While Čović demands Vukoja's appointment from the "Trojka", a Middle Eastern businessman prepares his own candidate

(Patria) - For Dragan Čović, the appointment of Marin Vukoja as a judge of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina is no longer a personnel issue, but a matter of his personal political power and ability to complete what he started, or more precisely - to appoint the personnel he promised.

Recently, the political public in Bosnia and Herzegovina was quite surprised to learn that Čović's long-time associate Tonka Krešić Gagro was expelled from HDZ BiH.

Those more informed say that the rift between Čović and Krešić-Gagro occurred during the appointment of the Council of Ministers of BiH. On that occasion, Tonka was promised the position of Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Marin Vukoja was promised a position as a judge in the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

However, a citizen of a Middle Eastern country and an influential businessman from Mostar, who had other plans for the position of Minister of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina, interfered in the entire story regarding the appointment of the Council of Ministers of BiH. In the end, Čović conceded, and Krešić-Gagro became collateral damage.

In the Government of the Federation, which Čović sovereignly controls, things are not going nearly as he tries to present them. Sessions of the Government of the Federation are often postponed "until further notice" because the partners cannot agree on the agenda.

Those more informed also know that Čović is looking for votes in the House of Representatives; just a few days before the imposition of the Government of the Federation of BiH, he promised other Croatian parties directorships in public companies that would otherwise go to HDZ BiH. When it came to realization, many, including HDZ cadres, rebelled because they had planned some of the positions for themselves.

After a recent meeting held in Mostar between Dragan Čović and Elmedin Konaković, a session of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of BiH was convened with an agenda for the appointment of Marin Vukoja to the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The session was convened by the Speaker of the House, Mirjana Marinković Lepić, who resigned from that position, but due to the lack of a majority in the House of Representatives, they did not dare to put her resignation to a vote.

Now, however, the plan is to try to ensure that the members of the Commission for Elections and Appointments from the "Trojka" resign from their membership in the commission, even though the Rules of Procedure of the House of Representatives of the Parliament do not allow for such a possibility.

In this way, it would open the way for Mladen Bošković to re-initiate procedures contrary to the Rules of Procedure, for the formation of a temporary commission for elections and appointments of the House of Representatives, through which the permanent Commission for Elections and Appointments would be filled with cadres from the parties gathered around HDZ BiH.

However, the same businessman from Mostar now sees his opportunity again, this time in the appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court, in order to expand his influence in the country and on the policy of HDZ BiH. Namely, the aforementioned businessman has chosen another candidate from the Croatian people whom he wants to see in the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

On the other hand, Čović is running out of time not to disappoint another of his cadres (Marin Vukoja) to whom he promised the appointment, while at the same time enduring unpleasant friendly competition. Because of this, Čović now urgently needs the resignations of the members of the Commission for Elections and Appointments and the votes of the deputies from the "Trojka", meaning that Elmedin Konaković must do his part of the job, so that the appointment of the unqualified Marin Vukoja and the delivery of the Constitutional Court of BiH for 20 years into the hands of HDZ can finally be completed.

For Konaković, of course, the fact that Vukoja has no experience in the judiciary is not important, nor is the fact that the list includes candidates with twenty years of experience in the judiciary who have written more than 5,000 judgments during their careers. Whether the deputies of the "Trojka" will allow Čović to carry out his appointment, or whether the businessman from Mostar will again realize his will, or whether a credible candidate will eventually be chosen, remains to be seen.

(M.T.)