Those who betrayed Tihić won't be loyal to Izetbegović either: Spineless individuals damage SDA's reputation

The ringleaders of a peculiar rebellion against Bakir Izetbegović, the Deputy President of the Party of Democratic Action (SDA), who took over the party due to President Sulejman Tihić's illness, have mostly been appeased and disciplined with positions on election lists, the BH News Agency Patria (NAP) has learned. Namely, internal conflicts and divisions, which have been ongoing in the SDA since last year's Convention, reached their peak a few weeks ago, precisely at the time when the candidate lists were being finalized.

Half of the SDA Presidency members at the time ultimatumly demanded a report from Izetbegović, and some, according to unofficial information, were ready to demand his dismissal. However, as the elections approach, conflicts are being attempted to be covered up, and disputes resolved through political bargaining.

The balance of power at the top of the SDA and the positions of the party's leaders have frequently changed in recent months, largely depending on whether they supported Izetbegović's intention to take over the SDA. Most leaders, vice-presidents, and presidency members have changed sides on several occasions, demonstrating principled behavior only in defense of their personal and business interests. The fact that a significant number of spineless individuals, with a few exceptions, are in the SDA leadership might be the biggest danger to the party's election results.

Thus, Vice-President Asim Sarajlić and SDA General Secretary Amir Zukić, despite being loyal to Tihić for years, quickly changed sides after the Convention and turned to Izetbegović, becoming his closest associates.

These two, especially Zukić, who has been a very important cog in the party for years and was one of the main agitators for Izetbegović's defeat at the 5th SDA Congress, became the deciding factor in Izetbegović's favor, even though the Convention was conceived so that neither Tihić's nor Izetbegović's people would have a majority, but rather that matters would be resolved by agreement.

According to the latest information, Sadik Ahmetović, the SDA Vice-President who publicly expressed disagreements with some of Izetbegović's actions, is also changing his internal party allegiance for the sake of a leading position on the election list.

Namely, Ahmetović is ready, for Izetbegović's sake and his place on the list, to support the engagement of the compromised and criminalized Vinko Jakić from HSP in the "Domovina" coalition, which seriously jeopardizes a project that was supposed to strengthen the position of Bosniaks in the smaller entity. Many have changed their allegiance within the SDA leadership, and the division into Tihić's and Izetbegović's people was effectively formalized at the Convention, including Senad Šepić, Mirsad Kukić, Halid Genjac, and Salko Selman.

Even Šemsudin Mehmedović, former vice-president and the only victim of last year's SDA Convention, announced a few days ago that he has no doubts about his support for Bakir Izetbegović for a member of the BiH Presidency.

Mehmedović, who harbored ambitions to be the leader of the SDA and positioned himself as an alternative to both Tihić and Izetbegović, is now publicly supporting his rival. If he considered Izetbegović not to be a good option for the SDA leader, why is he now of the opinion that he is the best choice for a member of the Presidency?

In effect, the only one who remained consistent with the last majority agreement in the SDA - last year's Convention - is Adil Osmanović, the vice-president who was "rewarded" for this by being removed from the compensation list for Izetbegović's advisor. Osmanović, due to his political principledness, has become an exception in the SDA leadership. As such, he is not a desirable partner for Izetbegović, nor for other party colleagues whose criteria for action are not politics but personal and business interests, NAP reports.

In such a situation, the storm in the SDA will subside during the elections, candidates will pretend to be united, and then after the elections, and before the Congress in the spring, conflicts, battles, and struggles for positions will reopen. This is likely clear to Izetbegović as well, who will keep temporary allies on a cold regime, and after the elections, he will continue to eliminate cadres who are completely disloyal to him.