With national parties against national parties

By: Armin Aljovic

SNSD will represent the Serbs. In the Republika Srpska, one of the two entities in BiH, SNSD dominates over the oppositional SDS and PDP, and it will become part of the state government. HDZ does not have an opposition, so that party will represent Croat politics from the cantons over the Federation to the state government. Who will be the fourth partner from the Federation besides SDA is yet to be seen.

The HDZ president Dragan Covic stated after the meeting with SDA on Monday that the Council of Ministers i.e. an equivalent of the state government, should be formed in the next couple of days. 'I trust that BiH will get a representative for the Council of Ministers within the next 7 days. And for that to happen, all those who aspire to be in the government will have to sit once more as that is too delicate a question', said Covic.

BH Bloc consisted of 3 parties – SDP BiH, DF and Nasa Stranka, have earlier refused to enter the government with the national parties. That's why SDA has been negotiating with SBB, A-SDA and PDA over the last few days. As it is not possible to form government with only 3 national parties, some backing up is required from left or center parties. 'The approach based political vanities and refusing contacts and meetings can hardly be called 'statesman's', said SBB's Fahrudin Radoncic, underlining his readiness to be part of parliamentary majority in the next 4 years.

SDA, SNSD and HDZ are the three strongest ethnic parties in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, it has become apparent that the politics solely based on ethnic principles in BiH brings about ethnic divisions, it also generates corruption and weakens country's economy. In the RS, SNSD has been in power for over a decade, and that entity is today at the brink of economic collapse, while the rule of law is at its lowest since the end of the war. In the parts of Herzegovina where HDZ rules, nothing can be done without approval of that political party, while the institutions controlled by SDA are also contaminated by corruption, with the state budget being spent mainly for the interests of that party.

The responsibility of the fourth partner in the future government of BiH is huge. It will be difficult to reconcile the national and the civil. While national parties are caged in ethnic frames, and the citizens are blackmailed to fear the other, the new partner will have to break free and show that the rule of law and economy are precondition for any development of society, including preservation of ethnic elements. It is likely to be a sort of coalition with national parties against national parties.