"I won for Montenegro and its future"

Or so said Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic, whose rule has gone hand-in-hand with that of Milo Djukanovic. Vujanovic re-won the presidential election yesterday, with a support of 51.4 percent of the vote. Either as President or Prime Minister, both of these figures make up the reformed socialists that have ruled unchallenged in Montenegro for almost twenty years. Not sure where the newspaper scan came from, or what the date is. Nonetheless, it conveys just what has happened in this small nation of some 650,000.

The linked report points out: "Since the split [from Serbia], its economy has boomed. Annual economic growth is about 8 percent and foreign direct investment since 2006 has been about €1 billion (US$1.6 billion), propelling Montenegro to the top of Europe's per capita foreign investment list...But it has had trouble getting rid of its image as a society rife with corruption."

Still, it is good news that Andrija Mandic, the pro-Serb candidate, who received just over 20 percent of votes, did not come anywhere near victory. He was set to rekindle ties with Serbia; hardly the time for such things to happen, given Kosovo's recent independence and the open wounds that still make the occasional headline in Canada and elsewhere.