We Do Not Have a Government, but Nermin Nikšić's Flying Circus

Written by: Muamer Bandić, representative in the Assembly of the Sarajevo Canton and member of the Presidency of the Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Years of poisoning the public with populist spins have come due, so in these recent months the imposed government has completely gone off the rails with its insane actions. And what is worse, in this frantic leap from spin to spin, it is completely unaware of the consequences of its actions for the legal order, fiscal sustainability, and the economy of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, let alone for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Although they claim to fight for workers' rights, in reality they have only secured more money for their own pockets, the wallets of coalition partners, and the bloated state apparatus. Such is the case with the non-working Sunday, and it seems it will be the same with the increase in the minimum wage.

Before the debates have even settled, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has increased the base for calculating salaries at the level of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will raise our workhorse Nermin's salary by about 550 KM per month. The increase will not bypass state employees either, but they will receive much less.

What is shocking from the Prime Minister and the Government, who talk about 'social sensitivity' and 'care for the most vulnerable,' is that at the same time they increased their own salaries, they blocked the increase in disability benefits received by persons with 100% and 90% disability, whose incomes are legally tied to the minimum wage in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Moreover, our 'socially sensitive' Prime Minister and ministers went a step further, and overwhelmed by 'care for the most vulnerable,' they demanded that all laws related to the minimum wage be changed to the detriment of beneficiaries, who will still not see the increases they are entitled to under existing laws.

From the Citizens' Association for Support of Children and Persons with Developmental Difficulties 'I Have the Right,' they say that under this new model where disability benefit amounts are not tied to the minimum wage, our citizens with 100% disability will have their incomes reduced by nearly 300 KM per month, and those with 90% disability by nearly 500 KM. In a time of rampant price increases, this is a crime against these people!

And all this is happening while the imposed Prime Minister and ministers increase their own salaries and offer help to America in extinguishing fires, while our people from Jablanica are still freezing in containers, and the railway, the lifeline of our economy, is being repaired with alms by a private company from Turkey. Amid all these events, it is truly difficult for a normal person to write anything while remaining composed, calm, and decent.

It is obvious that the imposed Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has turned into Nermin Nikšić's flying circus, which has completely lost its compass, so we no longer know whether to laugh at him as a clown or cry from anguish for ourselves.