NOTHING FROM THE FBiH GOVERNMENT The dream of power has become a nightmare for DF

By Rasim Belko

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Željko Komšić, president of the Democratic Front, certainly did not dream that Friday, December 13, 2019, would be one of the unluckiest and most unlucky days in his political career. 

That day cost Komšić and DF much more than those who, in coalition with SDA and SBB, set out to overthrow the government in Sarajevo Canton. True, the Front received a ministerial position in the State government and entered the new Government of Sarajevo Canton. 

But at the Federation level, they remained on the sidelines of political processes. Dragan Čović, with rare political principledness, wiped them off the political scene of the Federation of BiH.

In fact, Čović, in cooperation with Bakir Izetbegović, removed Komšić and DF from all meetings where something is agreed upon and decided. The Democratic Front was left without positions in the Federation Government, and at the same time, they were forced to vote for what the ministers of HDZ, SDA, and SBB agreed upon. 

Because of this, Komšić and DF found themselves in a bind from which they cannot move forward, and dare not move back. 

We have already stated that Čović is the barrier to further DF action at the state and federal levels. 

They dare not go back because they destroyed their escape route by overthrowing the KS Government. Therefore, withdrawing from the deal with SDA and SBB would mean a path to the political archive. 

Wrong Calculation

Komšić, in the style of a bad gambler, put all his cards on the Reform Program and another play on national interest. Everything that happened afterward shortened the maneuverability for Komšić and his party. 

Although he sent the Reform Program to Brussels express, the publication of the stenogram from the session on that document, Milorad Dodik's behavior, and the unencouraging statements from SDA nullified what the DF leader planned to achieve. 

And he planned to soften the fierce reaction of his voters to joining the Friday the 13th coalition by talking about the merits for unblocking BiH's path to NATO. 

On the other hand, DF's coalition partners, thanks to Komšić's wrong calculation, have gained control vertically from top to bottom. And the question is what the relations in this coalition will be. 

When Appetites Grow?

In recent weeks, information about members, and even entire committees, leaving DF has not been uncommon. Obviously, some have realized that DF will not be a ruling party and that it has only been used as a pendant for those who actually rule and decide. 

Many, clearly disappointed by the fact that the Democratic Front will not be an actor in the federal government for a long time, where its greatest potential for existence lies, are fleeing headlong. Because appetites have significantly increased after Friday the 13th, but they quickly dissipated.

Democratic Front cadres have realized that the chances of getting ministerial, advisory, assistant, and other positions in the near future are decreasing. The dream of power has become a nightmare. 

Many DF members have found an exit, or rather an entrance for continuing their political activity, in what is currently offered as an alternative to the Front. 

The Fight Begins, The Army in Disarray

The soldiers of the Democratic Front and Željko Komšić have clearly realized that they are suddenly in organizational disarray. Without participation in the executive government, the financial stability of the Democratic Front is questionable, and without it, the results in the Local Elections, which will be organized in the elections, are questionable. 

Many, even after the coalition agreement, saw the Democratic Front on par with the Party for BiH. Their political destinies somehow coincided, and they were devoured by the same ailment called SDA. 

The situation can change, but that change requires both wisdom and courage. The coalition of SDA - HDZ with SBB would be in big trouble if the Democratic Front decides to leave the parliamentary majority. 

There would be a shortage of votes in the House of Representatives of the FBiH, which, along with the already problematic House of Peoples, would create an insurmountable problem for SDA and HDZ. 

This is probably the only option for the Democratic Front to force the HDZ to form a government in the Federation, and thus save what can be saved and survive the political mud it has gotten into. 

Whether Komšić dares to make that move remains to be seen, but if such action is absent, the Democratic Front will go down in history as a party that was devoured by wrong calculations and the witch of Friday the 13th. 

And given the number of disappointed people, perhaps the past is a deserved place.