TV1 Debate: Lazović and Nikšić More Convincing than Imamović, Đikić and Pudarić Off Track

Last night, TV1 hosted a debate featuring candidates for the president of the SDP BiH. The candidates for the president of the SDP BiH for the next term are Emir Đikić, Jasmin Imamović, Miro Lazović, Nermin Nikšić and Svetozar Pudarić, for whom the Presidency of this party earlier confirmed that they meet all necessary conditions, reports the Patria news agency.

The candidates had the opportunity to present their program and their vision of the party, its ideal structure, and to answer numerous questions. To see how the candidates fared, read on for a brief analysis of the performances of all five candidates.

Lazović and Nikšić: Decisive, Convincing and Specific

Miro Lazović demonstrated that he has extensive political experience behind him. During his speech, he put everything in its place and skillfully handled the questions, giving concrete answers in most cases, although there were also situations where, colloquially speaking, he gave not-so-popular “political answers.” During the show, Lazović said something that might not sit well with SDP members, specifically, he stated that the party is not permanent, which he confirmed several times. The first time he left the SDP and founded the SDU, the second time he left the SDU and founded the USD, and finally the third time he returned from the USD to the SDP. Looking at his attitude towards the other candidates, it is very easy to conclude that Lazović considers Nermin Nikšić his only serious opponent. If it comes to a second round, Lazović is definitely a candidate who will fight with Imamović, with a slight advantage, for that second place.

Nermin Nikšić once again showed his decisiveness, persuasiveness and a high level of political literacy. In addition to the alignment of his gestures and facial expressions with his verbal speech, Nikšić appeared calm and confident, which resulted in a relaxed speech. He spoke about concrete things very directly, and for each problem he offered a realistic and acceptable solution. At one point, the debate turned into a show of support for Nikšić, when all the candidates commented on his work as Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and themselves admitted that Nikšić is the best candidate among them. The former and most successful Prime Minister of the FBiH skillfully turned these statements to his advantage and finally just “put the finishing touch,” thereby strengthening his position as a successful leader. Nikšić is certainly one of the few politicians who has a good command of the political scene and is probably the person who will lead the SDP in the next four years.

Imamović, Mo-Tzu and Other Great Thinkers

Jasmin Imamović spoke slowly, which is very unusual for debates. Although he initially seemed to have a grasp of the subject matter, as it continued, it appeared that he had no concrete answer to the toughest questions and that he was trying to wrap his answers in various quotes and thoughts of ancient sages, and he even managed to do this very skillfully on several occasions. He talked about how the SDP should be led by a broad team of people, more precisely, he talked about the decentralization of the SDP, on which he scored points several times. He compared the future way of working with the work of his successful team in Tuzla, saying that it is the most successful team in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, SDP members from Tuzla will not agree with that because the SDP in Tuzla lost about 16,000 votes in a very short period. In any case, Imamović is a serious candidate who will fight with Lazović for second place, and in case of reaching the second round, all possibilities become open.

Pudarić as if on a Picnic, Đikić as if in a Pub

Emir Đikić is a “new” face in the SDP. We say “new” in quotation marks because he stated that he has been in the SDP for twenty years, even though he worked for the non-governmental organization Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina. Non-verbal communication is the biggest flaw of this candidate. Waving his hands, shaking his head and making grimaces will certainly not have a positive effect on SDP members. Although he persistently tried to present himself as a great social democrat, he did so very unconvincingly, forcibly, without tact. In short, Đikić's performance tonight is equal to the performance of some “pub politician,” and whether that is the case or not, Emir Đikić will not have the opportunity to show because he is an absolute outsider in these elections.

Svetozar Pudarić definitely won the sympathy of a part of the membership, but not through his political knowledge, but through his likable performance. We must also admit that on several occasions, when he did not have a concrete answer, he skillfully scored points by using “political tricks,” which definitely made the audience laugh tonight. Pudarić will be remembered as a candidate who is dear to everyone and whom everyone would like to see at the top of the SDP, but by no means in the position of president of the largest multi-ethnic party in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The popular Sveto will have the opportunity to prove himself in other battles, and this one has long been over for him.

The elections for the president of the SDP on the principle of “one member – one vote” will be held on September 20. This method of electing the president of a political organization is a novelty in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Eizbori.ba