Leaving in Honor

He spoke of the coming meeting with other national bank governors from the former Yugoslav republics; complained that he didn't manage to talk to President Milosevic on the phone that morning ("to avoid this circus"); repeated that all the arguments were on his side; asked about the Montenegrin stand; told reporters that he is deeply convinced that the policies he is advocating have no alternative. He said, very convincingly, that he doesn't know how many votes the parties have in parliament. The other side had counted the votes already.

Avramovic disclosed a number of specific cases when deputy Governor Bozidar Gazivoda had lied, when the other deputy Governor Zarko Trbojevic had let him down and "did all sorts of things in the foreign currency department". He spoke of forgeries by Tomic, "the Tomic from Jugopetrol which has the highest salaries and a huge building"; interventions by Sainovic; the incompetence of practically the entire NBJ council of governors which decided to dismiss the governor in a bar at night. The saddest part was when the governor said "there is someone in charge here who is stealing faxes", not because that happened to him as well but because there wasn't a single person in parliament that day who could have been shocked by the claim.

The main question in parliament that day was not if the governor would go but what the Montenegrins got in return for their votes. Two answers dominated. The first; they got nothing. The second; they got everything they asked for. Someone said there's no difference between the two.

Reporters got to Montenegro parliament Speaker Boris Maravic in the corridors when the head of his Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) parliament group, Milan Gajovic, said he was putting all their votes on the federal government side. He calmly said the Montenegrins want privatization, a convertible and strong dinar, a quick return to the IMF and facilities for foreign investments and added that they support anyone with that orientation. Words.

The SPS MPs, except those who were asked directly, avoided a public statement on the unpopular dismissal. Unfortunately, SPS monetary expert Djordje Djukic couldn't avoid a statement which means the reputation he spent years building up was gone in a flash.

Not illogical. No one wondered that day who would replace the popular old man. That wasn't important any longer.