Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – According to economic analyst and director of Fidelity Consulting Milos Vukovic, Montenegro’s economic history since the restoration of independence to the present day can be described as two decades of systematically buying time through ever-new excuses.

In his analysis prepared for the Centre for Democratic Transition (CDT), he stated that since regaining independence, Montenegro has changed more governments and fiscal paradigms than the essential elements of its development model, and that instead of a consistent development strategy, it has been guided by short-term adjustment policies.

The analysis was prepared within the dialogue that CDT is launching with the Damar Institute on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of independence. It states that over two decades, improvisation has become the dominant method of economic governance.

It adds that each generation of economic policymakers has had a ready excuse for why serious structural reforms must wait – sometimes due to a favourable economic cycle that should not be disrupted, then due to a crisis that needs to be overcome, and also due to election cycles that do not tolerate unpopular measures.

The analysis states that, instead of a defined concept of what the economy produces, exports, and how it strengthens its resilience, Montenegro has built an economy largely based on personal consumption, imports, the real estate market, seasonal tourism, and continuous borrowing.