Gratz opens campaign: With changes, we can fight for our common ideal together

(Patria) - Democratic Front candidate for mayor of Centar municipality, Dennis Gratz, opened his election campaign with a public address on the values he believes in and that define him.

"In the next month, we will talk a lot about what has not been done and what needs to be done in Centar. We will go into detail. But at the very beginning, in this first address, I will say a few words about the values I believe in and that define me.

Values are the essence of politics. Values are, as someone said, the hidden script that guides our actions. A program can be technically perfect, but if those who offer it have no values and are not guided by them, then the program itself will amount to nothing.

In terms of values, I have always been a LIBERAL. From head to toe, as they say. It is a value system that matches the core of my personality. Liberal values are what I believe in, what guides me.

When I was a student at the Faculty of Law, Zdravko Grebo, who was my professor and mentor, led the Legal Centre of the Open Society Fund.

Through this platform, Professor Grebo, as publisher and editor, published a series of books, and one of them particularly stuck in my memory because it gives a very brief, yet perfect description of liberal values.

It is actually a speech by the famous Athenian leader Pericles addressing his fellow citizens, explaining why it is worth fighting for the democratic order in their city (and I would say in every city, always and everywhere). Describing the ideal, which will later be remembered as the "Age of Pericles", he says:

"We do not copy our neighbours, but we are an example to them. Our constitution is called a democracy because power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people. When all are equal before the law for private disputes, justice is secured by the people at large. When in public affairs, success is based on merit rather than on wealth or class. Nor is poverty a bar to public service; if a man is able to serve his city, he is not hindered by the obscurity of his condition.

The freedom we enjoy extends also to ordinary life. We are not suspicious of one another and do not give offense to our neighbours for living as they like, nor do we show signs of displeasure which are obvious to others, though not meant to be hurtful. We are free and tolerant in our private lives; and in the governance of the state we are jealous of any encroachment. We obey the authorities and the laws, and in particular such laws as are made for the protection of the injured and such as, though unwritten, cause disgrace to those who break them.

Our city is open to the world. We never expel foreigners. We are free to live exactly as we like. And, moreover, we are always ready to face any danger. We love beauty without extravagance and philosophy without effeminacy. We cultivate wealth, but are less proud of it than of the skill which we show in applying it. To be learned in many things is a mark of a gentleman, but to be master of none is a mark of a slave. We are more of an athlete in one respect than a spendthrift in another. We are more ready to face danger than to plan for it. In short, we have made our city the general school of Hellas, and that each citizen, in all the situations of life, will be the most flexible and modest of all Hellenes.

Our citizen does not neglect public affairs, although he takes care of his private business. A man who takes no interest in the state, we consider not harmless, but useless. And, although only a few can form policy, all of us are capable of judging it. We do not regard discussion as a stumbling block to political action, but as an essential preparation for acting wisely. We believe that happiness is the fruit of freedom, and freedom is the fruit of boldness, and therefore we do not shrink from danger.

In the end, he says that the essence of the city administration's effort is to create an environment in which every citizen can happily develop their abilities, readiness for unexpected events, and personal self-confidence.

These words perfectly describe the spirit of Sarajevo. What this city deserves and what it should be, and what it currently is not due to bad governance. I am sure that the absolute majority of citizens share this value system, and I consider each of them to be like-minded. I firmly believe that, with a strong energy of change, we can fight for our common ideal. For our city to be what it deserves to be", Gratz said.