A Question for Izetbegović and Nikšić, Others Should Find Themselves: Is the Interest of Pawns and Profiteers More Important than the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Written by: Rasim Belko @rasimbelko

While Milorad Dodik has been hysterically fiddling with the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina for months, apparently convinced that this country is his private plum brandy plantation and a tavern without a fiscal receipt, the political scene of Sarajevo's demi-monde and the so-called Bosnian provincialism continues to sit idly by, staring at the ground as if it were a neighbor's brawl, not a frontal assault on the state.

Since the end of February, when Dodik embarked on an open anti-constitutional rampage, tensions have not ceased. Every day a new anti-constitutional diversion, every day a new threat and blackmail, while the political representatives of the Bosnian side behave as if they are waiting for everything to stop on its own. But it won't, because it never has.

Not a single party — not one — has offered a concrete, clear, and state-building response. Ten people have not gathered around the same table to even write a joint statement, let alone articulate a plan to stop the political rampage that is leading the state into destruction.

To make matters more grotesque, the only ones who attempted something were the Sarajevo Troika, and that more for the sake of form, because it was clear to them from the start that they were banging their heads against a wall named Dragan Čović. And through Čović, neither Dodik, nor Belgrade, nor Zagreb can have a hair on their head touched, because the international mentors have long since arranged the pieces on the board. The Troika is there to play the role of the "state-building option" and the "European course" while actually marking time and being careful not to make too much noise.

The greatest responsibility, clearly, lies with the SDA and the SDP. The former as the politically strongest Bosniak party, the latter as the formally strongest "left-wing" party and an actor in government along the vertical line. Their inactivity is no longer just political incompetence — it becomes complicity. Because every day of silence in the face of Dodik's destructive campaigns is a clear sign that their own mutual games are more important than the interests of the state.

The fear of the great Bosnian-Bosniak leaders that one of them might step forward first and offer an agenda for action in defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its constitutional order is becoming visible to the naked eye. Bosnia as a state, and its citizens, are fortunate that these leaders were not around at the time when the aggression was being prepared and when the state was defending itself from aggression. We and the state are also fortunate, because we evidently would not exist if we were led by these leaders.

Because these are leadership shells that operate within their parties using the methods of Kim Jong Un, have a plethora of advisors, secretaries, experts, and have offered us nothing worthy of attention. One of these leaders puts himself forward as the leader of the Bosniaks, the other is factually the prime minister of half the state, and still in the role of first among leftists. And both like to come before the cameras, play the role of leaders, only that the summed-up importance and quality of what they tell and show us does not last longer than a TV show.

To ensure that things in the political pool of Bosnian silicone sharks are not so bleak, the most capable individuals in the strongest parties and their partners from some others have taken care. It's just a pity that such people are mostly on the other side of the law and dedicated mainly to personal business interests, not the state.

Because, in Sarajevo's corridors, there is already widespread whispering about a green-red coalition for 2026. Sounds like a much-needed agreement in an era of political instability? Let's not be naive. This is not a state-building platform, but a pact of budget profiteers and a tender mafia that has realized it is time to reunite in order to open the taps of public money.

This is not an agreement on preserving the state, but an agreement on dividing the spoils. It all comes down to whether Bakir's and Nermin's people will have free passage to the budget through green and red tenders. The state? Who still thinks about the state.

And so — while Dodik wallows in arrogance, and the international community performs its diplomatic minimum, the question remains that both Bakir Izetbegović and Nermin Nikšić, but also all other parties of the Bosnian provincialism that think history will forget their shamefully passive role, must answer:

Is the interest of political pawns and profiteers more important, or the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina?

If the former is more important to them — instead of political white kidneys for the public, let them at least publicly admit it, so that the people finally know not to waste time on illusions.