While Konaković, Forto and Nikšić push uphill, SDA, Party of BiH and DF save BiH's future with statesmanship!

By: Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

The opposition in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina today performed a triple rescue in the style of a political rescue service.

Primarily, the opposition, consisting of representatives from SDA, the Party of BiH, and DF, saved the face of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its institutions, preventing further embarrassment before the European public while awaiting a decision on potential negotiations for EU accession.

Furthermore, SDA, the Party of BiH, and DF have allowed the citizens of BiH, as well as political partners in the state government such as HDZ BiH, SNSD, and the Trojka coalition, to maintain hope for the European path. Had the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering not passed, that path would have been halted, and our country would have once again appeared dysfunctional and unserious.

And finally, the opposition parties saved Bosnia and Herzegovina from being placed on the MONEYVAL grey list, which would have brought severe political, economic, and financial consequences for our country.

The opposition, politically composed of SDA, the Party of BiH, and the Democratic Front, seized the opportunity in the House of Peoples to help, enabling the adoption of the law, and clearly demonstrating the difference between politicians and statesmen to the state-level coalition. Politicians think from one mandate to the next, not paying much attention to state interests, while statesmen prioritize the state's interest, even at the cost of losing political points.

While the opposition was working and saving the European path, preventing placement on the grey list, where was the government?

The government was not working, evidently, because if it were, the opposition would not be throwing it a lifeline. The government was boasting, though there is realistically nothing to boast about, and offering the old, tried-and-tested populist method of how they are leading Bosnia and Herzegovina into the European Union. They almost led us to the MONEYVAL list, making life and integration into the European Union even harder for us.

Therefore, while the government of the Trojka, HDZ, and SNSD was sleeping in a compromise conflict, and blaming the opposition for blockades, the opposition parties showed how to truly work in the interest of BiH and its European integration. Perhaps the patrons of the state government do not see it, but the citizens certainly do.

However, despite the fact that the latest rescue performed by the opposition is not the only one, the government, prone to idleness and selling illusions, will continuously accuse that very opposition of obstructing Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path.

Today's vote by delegates from SDA, the Party of BiH, and the Democratic Front destroyed all possibilities for spin by the Trojka, HDZ, and SNSD, suggesting they were responsible for resolving tasks on the European path. Additionally, the opposition silenced the Trojka parties, as leaders of that Trojka, like Elmedin Konaković, had precisely accused the opposition of blockades.

“I checked and received confirmation from multiple sources that Željko Komšić himself, during a meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Rutte at the BiH Presidency, asked the EU not to open negotiations with BiH. That is the difference between us and them; imagine a leader who says, 'don't open negotiations with us' – Konaković said (on January 25th), adding that "SDA and DF would certainly be ready for various concessions and political bargaining to secure benefits for themselves.”

We do not know where he checks his information, but Komšić received confirmation from the Netherlands that Konaković is not telling the truth, and today's vote by SDA and DF, along with the Party of BiH, is a cold shower for the BiH Foreign Minister, who has been explaining a lot these days, but few believe him.

However, he has found his way through populism, and after the session of the House of Peoples, he quickly posted on the X platform: “Another big step towards opening negotiations with the EU, the Law on Prevention of Money Laundering has been adopted! Every compromise pays off and brings some benefit. It's an uphill battle, not easy, but we are pushing forward and CONTINUING. All for the people in this beautiful country, the most beautiful in the world.”

What are you pushing, a coalition partner Damir Nikšić would say to him, if he dared. And indeed, what is Elmedin Konaković pushing, and in what direction? His policy of compromise, which he even boasts about, has enabled Dragan Čović to almost secure his member of the Presidency, and brought Milorad Dodik to the brink of taking control of the BiH Constitutional Court, just as he has taken control of the BiH security system. That would truly be the beginning of the end for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and fortunately, Konaković does not have enough strength to fulfill his compromise promises.

However, no matter how much the Trojka boasts, and Konaković and Edin Forto do so the most, it will be recorded that the opposition, consisting of SDA, the Party of BiH, and DF, demonstrated constructive and statesmanlike behavior, and helped adopt the key law for the better future of BiH citizens.

Thus, the Trojka is left with only selling illusions to citizens and offering compromise promises to partners from HDZ and SNSD, until Čović and Dodik finally realize they are dealing with a politically underdeveloped project, imposed by the US Embassy solely to remove parties like SDA.

And when Čović and Dodik realize this, Konaković, Forto, and Nermin Nikšić will have to get their act together to do something concrete, because they have shown that politics, especially state and statesmanship, is not close to them.