Neither NES nor FES in Krajina, budget (not) solved by support for 'Magical Krajina' and promissory notes

By Ernad Metaj

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There is no majority for the adoption of the USK Budget and the payment of salaries to healthcare workers, nor is there a majority to overthrow the Government, so a stalemate remains for the time being. The key is in the hands of the SDP, which could ensure the necessary vote for the budget by including its sick representative in the online vote, and without them, a new majority practically cannot exist.

- Our representative is undergoing treatment in Turkey, and the family is against disturbing him. On the other hand, it is evident that we have a problem within the coalition as well, because NES, behind the backs of the rest of the coalition, concluded collective agreements in the areas of their ministers, and they are not willing to support the same for the field of education, even though educational workers in USK have one of the lowest salaries in FBiH, said the Speaker of the USK Assembly, Razim Halkić from SDP.

The opposition is also on the side of education, but there is no majority yet that would be willing to overthrow the current Government led by Prime Minister Mustafa Ružnić (NES). According to Patria's information, four independent representatives are ready for a government reconstruction with both the ruling party and the opposition. In the first case, the prime minister could not be from NES, and in the second, the SDP and the rest of the civic options would have to agree on a potential mandate holder.

- NES will not accept blackmail to lose the prime minister position as the largest club in the Assembly. It is clear that the opposition led by SDA is trying to overthrow the Government with all its might, and changing the prime minister would only be the first phase of that path. Two independent representatives supported this Government, and now they do not want to support the budget. In USK, Naša stranka has proven to be the most loyal associate of SDA, and as for SDP, it is illogical that their Minister of Education votes for the budget in the Government, and that the rights of educational workers become a stumbling block in the Assembly. This Government has tried to accommodate educational workers, so we will see what can be done in the coming period to overcome the differences, said Agan Bunić, president of the NES parliamentary group, for Patria.

He dismissed the accusations of independent representative Ekrem Prošić that millions were spent to buy votes to support the government and the budget as unfounded. Prošić stated that 6 representatives were bought, and Bunić invited him to publicly present any information he might have. Prošić has not done so yet, but Halil Bajramović from NIP repeated the story of buying representatives on social networks. He compared NES's behavior to the series Money Heist, where people enter state institutions in masks to rob them, and then take employees hostage. He publicly asked Prime Minister Ružnić how many representatives of the former A-SDA and current NES had to sign promissory notes for KM 100,000 to be loyal.

- The non-adoption of the budget is only a consequence, and the causes have been accumulating for years because NES has been weaving a web that is not good for the citizens, and it has also proven to be bad for their coalition partners, from whom they have only not yet devastated the SDP. They also enjoyed our support until we realized what they were doing; now they are asking us to distance ourselves from the representative who left NIP driven by her personal interests, Bajramović told us.

Zlatko Hujić from NES confirmed to Patria that promissory notes were indeed in play.

- When I decided to be part of the team gathered around the mayor of Cazin because they had done a lot for their city, I received an envelope brought to me by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Nermin Kljajić. When I saw that it contained a contract, I threw it in the trash because I didn't want to even look at it. I have always been independent in my actions, but I remain part of that team where I have no problems, even though I don't have a promissory note. SDA, which wants to return to power at all costs, is a much bigger problem for Krajina, Hujić believes.

SDA does not hide its interest in dismissing the Government. They justify this by the non-transparent preparation of the budget, which was not communicated with beneficiaries and citizens. They find it problematic that funds for education are being reduced while the budget is increasing by 40 million. They also accuse the Government of non-transparent spending of money and managing public institutions.

- For three years, representatives in the Assembly have not had the opportunity to declare themselves on the execution of the budget. The financial report of USK Šume, which is the largest public company and which operated at a loss in 2020, is being hidden. We have not adopted their work plan for 2020 either. The situation is similar with the Health Insurance Fund, whose beneficiaries the government is trying to mislead and clash with the opposition. How can we support the budget when no account has been given for the one billion KM spent, said the president of the SDA club, Jasmin Musić.

NES justifies itself by the fact that everything is being politicized and claims that the reports were withdrawn because it was known they would not be adopted.

- I think the public understands who the obstructionist is. If there are no conscientious people in the opposition to support the budget and for healthcare workers to receive their salaries, then the problem lies with them. We will have Assemblies every eight days, so let them vote as they wish, Bunić told us.

NES also claims that the story about buying votes is disproven by the fact that they did not even try to secure a vote from Fikret Abdić's party, even though they are accused of participating in stopping the recall of the mayor of Velika Kladuša. On the other hand, calls to explain why KM 30,000 is planned for the support of "Magical Krajina", which is just a Facebook page. For now, however, there is still no magic wand that would untangle the political knot in Krajina, which has long been tangled by the quarrels of former and current SDA followers.