While there are 'Mandics' and the Trojka, Dodik doesn't need to worry!

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

It is incomprehensible that in one of the most difficult situations for Bosnia and Herzegovina since the aggression, while our country's sovereignty is seriously threatened, the highest officials of our country are dealing with local communities and recalls of mayors!?

For comparison, it is important to recall that last year, the recalls of mayors in Višegrad and Bratunac passed almost unnoticed by the public, and protests were even organized in front of the Central Election Commission (CIK), but politicians from Republika Srpska did not pay much attention to these events, while the media symbolically reported on the struggle of councilors and citizens for the recall of these mayors.

A completely opposite situation in Sarajevo!? Due to the recall of the Mayor of Stari Grad, Ibrahim Hadžibajrić, fireworks were set off (!?), and after the news that the initiative for the recall of the Mayor of Centar Municipality, Srđan Mandić, was adopted, analyses and reactions have been coming in since yesterday, as if it were about the removal of a member of the Presidency of BiH.

It should be noted that the leaders of the Trojka showed more willingness to defend Mayor Mandić than the Constitutional Court of BiH, which Milorad Dodik has effectively abolished in Republika Srpska, because the express reactions of Nermin Nikšić and Edin Forto were not recorded in the same way on the day the National Assembly of RS voted not to respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court of BiH in that BiH entity.

The question now arises whether this saga regarding Mandić's recall is welcome for the Trojka to relieve the pressure of discussions about the threat to the state of BiH, the formation of the Council of Ministers of BiH, and stopping their partner Dodik on the path leading to the secession of the smaller BiH entity, or if the Canton of Sarajevo is more important to them than the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

And after no one has yet managed to push through initiatives to abolish cantons as mini-states, the Trojka is now dragging us down even further. They are dealing with municipalities, wasting our time with statements and procedures, while diligently spending hundreds of thousands of budget-citizen marks on referendums, presenting themselves as great politicians and thinkers. However, they show that even managing a local community is a big challenge for them, let alone leading a state!

Given that in their pursuit of absolute power, the Trojka first took control of the Canton of Sarajevo, presenting it as a success and a recipe for higher levels of government, and now that they hold power vertically, we can see that the entire story is just a well-thought-out PR stunt, spin, and the co-opting of intellectuals who propagated such narratives through the media.

It is now more than obvious that in this country, the government and the opposition have always had a common interest – to employ party officials and loyalists at the expense of the budget, or vice versa, to get rid of individuals who might hinder them on that path.

They are strongest at the local level because they can do nothing to Dodik and Čović. That is why we will be waiting a long time for fireworks celebrating Dodik's defeat, because while the presidents of the ruling parties are dealing with Mandić and Hadžibajrić, Milorad Dodik is already hatching sinister plans with Zoran Milanović in Croatia!

And no one has reacted to this except Andrej Plenković, who revealed that Dodik entered this country without Croatia's knowledge!

Elmedin Konaković, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, should be concerned with that matter, not with Srđan Mandić, because if BiH disappears, there will be no cantons, and certainly no municipalities!

But while there are 'Mandics' and the Trojka, Dodik doesn't need to worry!