A voice from the belly

Exactly when Minister Zorana Mihajlović first stepped forward as "opposition" leader of the Government, the previous one and the current one, is not easy to determine. But, it has long been noticeable the forced effort in creating the image of a politician without a hair on her tongue, with full integrity, who is not afraid of anyone, not even the head of her own party. Even before, as Minister of Energy and now as Minister of Transport, Zorana Mihajlović has the freedom, like no one else in the Government, to speak on her behalf in the widest range of topics and to advocate personally, be it to line up and call out the President, ministers, state institutions or directors of public companies. Or a tycoon. Because of her "courage" and initiative, some admire her commitment to work, while others, unlike Ivica Dacic, who even as prime minister said that he "cannot penetrate her thoughts", have long heard through her the voice of what Aleksandar Vucic wants to do. he says - and he cannot and must not from his lamb's skin.

BECK'S REVERSE: In the latest case, upon the hot news that businessman Milan Beko will manage the Railways of Serbia in the future by Vučić's personal choice, the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Zorana Mihajlović released a cold shower. Strictly adhering to the procedure and reading the rigid rules on the election of directors of public companies, she could have caused the voting body to question who in the SNS was the opposition and who was the government, but essentially she did not say anything either "for" or "against" the election of Bek. The fact that he will express his opinion on the proposed businessman's candidacy at the Government session, if the Government discusses him as a candidate, and that it is important for public companies to be led by uncompromised individuals, does not say anything.

photo: Fonet / Zoran Mrđa

Beko himself said much more when he confirmed at the press conference that he will be the new general director of Railways Serbia, that Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić personally offered him the position at a meeting of the Privrednik Club, and that he is ready to wait as long as possible for an official proposal from the state. is necessary, because, as he added, "the prime minister is not denied". It is logical then that the minister had to deal with an objective bureaucratic procedure, forcing the Prime Minister's personal decisions into regular flows, even with Beck as the main character. After all, in an interview, after listing all the prerequisites that a candidate for the position of director of the Railways in a public competition should have, such as knowledge, experience, innocence before the law, moral integrity, she added at the end: "Of course, there is no obstacle to any well-known businessman applies to the public tender, regardless of how he made his first millions."

photo: Fonet / Zoran Mrđa

In an intriguing as well as dangerous game between the prime minister and the spokeswoman, Beko seems to be the only one who spoke honestly. And he said: "Who will be appointed will be decided by the Prime Minister and the Government, respectively." I don't know when the acting director will be appointed and who will be the final choice of Vučić. candidate's biography. Membership in ruling parties is no longer important in the personnel combine, judging by the public attitude of the prime minister." The minister said the same thing, only from the counter, and all those ticks and commas from the read procedures will rather be used as arguments for the correctness of the prime minister's choice. Vučić, lest we forget, reminded the opposition MPs that the tax debt of "Port of Belgrade", which Beko bought, arose in 2007, and that the controls from 2008 and 2009, when Mirko Cvetković was the prime minister, did not establish that debt. He said that it was only done by the socialist and progressive government in 2013 and that Milan Beck's companies pay taxes.

photo: Aleksandar Anđić

On the other hand, it is not bad to recall Bek's public support for Vučić from October last year. Back then, Beko stated on a television station that Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić should lead the Government and that Dacić would also be "relieved to be in his natural place". Dacic's SPS responded that Beko is the "epitome of the misfortune" that befell Serbia, mentioning dubious privatizations and the unscrupulous intention to produce another strong leader. SNS official Nebojša Stefanović also spoke out, urging Vučić not to remain silent and not suffer the insolence of some parties that have three or four times less support than the progressives. When asked about the relations in the ruling coalition after the statements about businessman Milan Bek, the Minister of Energy, Zorana Mihajlović, who will soon, after the elections, have to leave that department, said that "various things were written around", but that there is no crisis - " I didn't notice that." At that moment, it was the same cold shower that was supposed to wash away the inappropriate and dangerous substance before future elections.

HUNT FOR ON-DUTY CRIMINALS: Attacks and violation of other people's authority are also part of the public appearances of the Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. Being in a position that would be expected to contribute to the establishment of the rule of law, and in this particular case to provide support to an independent state body that has control and regulatory powers, she accused the Anti-Corruption Agency of being "sensationalist" in the pre-election campaign this year. and politically biased. Not caring much that the work of that institution is supervised by the Parliament of Serbia, and obviously finding it hard to bear that the Agency collects data on her behavior and statements as a public official in the election campaign, she quickly shifted the ball to other culprits. In her announcement, she said that she was sorry that the Agency did not control the behavior of the previous government in the election campaign with equal attention, especially the then president of Serbia or the mayor of Belgrade. The Agency claimed that they had done their job well before and that there was no reason for any "conspiracy theories".

The minister's statement at the end of last year that "one of the ministers in the Government of Serbia is working against the interests of Serbia" can also be included in conspiracy theories. The fire was fueled by the fact that the minister did not say which minister. Admittedly, no one slipped on the banana peel thrown at the feet of the coalition partners, but that demagogic move in part of the population must have caused open sympathy for "direct blows" from the government. Self-doubters have spoken out themselves: SNS Mining Minister Milan Bačević did not recognize himself in this, nor did Economy Minister Saša Radulović. And while the minister did not want to state which minister abroad is not acting in accordance with the Government's policy, stressing that it is much more important to point out that the ministers in the Government of Serbia are obliged to implement the official policy, whatever one's personal opinion is about a decision - SNS is kept silent about everything and was preparing for new elections.

One of the first tasks of the new government, said Zorana Mihajlović before the last elections, is to reform Srbijagas. Dušan Bajatović as director is part of the problem in which Srbijagas finds itself and, "in my opinion, cannot be part of the solution". Since Bajatović, as she says, is an obstacle to reforms, the minister announced that Srbijagas will be financially restructured, but that in addition to that, organizational reforms must also be done. Until then, there was no political will to reform "Srbijagas" and other public companies, so the minister believed that this was another important reason for the extraordinary elections.

And then came Bajatović's accusations against the minister that she is a brake on the construction of the South Stream, which is actually a political condition for the introduction of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development into the affairs of Srbijagas, and all this together, according to Bajatović, is the reason for Zorana Mihajlović's insistence on "restructuring" of that company. In the rift between Brussels and Russia, and after the election, Srbijagas continues to keep Bajatović at its head, the energy department also belongs to the SPS, and Zorana Mihajlović, as an energy expert, becomes the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure. From his new position, in June of this year, he once again made a "hot" statement that it was expected that the European Commission asked Bulgaria to stop work on the South Stream due to the relationship between Russia and the European Union and that Serbia must look for an alternative route for the flow of gas. Soon, Prime Minister Vučić reacted by saying that the decision on the construction of the South Stream was made by the Government, and that the Government was not in session. "For us, everything is going as planned, if there are any changes, the Government will make a decision and you will be informed about it," he told reporters.

VENTRIVAL: In a quiz, they would say, a million for the one who guesses whether Zorana Mihajlović's statements were rushed or deliberately forced into the public to fly like a test balloon or like a "released flea" in the tightest agreement with the prime minister. In the interview with "Nedeljnik", the journalist's question to the minister concerned the remark that he is Vučić's spokesperson and that he says what he won't say. The answer followed: "Not only does it not bother me, but even, on the contrary, it can only please me." How can you not be pleased to be the spokesperson of a man who is not only the most popular, but also the most valuable in the country? I believe in what Vucic is doing."

During that time, Vučić remains protected and safe by using the belly-snapping technique. He doesn't have to leave a melodious tone and he doesn't have to reveal everything, the voice from his belly will say what needs to be heard and known. Being the voice from Vučić's belly, as painful as it is, is an important and thankless role, but not the worst. There are also lower ones.