A 'Pawlitician' You Can Trust: A Pooch May Become Mayor's Assistant in Serbia

The opposition in the small Serbian Municipality of Knic proposed to appoint a local dog as an assistant of the community’s chairman.

Local oppositionists are dissatisfied with the fact that the municipality employs mostly those who are close to the ruling party, Serbian online news portal B92.net reported. They admit that particracy flourishes in their community; all the doors for dialogue with officials of the leading party are shut in front of oppositionists. So they hope the dog will be able to establish a balance of political forces.

Some deputies even suggest choosing a smaller dog that eats less so that it won't become a burden on the budget.

"A dog has no party membership, it does not move from one party to another. It is a devoted animal and it can do much more for the municipality than the entire office of the community's chairman," Deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party Ljubodrag Djokovic told B92.net. "Moreover, a dog would not interrupt me during the meeting when I'm trying to say what I think," he added.

The leadership of the community considers such a proposal as humiliation of the local government. "This goes beyond the correct and decent behavior of the opposition," said Zoran Djorovic, the chairman of the municipality.

However, the supporters of the idea have not calmed down: "The dog's candidature could also be offered to the post of a deputy, because many deputies do not participate in meetings at all, and this dog is, on the contrary, very active," said Marija Sretenovic, a representative of the Movement for a Better Municipality of Knic.

This is not the first time dogs are being involved in local government. Back in 2014, a pooch called Duke was elected as the mayor of Cormorant, a township in Minnesota, US. Since then, the 9-year-old Great Pyrenees was re-elected for two more terms.