Talk:People's Party (Montenegro, 1990)

Nicholas

Bob, why do you think this party hated Nicholas so much? ;)

The party never ever originated from the desire to dethrone Nicholas. It originated from the people. --PaxEquilibrium 18:23, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

"Right People's Party"? You've got the translation completely wrong. Prava narodna stranka correctly translates to True People's Party, not Right People's Party. --CrnaGora 21:36, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

Pax, if you are claiming that the majority of Montenegrins hated King Nikola, I would have to start questioning your knowledge of Montenegrin history :). Other than certain individuals, planted by the Serbian throne, people held the King in a very high esteem. As per the translation, both of them are quite right, because in this case those two words can be synonims, making the decision between "True" and "Right", a simple matter of personal choice. Sideshow Bob 03:11, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

On the second thought, "True People's Party" might be a more appropriate choice, since the word "right" might falsely associate to right wing politics... Sideshow Bob 03:16, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

AFAIK, HRH Nicholas has changed from a living legend, a walking avatar and national hero to a very hated ruler in the 21st century.

In 1879 he made serious changes to the administration. He abolished the Senate (the only governing body that connected him with the people) and created a State Council composed out of ministries whose Ministers and State Advisers he named himself and a Great Court that enabled him to sentence anyone (now on paper). The Council only enacted laws, Prince Nicholas kept all legislative power. The positive side was that Minister of Justice Balthazzar Bogisic had made the General Ownership Code in 1888 and that he abolished the old split of Montenegro onto tribes, but replaced them with "captainies" - whose Captains he named. He also removed all other heroes of old from Montenegrin life as he saw them as competitors, banishing Marko Miljanov in 1882 and Peko Pavlovic subsequently too. This has caused a lot of unpopularity amongst various clans, especially the Hill clans (not Old Montenegrin).

In the night of 29 May 1903 King of Serbia Alexander Obrenovic and his family were massacred in a coup d'etat. Nicholas had lost his traditional allies, the Obrenovics, and they were replaced by the Karadjordjevics who proved to be very hostile and this led to open demands from his closest associates to return at least some (de jure) power to the hands of the people, or he shall suffer the same end not long in the future. It is thus that he held the first general elections for a Constitutional Assembly in November of 1905. The Constitutional Assembly adopted immediately unanimously his proposal for the Constitution of the Princedom of Montenegro and was transformed into the "National Assembly", one of the 3 bodies of Montenegrin administration as ratified by the constitution. However, the parliament was there only to oversee the Government's ("Cabinet of Ministers"), while Nicholas held all authority over the Government, including the Great Court. Monarch Nicholas was the head of the Army, and the sole Diplomat of the realm; he also had the authority to dismiss the Assembly anytime. Montenegro thus became a constitutional absolutist monarchy. Nicholas also changed a lot, he abandoned the old plans of a greater and unified Serbian (or South Slavic) state and concentrated more and more on keeping his throne (now that he saw that Serbia and the Karadjordjevics have ran "in front of him" and that there is no more chance that he once becomes a Serbian Emperor as planned). This also decreased the national thrill amongst the people (and the peace without further conquests of Ottoman territory had also contributed to the general opinion that he had lost all initiative).

Political parties had already bygone appeared across Europe to allow the people options of more choices. As they have appeared in Serbia 1880s, the intellectuals that were on studies in Belgrade decided to modernize Montenegro introducing the multi-partial system. The Parliament has not had sessions for long, and they held one in the turmoil 1907. They decided that the Prince's dictatorship is no longer tolerable and formed the The Club of the the National MPs ("Clubbists") and with the suggestion to form a 1st Montenegrin political party, they created the People's Party. It immediately adopted a program, by which Montenegro had to be restructured and parliamentary democracy established, in which the Monarch is the supreme ruler, but all inner matters to be in the hands of the people. They also wanted an independent judicial branch of the administration, and not the "Great Court" which is used by Nicholas to set anyone on trial without order. The People's Party's program also demanded foundations of schools in every city in Montenegro, national emancipation and enlightenment in the style of Dositej Obradovic, the spread of religion (Orthodox Christianity) and Serbian culture and literacy amongst the Montenegrin people. They also brought in their taxation program, by which everyone would pay taxes in accordance to their property and status, rather than belonging to a certain clan. They also demanded economic deals by creating trade alliances with all major European countries and presented the plan of strengthening the economic situation in Montenegro. They adopted Nikola Pasic's "Balkan to the Balkan peoples" policy by which Montenegro should be in good relations with all the nations of the Balkans (Croats, Serbs, Albanians, Greeks and Bulgarians) and hostile to the Habsburgs and Ottomans that spread only occupation. It demanded that the country be re-tied to Serbia and Russia and special links to the Serbs living in the Ottoman Empire and Austro-Hungary.

With the obvious crackdown of Montenegrin-Serbian politics after the Bombing incident, for which the People's Party was blamed (some circles indeed wanted to depose and even assassinate Nicholas). The clubbists were harshly contained in prisons, and subjected to a brutal campaign in which Nicholas wanted to fully eradicate the party. But this only brought further popularity to the party as it became much more popular in Montenegro than Prince Nicholas himself, "martyrized". As a result, the People's Party decided not to run at the 1907 September Parliamentary election. In return Nikola had created a "True People's Party" from his personal supporters. Barely anyone voted across Montenegro, but due to the fact that they were the only choice, the National Assembly was filled with them.

Nicholas' reign was filled with some crisis later but was mainly left unjeopardized. Especially it occurred in 1908 when Austro-Hungary annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina ("echoes of cries" screamed in Montenegro from Herzegovina) when national outbursts arose at many major locations. In 1910 Nicholas supporter the Albanian rebellion in Kosovo of the League of Prizreni, but this turned down as a mistake, as in 1911 the Albanian league had added the territories of *future Montenegro* to its "Albania" and started organized discrimination in Metohija and parts of modern Montenegro, with thousands massacred on isolated incidents and even more fleeing to Montenegro as refugees, further destabilizing Nicholas' reign.

In the October of 1912 relations between Montenegro and Serbia were returned to their former selves and Nicholas signed the "Political and Military Convention with Serbia". The subsequent Balkan wars (1912-1913) had ended the crisis of his reign to an extent - not seizing Skadar as Nicholas deeply promised the people was accepted as a deep disappointment, like the main cause of the war was lost - and the 1910 True People's Party elevation to a Kingdom undid his errors. However other circles (among them the old People's Party, still breathing) saw this as a further act of legalization of Nicholas' self-autocracy. Now that Montenegro and Serbia have gained a common border, the question of the unification was openly drawn, even by Nicholas' close associates. But realized that he would be no match to King Petar Karadjordjevic of Serbia, who has achieved eternal fame in Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia and beyond and became evenly matched with Nicholas in popularity in Montenegro - Nicholas refused. New elections came in 1913, and both the People's Party and the True People's Party ran and presented their programs. The People's Party returned to the public their old attitudes, and added unification of Montenegro and Serbia and a creation of a unified Serb state to their program. On the general elections, they won everywhere and received nearly all of the votes, while the True People's Party became managed to receive only a minority within the National Assembly.

With the forthcoming of the Great War, the Right People's Party (the "Rightists") returned to the original People's Party and formed a coalition, giving up on Nicholas and deciding for a union with Serbia.

In WWI the Montenegrin Army had no major victories, especially with the coming of the tricky 1915 when its sole ally Serbia suffered a terrifying *withdrawal*. Montenegro had suffered heavy losses, in which almost is entire Army was wiped out on heroic battlefields. The People's Party (a.k.a. the National Assembly) on 25 December 1915 sent begs to King Nicholas to order the retreat, but Nicholas strangely remains quit. On 10 January 1916 with the the last stand at Mojkovac the rump government sends an ultimatum to the King to ask for peace, or Montenegro will suffer utter destruction. The Highest Military command says that without Nicholas' order it will fight to the very last man, but begs him to order a retreat or stand-down. Nicholas refuses and prepares his family for a secret fleeing from Montenegro. On 16 January 1916 with the defeat at Mojkovac imminent, the government accepted unconditional capitulation of the Kingdom of Montenegro - but refused to order the stand down of an Montenegrin Unit, saying that Nicholas is still in charge of the army and told that Central Powers that they'll just have to fight them. After 18 January the Austro-Hungarian army breaches through and destroys the last remaining Montenegrin frontline forces. On 19 January Nicholas flees secretly without telling anyone to Italy with his family. This act was seen as utter coward (and betray by his political enemies).

It is also known that his own wife started to *hate* him for his actions, and after the Serbian Army and the other Allies liberated Montenegro in 1918 from the Central forces, Milena's brother, Duke Stevo Vukotic became the President of the Montenegrin Executive Council to rule Montenegro in the transitional period of its integration into Serbia. Stevo Vukotic then held speeches that Nicholas' errors were unforgivable and that he has become a part of the history of the Serbian people and not the future. In the 1918 elections for the Podgorica Assembly, Nicholas supporters' list "Kralj Nikola I Petrovic-Njegos - nezavisna Crna Gora!" won nowhere, except gaining some support in Cetinje (which remains such vigorous to this day). The Podgorica Assembly then deposes King Nicholas I Petrovic-Njegos on the proposal of the Metropolitan of the autocephalous Church of Montenegro (I draw this for you ;), taking all right of succession from his family. Nicholas then hailed with Italian support (which wanted Dalmatia for itself) and called for rebellion - as his supporters were obviously not supported enough to win by peaceful manners, the only option remained was - violently - and thus those were the Greens. Marko Dakovic led the Whites and the Montenegrin Youth and quelled the bloody Christmas rebellion at the Field of Cetinje (over 3,000 dead and at least 3,000 wounded together on that bloody day), and with the support of Serbia and international allies like the Americans and the French, the minor rebellion was destined to defeat. Although his movement did start to get some level of support from various circles of the people - like one member of my family, who was forced by the Serbian soldiers to spit at the painting of Nicholas and kiss Petar's or suffer terrifying beating.

After 1920, Nicholas from France hailed to stop the bloodshed after hearing in horror the news from Montenegro, recognizes the (re)unification of the Serbian Orthodox Church and later also calls the Greens to stand down. Hated, disgusted now by everyone (from his enemies to his supporters and family), the Greens refuse and continue to oppose in the mountains in a guerrilla-style rebellion now numbering only several hundreds, claiming that ..we do not fight for the dark illusive shadow that Nikola is today, we fight for the name of Nikola I that lives on and will after this dark shell loses its material form...

So yes, I'm saying that Nicholas I Petrovic-Njegos was, till the end of his reign, terribly despised by his own people. Satisfied? ;) --PaxEquilibrium 14:24, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Proposal

I propose separating the old 1907-1916 NS from the 1990-present one, into separate articles. --PaxEquilibrium (talk) 12:09, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

English name

I don't know Montenegrin, but shouldn't "Narodna stranka" be translated as "National Party"? Svick (talk) 11:53, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Well National in Montenegrin would be "Nacionalna", while "Narodna" is often to referred as people. E.g. we can say "Narod Crne Gore" like people from Montenegro. The same is "People's Republic of China", we translate it as "Narodna Republika Kina". Rave92^(talk) 12:56, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Interresting. I thought it could be the way I said because in Czech (my native language), "národní" means "national". Thanks for the clarification. Svick (talk) 13:07, 26 September 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, it is all similar as both of our nations are Slavic :-). Rave92^(talk) 13:14, 26 September 2009 (UTC)