Raguž: BiH can profit even from its complexity, it just needs to show will

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a complex country, but that does not mean it should be our weakness, said Martin Raguž, president of HDZ 1990 in an interview with the Bosnian news agency Patria (NAP).

If key political actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, believes the HDZ 1990 leader, draw a line, sort things out and turn to the future and work, to criteria that will lead to everyone in the country being equal before the law, BiH can achieve progress very quickly.

Unfortunately, says Raguž, he is concerned that the work of many politicians in the country is still not directed towards that agreement, domestic politicians are not showing a desire for progress, even though they have support and help from the international community. Forming a government mechanically, as is currently done in BiH, he believes, will not take the country anywhere.

- The position of the Republika Srpska, which is still being promoted by Dodik, is moving towards isolation. Meanwhile, the Federation is not finding the best response to that situation. Instead of it (the Federation) moving through active reform, showing 'we are better', things here are becoming more complicated and Dodik is being given space to shift the ball of responsibility to this part of the country – assesses Raguž.

The president of HDZ 1990 is most worried that key political actors in the country are not showing synergy regarding the European path of Bosnia and Herzegovina, without which the country, he is convinced, cannot achieve any progress. He does not idealise Europe, he says, but people in BiH must know that it nonetheless offers a structure of funds, projects, resources, which mean life, and without which BiH cannot function.

- This country has energy, and Europe has a need for energy. If we brought three projects to Brussels, we would do something, we would turn over several billion in investments. With energy, we would kickstart the metal processing industry, mines... We can start creating new values. But, none of that can be done without a strategy, joint work, the energy that everyone in the country must show – believes Raguž, writes Patria.