The Three entered government with Dodik and Čović solely for positions, today they are saving themselves at the expense of the state!

By: Muamer Bandić, MP in the KS Assembly and member of the Party of BiH Presidency

When we were negotiating the formation of government in Zenica a little over two years ago, the Party of BiH's proposal was to form a state-level coalition with the opposition from RS, which was mathematically possible. Therefore, without SNSD, because it was clear to us even then that there was nothing normal or European to discuss, let alone do, with Milorad Dodik, who was already deeply entrenched in Russian connections and drowned in secessionist rhetoric.

Even then, SNSD was a dead end for our country's European path, except for the parties of the Three. By insisting on SNSD, Elmedin Konaković waved his phone at us during the meeting, just as he always does when he wants to divert attention from something important, when he deceives the wider public and waves some papers for credibility, supposedly showing 'messages from ambassadors' according to which SNSD should be part of the government because the foreigners demand it.

None of us present ever saw those 'messages from ambassadors', and in the meantime, Schmidt's suspension of the FBiH Constitution occurred, which was unacceptable legal violence to us, so we withdrew from all those negotiations and combinations, and the reserve echelon entered, bought hands of Ramo Isak and the rest of HNS.

Looking at those negotiations from the perspective of later events, it is clear to me that they lied to our faces then, and that the coalition with HDZ and SNSD was already agreed upon, as was the distribution of ministerial positions for which they entered this dead end with SNSD and HDZ. Part of that agreement was also the fourth delegate in the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament for SNSD, and as compensation, the Three received Minister Hurtić, a Bosniak from RS, in the Council of Ministers of BiH.

The agreement with Mile and Dragan was packaged into a nice story about the European path, progress, and never better life in BiH, which the masters of deception and propaganda successfully sold us for two years, although in reality, there was no genuine progress on the European path and improvement for our citizens.

Progress and improvement are not positive signals from Brussels and unjustified optimism from European officials regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path, which marked the first two years of this coalition's government. These positive signals and optimism are primarily the result of two things.

The first is the perception of European officials of the Western Balkans as the soft underbelly of the EU and a security threat due to the pronounced malignant, ideological Russian-Iranian influence in the heart of Europe. And it is not surprising that Europeans want to help us build a state and functional institutions, thereby integrating us into their security system. This is a positive process in which the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the EU coincide.

The second thing is the lobbying of HDZ BiH through the Republic of Croatia, its diplomatic-consular network, and its position as a member of the European Union. We cannot be ungrateful to Croatia for that part of the work, but at the same time, we must be aware that the interests of HDZ BiH are not exactly complementary to the interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its progress, and well-being.

One of the obvious examples is the Election Law and the political narrative about resolving this difficult political issue. While pro-Bosniak parties advocate for the implementation of European Court of Human Rights judgments and the substantive realization of the ideal of political equality for all citizens of our country, HDZ lobbies for the permanent cementing of ethnic divisions, which, in my opinion, can bring nothing good to our country. I agree only to the extent that we must respect our differences, but we cannot and must not create legal inequality and apartheid based on them because we live in the same house. Rights and responsibilities within it must be equal for all our citizens, regardless of ethnic affiliation. In fact, this is the only content of our European path, which is impossible without it!

SNSD and HDZ openly say, to a greater or lesser extent, that they are for maintaining the status quo of division and permanent apartheid, and they do not hide it. Only complete political idiots and people who are willing to close their eyes for a few positions and financial deals, pretend to be stupid, and trample on all the political principles they allegedly advocate for, do not see and hear this.

This is precisely what the parties of the Three did two years ago! They closed their eyes to the facts and our political reality. They pretended to be stupid and, in the process, trampled on all the principles they advocated for, and for a few positions and financial deals, they entered a political adventure from which they are now trying to wash themselves clean with a fictitious rejection of the coalition with SNSD.

I say fictitious because this coalition exists as long as SNSD ministers sit together with ministers Konaković, Forto, and Helez in the Council of Ministers of BiH, and Špirić in the Collegium of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliament and make decisions. Likewise, it is impossible not to notice that opposite the vocalness from NiP and Naša stranka stands silence from SDP. Almost no one from SDP has publicly commented on the rejection of SNSD, their reliable partner until yesterday.

So, today's lamenting and playing the victim by the leaders of NiP and Naša stranka is the same lie as Konaković's phone waving with the story about the alleged wishes of foreigners during the coalition negotiations in Zenica at that time. They consciously and calculatedly entered into a coalition with SNSD and HDZ exclusively for positions and financial gain for themselves and their godfathers and buddies. Moreover, they agreed to it before they sat down to make an agreement with us, the rest of the then Osmorka.

And just as it started, this coalition is ending its journey in the same way, with lies, because they are its only constant and its only product. So today they are equally lying that they are leaving the coalition because they have finally realized that Dodik is who he is, and Dodik was the same two years ago. You will agree with me at least that this is a long period for realization, especially for someone who talks about himself in superlatives regarding intelligence, ability, experience, education, and even height.

However, the real truth is different and lies in the numbers. Local elections have already shown that within the Three, only SDP experienced growth by participating in the government. Naša stranka stagnated, and NiP almost failed. And this is a logical consequence of unfulfilled promises in politics, to which small parties, without developed and branched infrastructure within wider coalitions, are susceptible.

Nothing new or specific to Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the same in sports, where everyone applauds a new player while they shine on the field and meet expectations. The moment they are unable to do so, they quickly realize that the audience is not easy to fool, while at the same time, established players, stars, are indulged because the club benefits from them at least economically.

Looking at our politics in this context, the hasty and unprepared move by SDP to increase the minimum wage in FBiH is quite clear. The wider, systemic consequences of a decision made in this way are completely irrelevant to its makers, as long as they build and maintain their star status in the eyes of the pauperized working class.

That this is indeed the case is evident from the situation where completely unprepared ministers from NiP and Naša stranka naively voted for this decision in the Government, only for the leaders of these parties to criticize it two days later in the language of the opposition. Only then did NiP and Naša stranka realize that they had been completely tricked and that they were mere statisticians in their own government and coalition. Such a role was once intended for the Party of BiH, but unlike them, we refused to give up our political principles and participation in processes where we have no right to vote because positions are temporary, and shame before the people remains forever. The same applies to European integration.

While the coalition was somehow struggling at the very beginning, encouraged more by foreign pats on the back, sweet words, and promised millions of euros from Brussels than by its own work and results, this semblance of harmony was somehow maintained. By last year, it was clear that everything had stalled and that there was nothing to the European path. The last attempt to revive this dead horse happened in November last year with the approval of those millions from the budget for Mile's godfather. However, lo and behold, Dodik remained Dodik, and our valiant manipulators have reached a point where there is nothing left to agree upon without contradicting all the fairy tales they have been serving until yesterday to the only people in BiH truly yearning for change and a better life, Bosniaks.

Faced with the complete defeat of their own delusions, they are now distancing themselves from the partners and the coalition they created themselves and solely for their own benefit, and they didn't have to. That they didn't have to, as a participant in these negotiations, I am one of the witnesses. Many will say Dodik would have blocked everything he could then. Yes, that's true, but we wouldn't have lost almost an entire mandate to get to the same starting point we are at today. It was possible to react, negotiate, and rearrange then, but what about today after two wasted years with no measurable results and no operational plan on how to get out of this mud? Who will untangle this political crisis today into which these political dilettantes have plunged us? They have broken the coalition that is their creation and brought the state institutions to a complete standstill.

The only realistic option to get out of this crisis will be the application of the Bonn Powers. Whether this will happen, we can only guess or throw dice. And in politics, that is a very slippery and dangerous terrain that leads to further collapse of the system and citizens' trust in the political system and the state itself. Will the Three have the strength to change partners with the assistance of HDZ, the opposition from RS, and also from FBiH, because they need all these hands now?

Honestly, I don't see it, because they have blackened and made enemies of everyone who disagreed with their populist and amateur moves, and today they expect these same people to stick their necks out for them. I think this is an episode that will not happen, because these people no longer have any political credibility, nor coalition capacity. Will the foreigners untangle the Gordian knot with the Bonn Powers and save their political offspring? That remains to be seen, but it largely depends on HDZ's stance towards this new adventure of the Three.

Based on the current direction of action, it is difficult to expect Schmidt to take any action contrary to Zagreb's wishes, and based on the initial reactions to the rejection of his loyal friend, Dragan Čović was not at all pleased. He is more inclined to the option that he and Dodik will oust the Three. And who will replace them, i.e., will SDA enter the government instead of the Three, I really don't know. In my opinion, this is the worst option for Bosnia and Herzegovina. On the one hand, it offers a lifeline to Milorad Dodik, and on the other, it strengthens the anti-state coalition of SNSD and HDZ, thereby permanently cementing the current state of chaos and division of the country.

After that, neither the ethnically based Election Law and the third entity, nor the perception of an entity as a state within a state, would be mere fascist desires, because in the dual embrace of SNSD and HDZ, there are no other stories. Not to mention that entering the government at this moment is only for positions, and we are precisely witnessing how that unfortunate path ends. I hope our citizens are closely following all these developments and recognizing the position-seeking adventurism and dilettantism in political action.

We can create our progress and our European path only on the principles and ideas for which we fought since gaining independence. Everything else is a farce in which we will lose both our country and our identity in the long run. Only those seeking positions and political dilettantes who are interested in nothing else but personal enrichment can enter a government where they are mere bystanders and do not influence processes. And with SNSD and HDZ together, any coalition is like that, and its result is a constant political crisis. Therefore, we should be grateful to the Three for showing us that through their example.