Montenegro's Opposition Alliance Loses Leader

Miodrag Lekic, leader of the main opposition force in Montenegro, Democratic Front, has announced that he is stepping down.

Lekic had been considered the only political figure with enough authority and popular support to unite the various opposition parties in Montenegro that have little in common except a desire to defeat the country's long-time leader, Milo Djukanovic.

Reportedly, he will not leave politics but plans to form his own party.

Media reports said that Lekic, a former Montenegrin diplomat and university professor in Italy, was leaving following months of conflict with other leaders over the best way to fight Djukanovic.

The Democratic Front is not a party but an alliance of parties. Formed in 2012, it is composed of pro-Serbian NOVA party, the Movement for Change, the Democratic People's Party and a group of independent MPs, mainly university professors.

A day before he announced he was leaving, Lekic said a sense of public responsibility obliged him to review the Front's current status and further actions.

He said he was truly sorry that his attempts to coordinate effective political action within the alliance had met strong resistance.

Lekic's new party, if it is formed, will be the fourth new party to appear in Montenegro in only six months, each of which has followed another split within opposition ranks.