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| - Montenegrin lawmakers met on Wednesday to vote in a new cabinet after a coalition backed by the Serbian Orthodox Church won elections, ushering in the first transfer of power in three decades. The Church actively participated in the August election campaign and its support for the coalition was a key factor in defeating Milo Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which had never before lost an election. The bulk of prime minister-designate Zdravko Krivokapic's cabinet are experts, not politicians -- a compromise intended to bridge ideological divides within the new parliamentary majority. MPs are expected to approve the mostly young, well-educated cabinet -- which includes civil society activists and academics -- by Friday. Krivokapic, a 62-year-old university professor and political novice, promised MPs "significant progress" in Montenegro's talks to join the European Union. The country has been a NATO member since 2017. Krivokapic stressed that his team takes over as the tiny Balkans nation faces a "major crisis". "The situation in public finances is serious, the administration is cumbersome and inefficient, the epidemiological situation caused by the Covid-19 is out of control," he said. With more than 500 deaths from the respiratory disease, the country of 620,000 people has one of the highest per-capita death rates in Europe. Several members of the new cabinet -- including Krivokapic -- have close ties with the Belgrade-based Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC). On election night, when the first results were announced, Krivokapic celebrated his victory in a church with Bishop Amfilohije, the SPC head in Montenegro who has since died of Covid-19. In November, Krivokapic even compared his twelve ministers to Jesus' disciples. "For me it has the symbolism of the 12 apostles," he said. The August vote turned on a debate over identity -- nearly one third of Montenegro's population identify as Serbs, while the SPC is its largest religious community. While pro-democracy voices have celebrated the prospect of a change to Djukanovic's strongman-style rule, others have raised concern about the nationalistic pro-Serb forces that would be part of a new government. After a diplomatic row between the two nations over the weekend, Krivokapic pledged that his cabinet would work on "healing Montenegro's relations with Serbia". str-mbs/ljv/jxb
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