Izetbegović in panic seeks to renew ties with Šeto: A slap in the face for Denis Zvizdić

The Deputy President of the Party of Democratic Action and the party's candidate for a member of the BiH Presidency, Bakir Izetbegović, fears defeat in the elections and is intensely trying to lobby for support from former SDA members and smaller political parties, the BiH news agency Patria (NAP) has learned.

Izetbegović's biggest concern is the fact that he is not sure of the votes of traditional SDA voters, who are confused by the divisions within the party and are increasingly deciding to support the main rivals.   

Namely, Izetbegović, as Patria reliably learned, a little more than a month before the elections, suddenly requested a meeting with the former president of the Cantonal Committee of the SDA in Sarajevo, but still an influential politician, Abdulharis Šeto. It is not known whether the meeting took place and what the outcome was.

However, according to unofficial information, Izetbegović wants to gain support for the elections, but also in a way to bring Šeto back into the SDA leadership from which he was removed in a bizarre way, precisely because of Denis Zvizdić, and from the Sarajevo Cantonal Committee of the SDA.

Sources of Patria close to Izetbegović's cabinet warn that renewing ties with Šeto indicates that the current Deputy President of the SDA is losing confidence in his closest advisors and associates, and that he is increasingly realizing that due to his connections and closeness to them, he is only losing votes on the ground.

It is not excluded, as we learn, that Izetbegović sought Šeto's favor due to information that the current member of the BiH Presidency enjoys less and less trust in official Ankara, so renewing friendship and cooperation with Šeto, who has good connections in Turkey, would be a lifeline, NAP reports.

We remind you that Šeto achieved a notable result in a recent poll on possible new SDA leaders, far better than Izetbegović's expectations.

On the other hand, Šeto's potential return is a slap in the face for Denis Zvizdić, the current leader of the Sarajevo SDA, who has long been in a simmering conflict with Izetbegović. Many believe that Zvizdić must already pack his bags and take responsibility for the financial collapse of the Sarajevo Canton, which, by all accounts, will significantly harm the SDA's election results.