And that's what we were waiting for: an unusual turn on the domestic political scene, with all the main characters, and that at a time when (it) seemed that we were entering the latest round of threats. Master of distortion, bellicose leader of the SNSD and Serbian member of the BiH Presidency, Milorad Dodik, in his regular monologue on RTRS, more or less quoted himself (Bosnia and Herzegovina is an unnecessary country, built on the basis of timed lies, the 8.000 killed in Srebrenica were invented) , repeating that he has ready-made plans if his wishes are not fulfilled and adding that it is only part of the prepared solutions (establishment of an inter-entity demarcation line, prohibition of SIPA work in the entire territory of the country, cancellation of all decisions of the high representative in BiH during one night, calling the police to streets) abolition of VAT.
Taking care not to mention secession and to comfort the people that there will be no war with the arguments that Serbs will not shoot Serbs, nor Croats shoot Croats, a visibly nervous Dodik has revealed his own strategy - he is testing the limits of patience of the international guarantors of the Dayton Agreement, introducing them into circulation one by one (criminal) category. As an example, he cited the referendum, which used to be an atomic bomb when it was mentioned, and now "it is logical for everyone that when global conditions are met, the Serbian people will decide on their status": Republika Srpska functions as a state, only it does not have a seat in the UN, and all international interventionism failed to impose cosmopolitanism and liberalism here, which has been overcome in the world as well (explanation of MD). He is the one who does not want the ANP, he does not dispute that it is not joining NATO, but he also does not want an early commitment to NATO, because the Serbs in Serbia remember suffering from NATO.
Mirko Šarović is working against the Serbs because he is now talking about the Trgovska Gora problem, and he - Dodik - is the one who proposed that all problems with Croatia should be put together and solved. Šarović has no right to talk about Trgovska Gora, because he had already talked about that problem with Srebrenko Golić?! When he started talking about Šarović, even those who didn't want to had to understand that it was the newly elected SDS leader who was a thorn in Dodik's side: he even criticized him for his four-year cooperation with the European Union, and listed his biggest sins as appearances for the federal media and BNTV. Bosnia and Herzegovina resembled something "while I was running it", and now "they are creating problems with Mrs. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who had a basis for her statements because even though all Muslim Bosniaks are not terrorists, all terrorist attacks in Bosnia and Herzegovina were committed by Muslims, that political Sarajevo entered into dramatic relations with both Croatia and Serbia, Bakir Izetbegović is just talking..."
That same night, Izetbegović attracted considerable attention at the BHRT: he called on Dodik to accept the "reduced ANP" in accordance with the previously adopted legal solutions and to dedicate joint efforts to building a better Bosnia and Herzegovina for everyone. In the flood of reactions to Dodik's performance, the clearly articulated SDA position that the state's greatest strides were achieved thanks to the leader of the SNSD (the already mentioned NATO path, the transfer of responsibilities from entities to higher levels, the coordination mechanism) was almost lost. That's why Izetbegović's weekend guest appearance on BNTV really showed a different SDA and its leader's willingness to step out of the default matrix and take a step forward.
Although I deeply believe that the activation of MAP is the safest path for Bosnia and Herzegovina, I must admit that Izetbegović's willingness to promise the viewers of the RS - where BNTV is inviolable - that decisions on the NATO path will not be made without consensus in this entity, is a great political step forward. That's how we found out what "reduced ANP" means in Izetbegović's world: the minimum that will satisfy Brussels, than which, as he said, it is much more important to reach a consensus in Bosnia and Herzegovina on joint commitment to higher pensions and salaries, a better standard, attracting investors, development that will keep children in the country they are fleeing from, regardless of entity addresses. Izetbegović from BNTV threw a gauntlet in Dodik's face, urging him to - if possible - create a Council of Ministers without the SDA, not once questioning parliamentarism and taking strict care not to be tempted to respond to Dodik's insults with Dodik's vocabulary. At the risk of being met with a knife from all sides, which actually happened (?!), he publicly recalled all those moves of Dodik for which the SDA is grateful to him, not shying away from admitting that even though he was from Esdea, he was against the Prudential Agreement which Dodik agreed with his predecessor Sulejman Tihić, and which actually made Bosnia and Herzegovina into four regions, effectively erasing entity borders.
Wednesday marks exactly 10 months since the election. What happened in the meantime so that the triumphant Dodik fails to hide his nervousness, and Izetbegović announces statesmanship? After the election, the coalition capacity of the SDA was at its lowest level, which is also shown by the gathering of the six in the Sarajevo Canton, where the government was formed without the single strongest party. The odium against the SDA was so great that the SDP and Our Party threw the will of their own voters under their feet and refused to let the BH bloc be the fourth pillar of government. Dodik and HDZ BiH leader Dragan Čović were building their own plans on that odium, but the SNSD leader didn't last, instead venting his excessive boasting, practically tying his coalition capacities exclusively to HDZ BiH, burning all bridges towards parties that they have the slightest Bosnian orientation.
In the RS, he has been waging war against all Serbs who do not think like him, and although it seemed that he swallowed the biggest frog when Aleksandar Vučić from this same BNTV lectured him on Serbian unity, today it becomes clear that Dodik brought himself before wall: if the Council of Ministers really wants to, it can either accept Izetbegović's "reduced ANP" or enter into negotiations with other parties to form it without the SDA. Which is a realistically difficult option, considering his relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina. In fact, he received an offer from Bakir Izetbegović that he could not refuse. Now it's his turn. To remain saccharine that sweetens, not nourishes.
PS Izetbegović also sent a clear message to Čović, reacting to his theses about the alleged waiting of the Council of Ministers to pass the SDA Congress. Aware that there is simply no opponent, and therefore no reason to wait, he returned the ball to where it hurts the most, remarking that he probably knows why he chose to go to the celebration on January 9 and not come to Srebrenica on July 11. Indeed, is it a choice Cović can be proud of?
Liberation
Bonus video:
