Bećirović's diplomatic dilemmas: Educated Arnaut who won Pilav's case or former SDA bot chief Konaković

(Patria) - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with its constitutional responsibilities and its position in the constitutional and legal order of the state, is directly accountable to the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in that regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina has close cooperation with the members of the Presidency of BiH.

We remind that the member of the Presidency, Denis Bećirović, has not yet engaged in negotiations on forming a government at the state level, nor has he publicly declared his position on the names or the profile of associates with whom he believes he will achieve the best cooperation in the interest of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For one of these positions, that of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elmedin Konaković and Damir Arnaut are neck and neck. On one hand, what they have in common is that they do not shy away from the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, and on the other hand, when it comes to references, especially formal education as a prerequisite for holding this position, their opinions clearly differ.

Formal education – obtaining a valid diploma is considered an entry ticket into the circle of intelligence. University studies aim to equip students with the ability to undertake and fulfill the obligation of mastering specific material within a certain time to meet the conditions for passing exams. Whether every diploma is an entry ticket into the circle of intelligence depends on the content of the study.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, among other things, has the obligation to regularly visit the only sincere friend and ally of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the United States of America, and to invest diplomatic and personal efforts in strengthening these relations. The first stop for the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina is the US Secretary of State – Antony Blinken.

If we hypothetically place Damir Arnaut in the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, then we have Blinken who, like Arnaut, holds a Juris Doctor degree and is a lawyer by profession. As graduates of elite law schools and individuals with experience in the American judiciary and administration, and in reputable law firms, and with experience representing cases in the US Supreme Court, they have a large number of topics on which they can exchange views, and through which they will strengthen personal and professional relationships.

Blinken would be very interested in exchanging views with Arnaut on current developments in the US Supreme Court and the conservative direction the court is taking, especially regarding the consequences of overturning the right to abortion from the Roe v. Wade decision. Interesting topics also include personnel changes in the court and prosecutor's office systems across the United States, especially because most of the colleagues with whom these two studied are now in leadership positions in American courts and prosecutor's offices.

So, we are talking about individuals with the highest level of formal and general education who have mastered complex material and continued to build upon it to ultimately reach the positions they hold.

Through his work in the Clinton administration, Blinken is familiar with the political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also served as an advisor in the administration of Barack Obama, where he was kept informed of developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Therefore, it is not of particular interest to Blinken to deal with matters such as management and supervisory boards of public enterprises, what bots have written, or who has “liked and shared” on Facebook. He gets that information, if he is interested, from his services' briefings. Blinken likes sports, which is certainly a good thing for connecting, but sports capture attention in more relaxed settings. Not in serious conversations.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina will also frequently visit Brussels because the new convocation of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina will leverage the positive signal of the candidate status that Bosnia and Herzegovina has received. In addition to his legal experience from America, Damir Arnaut also successfully represented Dr. Ilijaz Pilav's application before the European Court of Human Rights.

The circumstances of a Minister of Foreign Affairs of a country that is opening negotiations, for example, in the chapter on justice, having represented cases before the European Court of Human Rights and the US Supreme Court, lend a completely new level of prestige to that country.

Experience and knowledge gained from previous work in a position such as Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Australia are of utmost importance and perhaps the most significant reference in the selection process for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This is especially true because understanding diplomatic protocol and the language of diplomacy constitutes half of the Minister of Foreign Affairs' function. We have witnessed that violations of diplomatic protocols are not viewed favorably in public, and language inappropriate for diplomatic circles leaves lasting consequences on a country's reputation, especially if a diplomat attempts to use a foreign language they do not know – in such cases, everyone remembers Blaž Slišković, whose statement overshadowed even his sports career.

Although Konaković claims otherwise, education is key, but the progress of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the next four years will depend on the number of educated individuals who, with their professional and personal competencies, will fill positions and work in the best interest of the state, depending on the choice of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The input of the president of the state would certainly help, for example, does Bećirović, as a doctor of science, prefer educated staff, or is education not important to him? Is Bećirović for capable or for compliant individuals? Is he for creating an atmosphere in which young people from abroad will return to Bosnia and Herzegovina when Bećirović shows them by his example that educated, not compliant, individuals are now valued?

(M.T.)