Montenegrin PM survives confidence vote, but partner deserts

Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 27, 2013. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

PODGORICA (Reuters) - Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic survived a confidence vote in parliament on Wednesday in the wake of an invitation to join NATO, but had to rely on the votes of an opposition party after his own coalition partner abandoned him.

The vote signalled the end of a political alliance between Djukanovic's Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) and the smaller Social Democratic Party (SDP) dating back to 1998.