I hope that after the elections there will be enough willing people to form a cantonal rescue government

Samir Fazlić, president of the Main Board of Our Party and candidate for the Sarajevo Canton Assembly, talks to the Patria agency about the election campaign, plans and solutions that Our Party offers to voters.

- Our Party is generally accused of an elitist attitude, which, to be honest, I see no basis for in the facts. How, indeed, is Our Party 'elitist' if, throughout this entire campaign, we were the only party out of all parties to be on the streets every day and talk directly with citizens. And we didn't just send our young volunteers and activists to the stands, but all our candidates, list leaders, the president, vice presidents - all of us listened to citizens' problems they face daily for this entire month. And while we were standing on the streets with citizens, the leaders of parties that call themselves people's parties were driving around Bosnia and Herzegovina in armored cars.

In addition to strengthening our activities in the Tuzla and Zenica-Doboj Cantons during this campaign, we have also done so in the Sarajevo Canton, primarily focusing on areas where we did not receive as much support as we could have in the past elections. I am primarily thinking of Ilidža, Vogošća, Ilijaš, and Hadžići, where we had many more activities this time than before, and accordingly, we have already gained significant trust from citizens, says Fazlić.

He points out that it is necessary, first and foremost, to forget the current constellation of political relations in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly and the Sarajevo Canton Government, because he believes that these elections will bring changes in the distribution of political power and that the issue of coalition and distribution of responsibilities will unfold in a completely different atmosphere.

- It is particularly important for Our Party that feedback indicates that Our Party will certainly increase its number of representatives in the Sarajevo Canton, which will mean that we will be a much more important factor in all discussions about forming the executive government than we have been so far.

We are willing to cooperate with everyone who is ready to change things. Experience shows that right-wing parties are not, which means they are excluded. However, we will not cooperate with those who are only declaratively in favor of change. How will we know? Our plan is as follows: before we support any government or become part of it, we will insist on the prior adoption of concrete measures and programs that will be implemented and that will have clear deadlines. I hope - and this hope is not in contradiction with experience - that after the elections there will be enough willing people in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly to form a cantonal rescue government, which is what will have to happen to this canton sooner or later. Otherwise, it will end in the abyss of bankruptcy and social unrest, emphasizes Fazlić.

Although in previous elections they based the emphasis of their campaign on highlighting problems in the field of culture, this was not done this time. Fazlić says there are several reasons why culture was not the focus during this campaign.

- Firstly, we believe that the public is generally aware of our views on culture, the concepts we promote, and the mechanisms for revitalizing cultural institutions. Secondly - and even more importantly - Bosnia and Herzegovina is at a historical crossroads: with so many unemployed and a tendency to accumulate debt, Bosnia and Herzegovina must undergo structural reforms of public administration, social funds, and the economy, or it will move towards a socio-economic abyss. In such a context, issues concerning the economic and administrative structure of BiH must be the central theme. Therefore, in preparing our pre-election programs, as well as in our campaign activities, we have mainly focused on solutions for raising and fostering a completely new economic base in the form of 'small entrepreneurship'. We believe that entrepreneurs are the only hope for establishing new economic foundations for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is the only realistic method of recovery, while talk of rebuilding large corporations is akin to science fiction illusions, says Fazlić.

The issue of solving the crucial problems he mentioned and the issue of solving the problems of culture, Fazlić emphasizes, are actually the same thing viewed from different angles.

- If, for example, the next Government saves a significant portion of the funds that were spent on unnecessary administration or expensive vehicle fleets of institutions, part of those funds can be directed towards the development of prosperous cultural potentials in the Canton. There are no more funds lying around, but with dedicated work and the activation of all potentials that the Canton has, with certain systematic work and activism, results will not be lacking. Tourism is an important link with which culture must be closely connected. Tourists should be guests not for one night, but for several days so that they can visit, see, and experience everything that Sarajevo has to offer, concludes Fazlić.