Even when he cursed genocide, Dodik was pro-European for Konaković: Today, the NIP leader proves that only seats matter

By: A. Čorbo-Zećo

If Elmedin Konaković had said on June 30, 2023, that Milorad Dodik is not a pro-European politician, it would be easier to believe his story today that Dodik lied to his partners, and that he is not actually a pro-European politician, and therefore cannot be part of a 'pro-European coalition'.

On June 30, 2023, in Konjic, Dodik cursed genocide!? No civilized pro-European politician could ever think of such a thing, let alone say it as Dodik did, and yet he remains a pro-European man in Konaković's opinion to this day.

Let history write about those who remained at that meeting. They said everything about themselves when they did not react and left that gathering.

Suddenly, Dodik has stopped being a pro-European man, because the seats of the ruling parties have been shaken, not the European path, because it is clear that we are stuck on that path, stuck between the irreconcilable interests of the Trojka parties, HDZ, and SNSD.
The explanation offered by the leader of Narod i Pravda (People and Justice) transcends the limits of good taste, as he explains to us that SDA and DF are saving Dodik, whom he, along with Michael Murphy, brought into state government, justifying it by the fact that they have four votes in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament.

He never cared that there are as many as four people (i.e., four votes) from SDA, DF, and the Party for BiH in the Bosniak Club! He assumed that these delegates would not 'legally' block BiH's European path, as Konaković interprets it.

And they didn't; they supported every European law even though they are in opposition. They never received thanks for it, but today they are grossly accused of saving Dodik, who is moving BiH away from the European path, and whom the Trojka is supposedly rapidly paving the way for!? And what the Trojka thinks about this Club was shown when Kemal Ademović (NIP) was appointed to the leadership of the House of Peoples, with the votes of SNSD and HDZ, contrary to the majority of votes in the Bosniak Club.

Konaković forgot, or did not want to admit, that he personally (although he denies it now) spoke of a different Dodik with whom negotiations would be possible and who would now show in coalition with the Trojka that he is a pro-European man.

Admittedly, it is impossible to take Konaković seriously, because in his last few media appearances, and he speaks out almost daily, he says different things on the same topics.

Thus, on Face TV, he said that SDA, with HDZ and SNSD, can form a government at the state level, but today he said that they cannot do so unless DF or NES joins them.

Konaković's inconsistency in media appearances further complicates the understanding of the Trojka's strategy, if it exists at all.

He also presented a calculation that his removal from the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs cannot procedurally happen before March 2024. However, he did not explain what the authorities plan to do during that period to unblock BiH's European path. That is, it will take just as long for the SNSD to be replaced by the opposition from RS.

The Trojka will wait for the program of the opposition from Republika Srpska, and then they will see if it is acceptable to them and if they can thus remove SNSD from power. They fear 'illegal' blockades – that three delegates from SNSD do not attend the sessions of the House of Peoples, while the European path is increasingly used as a political slogan, while actual progress remains stuck in the mud of irreconcilable interests of party leaders.

BiH will hardly get out of the political deadlock without a genuine change in approach and a return to the basic principles of responsibility and consistency.

And history will judge, not only those who made wrong decisions, but also those who remained silent at crucial moments.