Empty Calendar, Full Beaches: A Well-Deserved Rest After Exhausting Inaction

By: Amina Čorbo-Zećo

The calendar for August 2025 in the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina is as empty as the promises they made to the citizens. Not a single session, not a single debate, not a single responsibility in sight, except for full compensation for their vacation.



I don't think even the delegates of the House of Peoples know the exact number of unfinished sessions, and it's assumed they won't be finished either, but first, it's time to rest!
Because, from August 1st, the political elite of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 'hardworking, self-sacrificing, and fully dedicated to the people's well-being,' are going on collective annual leave.

Because, let's be honest, it's exhausting every day not to pass a budget, block reforms, ignore the Growth Plan, and top it all off with a nice price increase for the people who, as they like to say, have "already sacrificed enough."

Viewed from their perspective, the results are impressive: a threefold salary increase in one year, and productivity in promises brought to perfection. They promise everything and nothing.

Let's remember how the authorities waved EU flags, promising an extremely fast path to membership in this community, and we got stuck in a chasm.

They spoke so convincingly that their lying to us and ourselves is almost an art. And in the end, it seems the only measure of success is the number of press conferences held after an unadopted decision.

While citizens survive with one bag in their shopping cart and a calculator in hand, our leaders have survived the merciless conditions of the parliamentary benches, without air conditioning to cool their morale, without legislative proposals to warm their conscience. All of this leaves a mark. On them, clearly. That's why they deserve a rest.

Perhaps the people, in their ingratitude, might think that political responsibility is a constant obligation.

But that's wrong. Because when you, for example, don't show up for work, you get fired. When they don't show up, they get a per diem increase. Simple math. Not to mention the blockades. Whether they work or not, the radio plays for them.

But let's not be cynical. Let them rest. Just imagine the fatigue of Sanja Vulić, who 'died' defending Milorad Dodik, or Dragan Čović, who frantically offers the Election Law of BiH.

We shouldn't forget the deputies of the Troika, who had no easy task, justifying the leaders' betrayals, while the opposition factually presents data on capitulations to the demands of Dodik and Čović.

Perhaps on the shores of some luxurious resort, while sipping a cold cocktail paid for by warm budget funds, they might have a useful idea. For example, how to sell another crisis to the citizens as a success. Or how to convince us that more expensive electricity is actually an investment in a European future. Because they know, the people don't know what's good for them. That's why they are here. To rest instead of us.

And so, while the state ship gently rocks on the waves of inflation, the experienced and ruthless political crew is taking a break. Without a compass, without a course, but with full compensation for it.

Of course, see you in the fall. Or not. Because who knows, maybe the vacation will deservedly last longer. That's fine. After all, they've worked hard. Just ask them, and Bosnia and Herzegovina doesn't even have a Budget!