Swiss newspaper on Croatia: Kolinda relativizes Ustashism, an EU member that constantly causes trouble

SWISS newspaper Berner Zeitung  writes in an article about Croatia as the "new problematic child of the European Union", whose behavior since joining the EU in 2013 has been like an "anti-advertisement for enlargement", reports the Patria agency.

"In Croatia, even the death of intellectual giants provokes a flood of fierce emotions. "Liar", "traitor", "Jewish racist" and "antichrist" are actually milder insults that have flooded the Croatian internet after the death of the renowned publicist Slavko Goldstein", writes Berner Zeitung, referring to Index, which stated that Goldstein's death caused a series of hateful reactions indicating the fascization of Croatian society.

"It really seems that horizons in Croatia have narrowed rather than widened after joining the EU in 2013. Sermons of nationalist priests full of hatred against former partisans and the Serbian minority go hand in hand with the burning of minority newspapers and month-long debates about whether a memorial plaque with "Za dom spremni", the greeting of the fascist Ustashas, should be allowed", states the Swiss newspaper, and concludes that President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović relativized Ustashism with her statement about the "old Croatian greeting". 

As for Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, it is written that he seems to have "lost control over the anger of the nationalist wing of his conservative HDZ", and that "his inconsistent reactions intensify the image of a country that is not only at odds with its neighbors but also with itself".

Croatia's membership in the European Union is not a success story

It is recalled that Croatia was once a darling of the West, especially Germany, which diplomatically supported Croatia's recognition, and that Prime Minister Ivo Sanader later directed the country towards NATO and the EU, "before he was brought down by numerous corruption scandals". Berner Zeitung writes that under the leadership of "social democratic Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, Croatia stumbled upon entering the EU" and recalls the scandal surrounding lex Perković, which Croatia abolished under pressure from other member states of the Union.

"Croatia's away games within the EU have not become a success story to this day. Quite the contrary: the country has turned into the EU's problematic child. Brussels has already had to intervene twice due to Croatia's trade sanctions against its former wartime adversary Serbia", writes the Swiss newspaper and describes Croatia's behavior towards its neighbors as "Balkan stubbornness": "Consideration for nationalist sensitivities in internal politics makes it difficult for Zagreb to compromise with its neighbors." It is stated that Croatia "lacks the ability to resolve conflicts with its neighbors in a cooperative atmosphere" and examples of disputes over border demarcation with Slovenia and relations with Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina are cited.

Berner Zeitung concludes its article on Croatia by quoting former Foreign Minister Vesna Pusić, who stated that Croatia has "unreasonably fallen into a diplomatic defensive on all sides", and adds that in Brussels, Croatia is increasingly seen as a member that constantly "causes trouble"