A Way Out of the Political Crisis

System at Stalemate

AIM Banja Luka, 7 February, 1999

The political crisis, such as the one nowadays experienced by Republika Srpska, is quite rare. It was caused by the president of RS, so it is said to be the presidential crisis. For four months already since the elections for the National Assembly, president of RS has not given the mandate for composition of the new government to a person who would win majority of votes in the assembly, but keeps giving it to persons who he knew in advance could not win the majority, justifying this with formal nebulous reasons. Operation of the whole parliamentary system was blocked in this way.

There are different ways out of such a crisis. In some countries, such as the USA and Russia, the so-called impeachment is applied in such cases. This is a legal instrument by means of which the president is recalled for having failed to observe the constitution and the law, as well as for behavior which tarnishes the reputation of the president of the state. This is at this moment applied against Bill Clinton in the USA.

In many countries, the recall of the president is prescribed by law, like in RS. However, pursuant the law, the recall is not possible in the reality, because it is necessary to have a big qualified majority of votes of the deputies in order to initiate proceedings, a big number of votes in a referendum, and a big number of votes in favour of the recall. Therefore, President of RS need not fear that he will be recalled, unless the law is amended.

Depending on causes which lead to the political crisis, it can be lasting or temporary. The current crisis in RS has elements of a lasting crisis which is caused by the conflicting relations of two ideologies and policies which mutually exclude each other. One is based on ethnic exclusiveness and subjectiveness whose historical time has passed a long time ago, and the other is founded on implementation of the Dayton accords. The main social bearers of the crisis are parties which are ideologically and politically immature for the time we live in. They are not capable of recognizing the inevitable modern social processes and problems; these parties have not learnt or adopted the fundamental laws of political philosophy about the contents, the role and values of political institutions in an actual social reality. When a man listens to certain political leaders of these parties, the impression is as if some Martians were speaking.

Deputies of certian political parties do not even know why they are in the parliament, nor can they adapt to its role. They are mostly representatives of ad hoc, randomly gathered political groups which are a by-product of political organizing and mostly serve for causing commotion. They easily convert, saying one thing one day and something completely different the next; they belong to one block one day and to a completely different one the next. Their members are mostly from small-town, petty bourgeois, anarcho-liberal strata of the society. Their social wavering and ideological instability derive from their double social background. That is why they do not belong either to the political left, or centre, or right. That is why they are liable to disintegrate and disappear.

Due to the lack of spiritual potential, this petty bourgeois layer practices demagogy, misleading and deceiving the people. In places where the people are better politically educated and more mature - chances for political demagogy are poorer, as the past elections have shown. It is efficient where the people are less educated and less informed.

The current crisis of parliamentarism in RS continues with the delusion about the need to establish a "government of national unity" in the ununited society. If there is national unity - how come the citizens voted for different parties ranging from exttreme right to extreme left and in this way created a stale-mate position in the political system? The fact that formation of the "government of national unity" is required is an illusion bigger than all other illusions. This would deny everything that is known from history - that nobody has ever succeeded in achieving national unity even in more critical situations for a nation, except perhaps for a little while. And as far as the Serbs are concerned, they have not managed to do it since St. Sava, count Lazar and Karadjordje. If the Serbs could not have united in the struggle against fascism, or in defense of Yugoslavia in 1991/92 - around what could they unite nowadays?

Demagogy about "national unity" cannot ignore or disregard class structure of the society which characterises the whole era in development of civilisation. Theory on class society is not Marx's as some people claim scaring the people with Marxism, but of civic historians. What Marx added to it is the forecast where class struggle was heading to. This is completely disregarded here by all political movements and parties. Class differences cannot be resolved by false unity, but by gradual overcoming of the existing situation and constant promoting of fundamental social relations in order to prevent class differences from becoming antagonistic opposites which usually end in forcible elimination of one of the extremes. Petty bourgeois, nationalists, Christian Democrats should not fear that, because we are far from that critical point, and spirit for something like that has been completely destroyed in our citizens. But this does not mean that we will not reach this phase if we do not resolve the existing differences. Civic society has mostly developed from resolving of conflicts through social and political revolutions in the middle of last century.

Resolving of differences in the society is possible primarily in the economic, and not in the political sphere. It is an illusion that the opposites in the economic sphere may be intensified, while in the political - national unity is created.

Conflicts in RS have reached a critical point. The present situation confirms that we are a society without even fundamental moral and democratic consciousness. Similar was the case in 1997 when president of the Republic demanded that a minister be removed and the ruling oligarchy demanded from the president of the Republic to resign! This was a unique case. At the time the president of the Republic dissolved the assembly causing a real burlesque. The elections, however, did not significantly change the political structure, expressing the constant crisis of the society and its sick state. The problem is that the main protagonists of the war are still within the state and the political system. The international community has charged them to implement the Dayton accords, but it still seems to be at a standstill. Now its agencies are travelling back and forth, pleading, threatening, making decisions in Sintra, Bonn, Madrid, but in some parts the Dayton accords are very slowly and inconsistently implemented. And the main protagonists of the war are still leading us by the nose.

What are the possibilities and ways out of this situation?

First, citizens should be given back their dignity and civilisation rights on the whole territory of B&H, which were severely violated by political regimes created after dissolution of Yugoslavia. These are the right to life, to freedom of movement, to choosing residence, to equality and the right to property.

Second, it is necessary to establish a legal system and legal state. After such a destructive war, the main instrument by means of which it is possible to alleviate the consequences is efficacious legal state, establishment of a consistent and complementary legal system in the state; creation of the constitutional system of B&H, so that constitutions of entities and regulations of cantons and municipalities are in compliance with the constitution. Central authorities must be authorised by the constitution to coordinate, supervise and control implementation of the constitution and laws on the whole territory of B&H.

Third, establishment of an institutional system which every modern state has: legislative, executive and judicial authorities. Every fairly informed citizen of B&H is aware that there are no such authorities in B&H. They are formally established, but not even three years after signing of the Dayton accords have they become operational, because they sit only occasionally. That is why the whole legal system and organisation of B&H, from the constitution to the statutes of municipalities should be reviewed.

Dr Mico Carevic

(Autor je profesor Ustavnog prava) (The author is a professor of constitutional law)