The way many describe him, Igor Lukšic would make the ideal son-in-law, were he not already a married father of two. He is smart, handsome, honest, is not a womaniser, is always pleasant and has impeccable manners. He has a great job too, although it is true that, since this consists of being the prime minister of Montenegro, his prospects for promotion are somewhat limited. On the other hand, his pre-decessor, Milo Djukanovic, dominated the country from 1989 until he handed over the reins late last year, so, if he plays his cards right, Lukšic could be in the saddle for a good few years to come.

But not all Montenegrins look at Lukšic – at 34, the world’s youngest head of government – through quite such rose-tinted spectacles. They call him Rodney, after a character in a BBC comedy show called “Only Fools and Horses” that still has a cult following in the former Yugoslavia. Del Boy, the lead character, is a market trader and petty criminal; Rodney (to whom Lukšic has a physical resemblance) is his hapless brother and sidekick. It is a cruel jibe, but it underscores the question on every Montenegrin’s mind: whether Lukšic is really the boss or merely the sidekick of Djukanovic, who remains head of the ruling party, the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS).

Lukšic brushes off the question with practised ease. Of course he talks on the phone with Djukanovic, but Djukanovic “is not meddling” and, as prime minister, the buck stops with him. He is, he says, fighting perceptions that he is in his predecessor’s shadow “by doing things”. And most Montenegrins seem happy to give Lukšic the benefit of the doubt.

Born in the coastal town of Bar, Lukšic was still at school in 1991 when Yugoslavia disintegrated and Montenegrin contingents of the Yugoslav Army were attacking Dubrovnik, just up the coast. These were bleak years in which Djukanovic played Rodney to the Del Boy of Serbian leader Slobodan Miloševic. “We were not sure what was going on,” says Lukšic, “but I was disgusted by the looting they did.”

Lukšic’s family background follows a classic pattern of the Yugoslav middle class. One grandfather was a train driver, the other an army captain who joined the Partisans when Italy occupied Montenegro in 1941. His father, a marine engineer, is now the technical director of Bar’s shipping company (and recently organised a vessel to rescue Montenegrins and others from Libya).

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Growing up, Lukšic fancied a career in diplomacy or medicine, but just before taking his place at Podgorica University, he plumped for economics. After all, he says, “with economics you can do everything, you can be a politician, a diplomat or a manager”. He is often described as the best student of his generation. Some say they know why. One friend recalls returning from a night on the town to a flat that Lukšic shared with friends and being shocked when Lukšic said that he had to study German for an hour (he also speaks English, French and Italian). “When he decides what he wants, I have never seen a man so determined to get it,” says the friend.

Lukšic graduated in 1998 and rose rapidly, first in the foreign ministry (it seconded him to the EU’s assistance office for Montenegro) and then in the DPS. On the side, he worked on a doctorate. For a year, in 2003, he was deputy foreign minister of the short-lived ‘state union’ of Serbia and Montenegro. From 2004, he was Montenegro’s finance minister, adding the title of deputy prime minister in 2008.

Since 2006, when Djukanovic stepped down as premier, only to return in 2008, Lukšic’s name had been bandied about as a possible successor. Today, he is glad he did not get the job then. He was, he says, just too young. But then, and maybe now, Lukšic also had some powerful enemies – DPS party barons who feared he might work as the extended hand of Djukanovic.

Fact File

CV

1976: Born, Bar

1998: Graduated in economics, Podgorica University

1998-2000: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seconded to European Commission assistance office, Montenegro

2000-01: Foreign-affairs adviser to the Democratic Party of Socialists

2001: State secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

2001-03: Deputy in the parliament of Montenegro

2002: Master’s degree in economics, Podgorica University

2003-06: Deputy in the parliament of Serbia and Montenegro

2003: Public-relations adviser to prime minister

2003-04: Deputy foreign minister of Serbia and Montenegro

2004-10: Finance minister

2005: Doctorate on economic and

political transition, Podgorica University

2008-10: Deputy prime minister

2010- : Prime minister

The current power of those barons is unclear. In December, after Djukanovic had stepped down and before Lukšic was officially confirmed, police made some spectacular arrests in what is known as the Zavala case. One of those detained was Dragan Marovic, whose brother, Svetozar, had just resigned as deputy prime minister. At the time, Svetozar said he was the real target; he has said precious little since. The lie of the land will become clearer in May, when the DPS will hold its party congress and will choose its deputy chairmen. Lukšic should be elected to one of these posts.

After the Zavala swoop, there was also much chatter about whether Montenegro was going the way of Croatia. There, in 2009, Ivo Sanader stepped down as prime minister, apparently hoping to continue running the country through what he assumed would be a pliable successor, Jadranka Kosor. No such luck. Last December, he was charged with corruption.

Lukšic, though, dismisses long-standing allegations of corruption against Djukanovic as “café gossip”. “I worked with him for a decade and his management of the government was in Montenegro’s best interests, and not his.” Lukšic says he does not want a society “in which people sit in front of the TV taking bets on who is next in prison, but one in which people will do their jobs, entrepreneurs will invest and the judiciary will work to correct all wrongdoings in our society, and nothing more than that”.

Insiders suggest that although Lukšic does not want to be a “remote control” for Djukanovic, his cabinet contains some powerful Djukanovic loyalists and he does not want “to bang his head against a brick wall either”. The outcome of the party congress will determine how far he chooses to push the boundaries.

In the meantime, Lukšic is cultivating his counterparts. He ‘likes’ David Cameron on Facebook and would like to meet him soon. A trip to visit Angela Merkel is already scheduled; he hopes a meeting with Nicolas Sarkozy will soon be pencilled in. All this is necessary as part of the search for allies for Montenegro’s bid for EU membership; Montenegro hopes the European Commission will this autumn recommend the opening of accession talks. And, in a small country, it is also handy for a leader to have powerful foreign allies. After all, if Rodney Djukanovic had not had the unstinting support of Tony Blair and Bill Clinton, Del Boy Miloševic would have had his guts for garters. Like Djukanovic, Lukšic may yet have the last laugh. If so, the title of a collection of Lukšic’s poetry, first issued in 2001, may acquire a new resonance: “The book of laughter.”