Has the relationship between SDP and Our Party towards NIP and Konaković changed after the publication of Sky messages?

By: Amra Vrabac

In less than five months, local elections will be held in BiH. Deadlines are set, and political parties have two months to register candidates and submit candidate lists.
The "trojka" parties (SDP, NIP, Our Party), which ran with joint candidates for mayors in 2020, achieved success and took over some of the municipalities that had been ruled by SDA for years. That concept was supposed to offer something new, or at least that's what they promised.

Soon after that success, problems began to surface, and the relationships between the "trojka" parties changed from one municipality to another. Even the party leaders could not mend those relationships.

The most obvious conflict is in the Centar Municipality. Although People and Justice, together with SDP and Our Party, secured Srđan Mandić's victory for mayor, the NIP councilor club initiated Mandić's recall. A referendum did not happen, but the relations between NIP and Mandić were irrevocably destroyed. NIP president Elmedin Konaković tried to calm the tensions, but the councilors did not back down. Mandić is now announcing a new candidacy for mayor, but it is unclear whose support he is counting on. NIP Centar will certainly not support Mandić, and it is questionable how SDP Centar, and even the leadership of Our Party, will approach this candidacy.

The "trojka" concept in this municipality has failed, and several other parties are negotiating a joint candidate. For now, the name Dennis Gratz from DF is being mentioned, who could also be supported by SDA, Party for BiH, NES…

Another municipality where conflicts are arising and where there were problems with holding Municipal Council sessions is Novo Sarajevo. Although the "trojka" (then a "četvorka" with NBL of Ibrahim Hadžibajrić) gathered around the non-partisan candidate Hasan Tanović, problems were present from the very beginning of the mandate.

Accusations were hurled from the "trojka" parties at Tanović, who officially joined SDP, but even that party is not ready to stand behind Tanović's new candidacy.

Appetites have grown within two parties in the "trojka," and both People and Justice and Our Party have ready candidates. On the other hand, the opposition is not idle either, so this could be the municipality with the most candidates if the parties fail to agree and reduce the race to only two candidates. It is no secret that NIP would like to see Samir Avdić (former minister in the KS government and deputy mayor of Sarajevo) at the head of Novo Sarajevo, while Our Party is ready to support Vildana Bešlija, who has already started publishing promotional videos about this municipality. Given the problems within the SDP Novo Sarajevo Municipal Committee and the attempts by certain individuals close to Adnan Šteta and Nermin Nikšić to take over the committee, as happened in Novo Sarajevo, it is questionable how willing SDP will be to assert its demands or if it will back down before NIP's wishes.

For now, the "trojka" has an agreement on two candidates: Nermin Muzur (NIP) in Ilidža and Irfan Čengić (SDP) in Stari Grad. Everything else is still up in the air, and it is questionable whether they will manage to reach an agreement for any other municipality.

Although NIP achieved the most votes among the "trojka" parties in the 2020 elections, this year the result could be quite different. The "trojka" parties have been in power in KS for five years. Numerous problems remain unresolved, and dissatisfaction among healthcare workers and educators is growing, while problems are accumulating in public utilities and healthcare. The "trojka" has not distinguished itself in appointing directors of certain companies, so all of this is reflected in the overall image of the "trojka" parties.

An additional problem is that the "trojka" has been in power at all levels since 2023. Relations with Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović have shown that the "trojka" leaders are not up to the task of conducting politics at that level and with such partners. Due to the positions they have taken, they have lost their way at lower levels of government, and to remain in their positions, they are ready for compromises that come at a cost and will continue to cost the country.

Although cantonal committees of the parties exist at the cantonal level, it is clear that the final word rests with the party leaders.

It is no secret that Elmedin Konaković has managed to impose himself as the leader of the "trojka" due to his speaking ability, even though SDP had the best election results, on whose success NIP and Our Party rode into power. Konaković often highlighted SDP, but he did everything to be the negotiator with both Dodik and Čović.

However, things changed after the Sky communications were published, which link People and Justice and its president to people close to Edin Gačanin Tito's drug cartel from Dubai, who, through certain individuals close to NIP, established contact with this party.

Konaković engaged in confrontations with all his opponents, attacking prosecutors, the court, and journalists who reported on the Black Tie operation. From his position of power and the office he holds, he misused the institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, thereby completely privatizing both the institution and the employees of the Ministry.

His coalition partners did not support him in his confrontation with the media and the judiciary, and even the increasingly independent actions of Our Party officials are noticeable. After the signal to Federal RTV was interrupted by BHRT, Our Party stated that they hoped "SDP and NIP do not have their fingers crossed," or in other words, that they do not stand behind the decision to shut down FTV's signal. The court ordered BHRT the same day to restore the FTV signal, but the consequences of such actions will be the subject of investigation and judicial proceedings.

Our Party also condemned Konaković's attack on journalists, while SDP remains somewhat on the sidelines, with the exception of certain cadres who publicly support Konaković's statements about journalists.

In such relations, it is clear that Konaković is losing his bearings and has nothing more to offer his partners than to drag them down with him. This will also affect the decisions on joint participation in the local elections and the candidates for mayors. However, it should not be forgotten that Nikšić has almost completely neglected his duties as SDP president, so party bodies have not met for months, while the deadline for internal party elections is approaching. He clearly stated that his political retirement is approaching, but this does not mean that SDP should also retire after Nikšić. However, those who did not protest when Nikšić's mandate as president was extended outside of the statute should think about this.