Why Izetbegović is a political appendage in the company of Čović, Radončić and Dodik

SDA leader Bakir Izetbegović announced that all future negotiations with HDZ BiH and SNSD leaders Dragan Čović and Milorad Dodik will be conducted in the company of his coalition partner Fahrudin Radončić, leader of the SBB. He made it clear that it does not occur to him to meet with them separately and without Radončić, writes the Patria news agency.  

The coordination mechanism that Izetbegović agreed with Dodik at the end of July in the restaurant „Barka“ in East Sarajevo did not particularly please Čović.

After that, Dodik said that what he agreed on Sunday with Izetbegović practically does not hold, that it is not set in stone, and that he will nevertheless comply with everything Čović demands.

Izetbegović also relented, and „categorically“ stated that in all future negotiations he will not sit anywhere or with anyone without Radončić.

The SBB leader, as the SDA president envisioned, will be his witness to the talks, but what is crucial is that he will actually rely on Radončić's political acumen, given that all his moves so far have proven he is not a match for Čović and Dodik. The only question is whether Radončić will rely on Izetbegović, or how much he trusts him.  

In the trio of Izetbegović, Radončić and Čović, given the strong political-friendship ties between the leaders of the SBB and HDZ, the odd one out can only be Izetbegović. If Dodik is also brought into the picture, Izetbegović will play the role of a political appendage.

Izetbegović joined the company of Radončić-Čović-Dodik last, belatedly, out of necessity. Of all of them, he is the only one who has clashed with the others in this group.

The trio mutually respect and appreciate each other, and sparks have never flown between them. Whether they talk in institutions or restaurants. Fahrudin Radončić, until last summer, had for years openly labeled Izetbegović as the boss of the Bosniak mafia.

For Dodik, the SDA president is an open enemy of the Republika Srpska. And that even Čović does not respect him was demonstrated last week when he did not show up for a meeting that the two of them had agreed on one-on-one.

On the other hand, the bond between Radončić and Čović is unbreakable. Čović has never called Radončić a coalition partner, but exclusively his friend. Which they are, both privately, professionally and politically. 

While he was in custody, of all political representatives, only Čović visited Radončić. First at the end of February while the SBB leader was under house arrest, and then in the detention unit of the Court of BiH. These moves only further strengthened their friendship.

Bitter enemies, Radončić and Izetbegović, who waged a five-year relentless media war, were reconciled precisely by Čović.

Radončić and Dodik are also long-time friends, who have never hidden this, just as Čović has never hidden his sympathies and goodwill towards the two of them.

It is unnecessary to even speak about the ties between Čović and Dodik. Dodik's stance is that Čović will get a blank check for everything he demands. And in this friendship, the reverse also holds. The SNSD leader publicly advocates and lobbies for Croats to get their own third entity. He also promises help.

Čović also indirectly supports Dodik's intentions to break up BiH. This was best seen recently when HNS delegates in the RS Council of Peoples did not oppose the referendum on RS Day.

Where in this political-friendship company is the Alliance for Changes, whose representatives are in coalition with SDA-SBB and HDZ BiH at the state level? The answer will come on October 2, or rather the post-election period when political forces are measured.

It could very easily happen that Dodik, who has now shown himself cooperative towards the EU, thanks to Radončić and Čović (because Izetbegović will rely on the political acumen of the SBB leader anyway) and the sympathies he has garnered from European officials, enters state government in the next two years, while the Alliance for Changes goes into opposition.