichment, even if it is at the expense of their own country. And judging by the number of properties they own, it seems that some individuals no longer see their future in BiH after this mandate.

Nikšić should still offer the public answers about the benefits of a non-working Sunday, increased costs for employers without a reduction in the contribution rate, how he will stop constant price increases, whether pensions will increase in line with the increase in the cost of living, whether the FBiH Government will declare a moratorium on further employment and begin reforming public administration, which is swallowing budget money, how he will increase the number of employed people in relation to the number of pensioners. There are more questions, but for starters, let Nikšić answer these. His coalition partners Elmedin Konaković and Edin Forto, whose parties are part of the Trojka, can also help him with this.