Many years of participating in government teaches one that, once everything passes and everyone leaves, under the shedding gilded government you are still a man that can look others in the eye
It’s been over two months since I wrote here. There was so much to comment and so much to withhold, it was smarter not to write. Holding back, sometimes, is not a bad strategy yes; but it is strange and uneasy to me.
In the nearly two and a half months of not writing, since July 17, a mass of things happened in Croatia HDZ has a new president (who won without competition, just like in May when Karamarko won without competition) and SDP lost a president (who easily won over opposition in April).
Parliamentary elections were held after which everything is the same again, yet different. Just like after the previous elections, these have a trail of irregularity of which no one politically relevant spoke a single word of. It is evident that at some polling stations preferential votes were not counted, citizens witnessed briber attempts with flour and blackmail in the election of a Hungarian minority representative (supported by Orban!), the elected MP of Živi Zid accused his colleagues for illegal financial support...
Despite it all, State Election Committee (DIP) president handed over the final official results to Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Pantovčak, not objecting to her photographing the ballot, in front of media )and why would he when in DIP sits a man who falsely represented himself).
Although some calculations say that it would have taken only 7.000 votes for a even score of HDZ and SDP, the final results of parliamentary elections are such that MOST and HDZ are negotiating again. All is the same as last year, only the larger party has more MPs and a new boss, and MOST has less MPs and the same boos, while in SDP a battle has ensued for the new boss and party power so they gave up without a fight as their own comes first.
While the main players negotiate, the non-existing and dismissed government hastily makes decision (such that former PM Orešković has not time to pay the vacation of his family), many of them dubious. The Finance Minsiter who was vted out in parliament (as the entire government was booted so they all had to resign), who was to be PM Designate in the announced Karamarko, Špika and Bandić combination, is now both a negotiator and minister in the former government and predicted future HDZ minister who isn’t even an HDZ member. He is the author of the letter which the non-existent government sent to the European Commission referring to the painful question of Swiss Francs, while the public has no idea what the government promised in that letter and committed to.
But, as the commercial would say, that’s not all. The contents are not known to the Croatian National Bank governor either although a part of the suffering of citizens is tied to the disregard of the problem from that institution whose former chief ended up an employee in Agrokor. Where the former minister, almost PM designate, soon to be minister again came from.
So, while HDZ and MOST negotiate on the new government, the same two parties in the remnants of the dismissed government still make long reaching decisions without legal basis and against any political routine. Family Law changes are in procedure which aim to force upon us significant limitations in private life, at the Faculty of Philosophy an unprecedented scandal erupted with security guards who defended the dean from terrorists until the dismissed minister remembered the dean is 70 and must retire. Due to the omission of the former and future government, Croatia has no public defender for disabled persons, Croatian Radio and Television has no legal director and the EC is warning of errors that may cost us money.
On the insults to students and professor of the Faculty of Philosophy none of those representing themselves as government has said anything as those same people are negotiating the new majority.
Joining the everyday absurdity is the Croatian Peasants’ Party which will support the government although in the opposition, as their chief Beljak said he would give them 100 days of peace and support, if he manages to stay as chief of his party.
So, Croatia at this moment has no government and no opposition. It only has a dismissed government and parties talking of government although no one has yet seen the plan or programme of that government.
The minority MPs had their moment so Milorad Pupovac threatened he would not support a government with Hasanbegović, but pulled back in his deal with the main players, until everyone agrees on a deal behind closed doors. When he went silent on the controversial Culture Minister, Pupovac went into arranging public companies, denying it later so it is quite unclear at this moment whether minorities will participate in government or not. As, every day, like in Beljak’s case, one statement supersedes the previous, but Vučić is pleased and welcomes the processes.
MOST, stronger than in the last negotiations, is silent. For them this is a decisive game in which they can’t play the water boy. If they are satisfied just by that fact that they form the government and if Petrov is satisfied with the unimportant position of Deputy PM, then they are destined to walk barefoot on thorns at the local elections. Deputy PM without a ministry to lead he is destined to wander the government building, without real power and infrastructure. They will always have Bandić, Lovrinović and other forces looming over them as an alternative in the ambience of the sad story with Živi Zid and the commotion that follows their MPs. Fights, unseen reversals, falsification of biographies, disavowal of the justice system, all this comes to the parliament by a group of people the voters trust. I would love to meet people who voted for Pernar, for example, one of those who led Facebook protests against me while I was trying to finish negotiations.
Any yes, since I’ve mentioned myself, most people who are now leading the negotiations for a new government, were my associates. Today they would give a kingdom not to be mentioned and for no one to mention me publicly. But, I will write: those who want to become democratic icons must free space to talk of the humiliated and discarded. If not that, they must publicly explain why and how the one who enlists you to the party ad gives you true political opportunity becomes a persona non grata.
As those who will become government tomorrow must provide answers to all questions, even those which cause discomfort and loathing to all who publicly dare to bother with questions. Every gilding, sooner or later, will crumble. Many years of participating in government teaches one that, once everything passes and everyone leaves, under the shedding gilded government you are still a man that can look others in the eye.
For the original and more from Jadranka Kosor’s blog, click here.
