Croatia: Empowerment And Engagement Of Young People In Politics Is Essential For Democracy

Block for Croatia party leadership (L) Ludwig Radic with Ana Lederer (R) Photo: Facebook

The most comprehensive post-election quantitative analysis commissioned by the European Parliament in June 2019 shows that the higher turnout at polling stations across the EU is the result of greater interest from young voters. Citizens under the age of 25 (+ 14%) and those between the ages of 25 and 39 (+ 12%) went to the polls in large numbers. In Croatia, an increase of 5 percentage points was recorded in both age groups (18% turnout of young people up to 24 years of age, 25% turnout of young people in the group of 25-39 years old).

The fact that young people in Croatia, overall, are relatively disinterested and largely abstain from voting in elections, whether they live in Croatia or have emigrated in the past decade in enormous numbers, is a concern particularly because the future, which is theirs more than anybody else’s, is likely not to be the way they would want it unless they engage more. The relatively low levels of interest (closely estimated around 10 to 25% in 2019/2020 presidential/general elections in Croatia) in the young people to vote or become politically engaged are largely a sign of protest against alarmingly pervasive corruption and nepotism in Croatia. Various sources point to a prevalence of reasoning that there is no use in voting because nothing ever changes. This points to an unhealthy environment filled with disappointment and anger at the seeming helplessness of individual citizens, including the young, to change things for the better or to their needs. There are politicians in Croatia that claim that turnout of young people at elections will increase dramatically once trust in the political and other establishments is returned to them! Without actual involvement and engagement of the young within political parties this trust established politicians talk about will not be restored.

Young people need to “own” the process of change and restoration of trust by being and active part of that change.

Millennials – born between 1981 and 1996 – are already the largest living generation and the largest age group in the workforce, they are followed by Generation Z (post-Millennials) – born between 1997 and 2012 – who are the largest living generation in the education system that should largely develop and encourage critical thinking aimed at their surrounds, at the world and its political and economic course. Startups largely associated with the Millennials have revolutionised economies throughout the world although in Croatia they still remain the pursuit of individuals rather than a focused government strategy. Their tastes and appreciation of differences are shifting the culture, and their enormous appetite for social media has transformed human interaction. Politics is the next arena ripe for disruption and rectification of that which stifles progress of the world they live in.  

If a generation shift in young people’s political culture is not taking place, which makes their views and expectations different to those of previous generations, it should be. It is the Millennials and Generation Z that will clarify and assert the role of politics in everyday life. I feel certain of that. It is these generations that will demonstrate that politics should simply mean strategies and actions that create equal opportunities for all or, at least, those that want to take advance of those opportunities both personally and nationally. We see in these younger generations a greater participation in issue-led, rather than ideological, politics and a concern with issues such as the environment, animal rights, pro-life vs. pro-choice, criminal justice reforms, and so on. Issue-led participation in politics overwhelmingly home in on matters that matter on the ground, in everyday life, in immediate surrounds. Hence, this approach to politics has a significant potential in reviving the sense of patriotism lost through decades of materialistic pursuits on the individual level. This more than anything is important in a country like Croatia, which is still after 30 years struggling to fully transition out of the communist regime it was locked into for 50 years in former Yugoslavia.  

And the Millennial coupled with the elder members of Generation Z are coming to Croatia as well as to the rest of the world; the only questions remain are when and how fast will they arrive to take significant hold of the rudder that steers Croatia’s foreseeable future.

Ludwig Radic Photo: Facebook

On Facebook social media  on 9 November, I came across a status post that attracted my attention in the context of young people gaging active interest in political developments and political party membership in Croatia. It was the Facebook profile of a young man from Zagreb, Ludwig Radic and he titled his post “The only light in the darkness of Croatian politics” and the post goes like this:

“THE ONLY LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS OF CROATIAN POLITICS

On this day exactly one year ago a party was founded ‘Block for Croatia’ (Blok za Hrvatsku), which I joined in August this year.

Why the Block for Croatia?

The answer is very simple. When I was politically engaged, I always aspired to ideals, which do not exist at all in mainstream parties. However, in 2016, two people emerged who awakened hope in many to return to a consistent policy. These are the former Minister of Culture, Dr. Zlatko Hasanbegovic and his deputy Dr. Ana Lederer. Many who until then did not want to go to the polls saw a new patriotic icon in the form of Zlatko Hasanbegović.

The first serious collaboration with these people followed the next year during local elections, when we built the Croatian patriotic option in Zagreb together. These people brought to our Croatia something that has long been forgotten and written off in Croatian politics – authenticity. It is currently the highest quality brand within the Croatian right-wing electorate.

The Block for Croatia was formed in extremely difficult circumstances, under a media blockade and the ‘fire’ of some individuals who really believed that our party would not last even a month. Regardless of these circumstances, thanks to the authenticity and consistent policy, we showed our strength in the parliamentary elections in 2020, when Zlatko Hasanbegovic sovereignly entered the Croatian Parliament, even though the entire political mainstream was convinced that his political death was coming. Personally, I think that the establishment and work of the Block can be characterised by the immortal words of the British statesman Winston Churchill ‘blood, sweat and tears’.

The strength of the Block for Croatia lies precisely in its members. These are people who are not classic politicians or demagogues who earn political points on the misery and distress of the suffering Croatian people. On the contrary, we have people who have earned their ‘rating’ solely through hard work, as university professors, literary critics, lawyers, and then as ministers and government officials. It is worth emphasising the fact that the Block for Croatia gives a hand to young people without attached strings, who exclusively want to contribute to the prosperity of our homeland Croatia. When I look at all the circumstances and facts, it was not difficult to make a decision to join the Block. With my experience gained so far, I will help the Block for Croatia to continue on the winning path as before.

I repeat, this is the only light in the darkness of Croatian politics, and our prominent members of the party have proven it with their work so far. I am proud to be a part of this story and I believe we will be even stronger in the future!”

I thought the above to be a wonderfully enlightening article as to how some young people in Croatia think, act and carve their path into democratic engagement. There should be much more of this in the coming decade if Croatia will develop into a full democracy.  Generally, young people are not confident when it comes to participating in the democratic process — and that’s probably contributing to their disengagement from electoral politics. That is, some young people do not actually know how to decide which political party best reflects their views or understand that politics are not a pursuit separated from living standards and life of people in the country.  

Croatia should do more to equip young people to have that confidence to participate in the democratic process, especially when they leave school. That is the only way in generating trust in democracy or restoring the lost one. After all, half of Croatia’s Millennial and all of Croatia’s Generation Z are born after Croatia seceded from the communist Yugoslavia regime and developing democracy in Croatia during the decades after the complete end of the Homeland War in 1998, has been contaminated and stifled by the stubborn remnants of communist regime inheritance. While, fortunately, there are many young people like Ludwig Radic in Croatia asserting their engagement in the political arena their presence, or indeed their impetus still need a higher level of relevance in both pre-election platforms and public office.

Young voters in Croatia can play a crucial role in deciding who wins and who loses an election, helping to shape politics, realpolitik and the Croatian nation for decades to come. With the current political confusion and instability in Croatia, with new general elections and presidential elections due in a handful of years’ time, there is no better time to consider issues concerning the involvement of young people in politics and to reflect on the ways in which the existing systems can encourage them to participate more competently and confidently in the Croatian democratic process and hence, give a boost to an eventual full democracy outcome. Certainly, the mass exodus of young people from Croatia because of the ineffective political platforms in power is a strong motivating force for realpolitik change where this trend of looking outside of Croatia rather than within for a decent livelihood could be reversed. Ina Vukic

(Block for Croatia website: https://www.blokzahrvatsku.hr)

Croatia: Freedom Festival, Media Censorship and Covid-19

Stipo Milnaris, MP (L), Karolina Vidovic Kristo, MP (C)
Zlatko Hasanbegovic, MP (R)
Freedom Festival Zagreb 5 September 2020
Banner: “Free Media is Our Media”
Photo: Screenshot

 

When there is utter censorship of professional and other opinion within the mainstream media, such as in Croatia, then the only way to nationally express a different opinion to the one imposed by the mainstream media is for people to take to the streets and city squares.

Saturday, 5th September 2020 on Ban Jelacic Square in Zagreb, Croatia, saw an event unfold – Freedom Festival.  Several thousand people filled the capital city’s main square, several bus loads arriving from other cities such as Split, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Sibenik and Rijeka.

Organised by the “Rights and Freedom” initiative, the aim of the festival was to advocate for the preservation of the achievements of a democratic society in which decision-making based on panic and propaganda or rewriting instead of re-examination cannot be tolerated. The festival aimed at insistence on the preservation of human rights, freedoms, knowledge, solidarity and mutual respect. “We want to emphasise that our health is a phenomenon on the psychological, physical and mental, and not just on the coronary level,” said a statement on an invitation to the festival flyer.

Freedom Festival Zagreb Croatia
5th September 2020
Banner: “Common sense is our sense”
Photo: Screenshot

In addition to the tourist bus and music, those gathered carried banners with messages such as “Take off your mask, turn off the TV, live life to the fullest”, “Covid is a lie, we are not all covidiots”, “Parents and children are inseparable”, “Better grave than slave”. “Free life is our power,” “Normal and point,” “Resistance against the System”, “Free Media is Our Media” and “We believe in the power we have.” None of those gathered at the festival, which some call a protest, wore a mask.

Freedom Festival Zagreb Croatia
5 September 2020
Banner: “Resistance against the System”
Photo: Boris Kovacev/Cropix

Members of the Croatian Parliament from the Miroslav Skoro Homeland Movement (Domovinski pokret Miroslava Škore) supported the Freedom Festival, mingling with the crowds. They were Stipo Mlinaric and Karolina Vidovic Kristo and Zlatko Hasanbegovic (Block for Croatia)

“What is happening today is the culmination of the denial of human freedoms and rights through some of the measures imposed by the National Civil Protection Headquarters. Current data both in Croatia and in the world indicate that the mortality rate in previous years is comparable to the mortality rate in 2020, the year when the coronavirus appeared.

Yesterday, Dr. Srecko Sladoljev said that the virus is spreading through the population, but that no stronger symptoms develop, so I don’t know if we can talk about a disease caused by a coronavirus infection when the danger of corona fits the risk of colds or flu.

And if so, then we as a civilization are faced with the question of whether we will deny human rights, freedom of movement, expression, media freedom … because someone decided that the danger of coronavirus is terrible, and in fact mortality in the general population in 2020 is comparable to previous years. Many MPs from various clubs in Parliament demanded the removal of Krunoslav Capak and the abolition of the Headquarters.

I am looking for something concrete that can be done immediately, and that is to let experts of different views speak publicly and equally, for example, famous scientists like Srecko Sladoljev, Valerij Vrcek or Dr. Lidija Gajski get media space equal to that of the Headquarter’s Krunoslav Capak, Vili Beros and Alemka Markotic,” said Karolina Vidovic Kristo, MP.

Freedom Festival Zagreb Croatia
5 September 2020
dr Srecko Sladoljev speaks at the event
Photo: Screenshot

That which Karolina Vidovic Kristo, MP, said to journalists at the event was the real point of this Festival and not some Covid-19 denying hordes making noises as some mainstream media try to portray this event. Yes, Covid-19 pandemic was the topic but not to deny it. Rather, to allow differing professional opinions not reaching the people with view to promote informed choices and not be dictated to by a group of individuals who sit in the National Civil Protection Headquarters, sowing fear and paralysis daily.

“The time we live in is the most difficult in the history of mankind,” said Suzana Pesa Vuckovic, adding that the media is an extended arm of politics. “We want media that do not censor.” “We will open all the windows they have closed, all the hearts that have fallen asleep.”

Roberto Mates, a father who camped in front of Pakrac Hospital, said that from Monday, parents will be able to be with their children at Pakrac Hospital 24 hours a day. “Don’t touch our children,” he said.

“I am glad to see a lot of different people, we are all here with one goal, to keep Croatia free. The job of the government is to protect our rights, not to spread fear and panic “, concludes Ivan Pokupec.

The elderly and infirm have been held captive for months, he points out. “Many people died because they did not have adequate medical care, not from the crown.”

“We are the employer, and this is a warning before they are fired.” “Today we are fighting for life and freedom,” he said.

Freedom Festival Zagreb Croatia
5 September 2020
dr Srecko Sladoljev
Photo: Screenshot

The arrival of the ambulance is a demonstration of power, said immunologist Srecko Sladoljev for the ambulance that came to the square at one point.

“This day is bigger than when the presidential elections took place. I always tell the truth and that’s why I’m censored. A few moments ago something happened. An ambulance came, I’ll tell you something about it.

This ambulance, which was parked right there with its sirens and trumpets turned on, is a demonstration of force and those who do not want our freedom.

When Mother Teresa was asked why she did not come to protest against the war, she said that she would have come had a festival of peace been organised. That is why this is a festival, not a protest because on the other side the energies are completely different,” said Sladoljev.

Certainly, the Ambulance vehicle could have passed through the peace-loving and well-behaved crowds silently, but it chose to turn its blasting noise up to the loudest! Indeed, a demonstration of power that also signals a threat.

Freedom Festival Zagreb Croatia
5 September 2020
Banner portraying main personalities
from National Civil Protection Headquarters:
We will vaccinate you all,
for your good and our benefit”
Photo: Screenshot

“We are all first and foremost human beings, and the life of a human being consists of emotions, contacts, family and everything that is human. It is important to stop for a while and feel how the space of humanity around us has narrowed and how the hoop is tightening on all levels “, said Velimir Ponos, a columnist for the Logično portal.

He added that a padlock has been placed on all levels of our being and it is a real lockdown.

“Another illusion is that there is an epidemic in Croatia. The decision on the epidemic was not published in the Official Gazette, if there is no such decision on the Official Gazette, then there is no epidemic ”.

There is no validity of evidence on the effectiveness of masks, he states. “We are treated like guinea pigs; an experiment is performed on us. We are nobody’s toys, we are nobody’s experiments. A dictatorship is being implemented. He can’t mask my face without my approval. That’s what the constitution says, that’s what the law says. The mask on my face can’t be forced.”

It is not acceptable to make measures and decisions, as he emphasises, on the basis of panic and propaganda. “One-sided and without re-examination.”

“As of Monday, our children are threatened by an unhealthy and unnatural environment in schools. There they will be exposed to dramatic experiences. You are depriving children of the basic social contact of closeness, ” he said.

Freedom Festival Zagreb Croatia
5 September 2020
Banner: “For Freedom of Childhood”
Photo: Screenshot

Anita Supe pointed out that everyone gathered here today with the same goal to say: “Enough is enough!”. “We have been feeling the pressure you have been feeling for months, we have heard that you have had enough because we have had enough. We have heard the world and Europe, we have seen Berlin, London, Dublin.”

She added that the measures have no health or human basis. “We have been denied the right to work, companies have been closed and thousands have lost their jobs. Parents are forbidden to stay with their children in hospitals for more than 15 minutes, the elderly are locked up like in a cage in homes … That is why we invite you to forget what separates us rather to remember what unites us. The right to freedom of choice and the right to freedom of opinion and speech. To the true information we have been denied. We will not give up our fundamental rights.”

Ina Vukic

 

Fragmented Body Politic – Symptom Of Lost Control Over Croatia’s Socio-Political Destiny

Photo: Alamy.com/ licensed/copyright (c)

Fragmentation of the so-called patriotic (domoljubne), usually dubbed as right-wing, body politic in Croatia has never been more vigorous than at the present time. All parties and political movements (and there are many) involved proclaim either in words or implications a vigorous critical loyalty to Croatia and, ultimately, to the values of the 1990’s Homeland War. However, regretfully, although all proclaim same or very similar political-social goals, burrows that separate them from each other appear insurmountable.

Fragmented body, say many an academics in the world, symbolises castration anxiety as well as loss of control; in this case over national direction. The emergence and seemingly flourishing on life-support from sections of the electorate of more than 150 political parties in Croatia vying for power, espousing a desperate need for change, may be construed as evidence that control has actually been lost in Croatia especially over the process of full democratisation as espoused in the values of the Homeland War.

In recent years, it has become obvious to all but the willfully blind that much is not well with the Croatian self-determination and ordered liberty to be had in a functional democracy where red tape and corruption are minimised (where detrimental practices inherited from the communist Yugoslavia era are thoroughly weeded out from society and public administration).

The signs that something is seriously wrong are myriad:

  • a degree of political polarisation unprecedented since the era when Croats won the bloody war of Serb aggression in 1990’s through which independence was won – through which Croatia seceded from communist Yugoslavia
  • a bitter and debilitating culture war between and within both the left-winged (mainly former communists) and right-winged (who pursue decommunisation and Croatian national identity in accordance with Homeland War values) political spectrum that appears to define and/or steer everyday life of even ordinary people;
  • the erosion of the bonds of civic amity and emergence of a civic culture animated by mutual hatred and contempt based on political ideology and directions in which Croatia should develop and assert its place in the democratic world;
  • a pervasive cynicism and a growing crisis of legitimacy of all or any party or movement body politic;
  • the seeming loss of any notion of an overarching common good to which private interests must be subordinated and resultant understanding of politics as a zero-sum game;
  • and what might be called “gridlock” wherein the fragmentation of the national body politic into a plethora of competing interests (more often personal than not) whose conflicting and ever-escalating demands induce something akin to political paralysis. (Most Croatians are acutely and keenly aware that the system is broken, that public institutions are not functioning the way they should in a democracy but seem unsure as to how to fix this.)

Indeed, Croatia (as do some Western countries) seems to be witnessing the rise of what several political scientists call “anomic democracy” in which democratic politics becomes more an arena for the assertion of conflicting interests than the building of common purposes. A common purpose for Croatia, as the values asserted via the 1990’s Homeland War tell us, is that of democratisation and decommunisation. The latter encapsulates the absolute need to rid the country of the totalitarian-like control in all aspects of state authority and expression whether it be in user-friendly legislation that promotes economic growth, an independent judiciary or balanced mainstream media etc.

In fact, so divided does Croatia appear and so dysfunctional has its politics become that it feels like being in the midst a “cold civil war”.  The vitriol that gushes out between people of differing political allegiances is often suffocating. Perhaps herein lies the reason why true national leaders, whom a significant portion of people trust, are practically non-existent or, at least, invisible, or not afforded a chance to shine in the environment of many egocentric or “I know best” players.

Croatia’s critical public consensus regarding secession from communist Yugoslavia was at its peak during 1990’s and the Croatian Democratic Union/HDZ led this field of goal-focused national harmony. Then came year 2000 and increased subversive political activities from former communists which resurrected Pro-communist Yugoslavia nostalgia in at least 30% of the Croatian national body politic. This, undoubtedly, led to the collapse of the overwhelmingly widespread consensus as to how Croatia should develop and a disastrous and shameful treatment of war veterans from the Homeland War. The results of such a collapse in consensus is a society that begins to disintegrate into collection of warring tribes. The most striking example of this occurs when a society explodes into bitterly opposed camps that, disagreeing fundamentally on the moral and political principles that should govern public life, are ultimately unable to coexist in peace. It is not rare to come across people in Croatia who believe that nothing bar “gunpowder” will save Croatia, i.e. bring it back to the point of “Croatia above all else” that was in the 1990’s! On a lighter or less dramatic note, as the public philosophy that united Croatian people in the 1990’s gradually disappears, the society splinters into a multitude of hostile groups – a multitude of political tribes, as it were, which far from viewing each other as partners in a common enterprise and exhibiting an attitude of trust or civility toward one another, will instead view each other with hostility, fear and resentment.

At the same time, insofar as decisions on public policy involve the use of means to achieve social goals, the loss of shared purposes make decision-making increasingly difficult, if not impossible. If we can’t agree about where we are trying to go, how are we ever going to agree about – or even rationally discuss – the best means to get there? In short, the groups into which the polity has fragmented will be increasingly unable to reach agreement about public policies, increasingly reluctant to make compromises, and increasingly unwilling to sacrifice their own interests for the good of the community as a whole. Thus, unified action on the part of the community will become increasingly difficult if not impossible and political paralysis increasingly possible. The machinery of democracy continues to operate, but effective governance becomes impossible. The end result is the loss by the state of its legitimacy, its moral authority.

Today in this year of General Elections due around September election platforms are already being formulated and it is not unusual to come across the slogan or rhetoric that goes something like this: ”We will return Croatia to the Croatian People”, “We will return the government to the people”, etc. These emerge from a number of political parties or movements, particularly those who have positioned themselves on the right-wing or conservative side of the political spectrum.

But, how can you have “government by the people,” without having a people?

Surely, the multitudes of political parties and movements – the many personalities vying for the top, result in the scattering of votes (people) that would form that critically needed consensus for the country. Today in Croatia, pluralism has grown to the point where, we’ve reached the stage where we are ceasing to agree even in basic respects on what man is and how he should live, where morally and intellectually we can scarcely be considered one people. This is particularly visible in the shambles and political trade-offs regarding the importance for Croatia’s sovereignty of the Homeland War. The ever-growing loudness of pro-former-communist regime via left-wing parties and political movements, aggravates the critical consensus for national direction to a painful level. Hence, the common body of cultural capital on which Croatia has historically traded is disappearing noticeably, and its political institutions have become increasingly dysfunctional in that they fail to adhere to common good and insert into the “national” the “personal” interests. As for what the future holds, insofar as the prospects for re-establishing some type of substantive consensus any time in the foreseeable future seem slim, it seems likely we’re looking at dysfunction as far as the eye can see. And, that is not, to put it gently, a happy prospect.

Our politically fragmented country, as reflected in the current heated political factions, created an embankment foreclosing the opportunity for the creation of real discourse. The impetus is on us, the citizen, to act as catapults and destroy that wall, and partake in holistic discourse with one another, to push for and stand behind a leader who has not lost sight of why Croatia fought for independence and has the skill and supporting “machinery” to avert the possible disaster of the loss of Croatian identity and will. This thought, or rather wish, leads me to the beginning of this article regarding the fragmentation of the patriotic body politic.

On Sunday March 15th the Croatian Democratic Union/HDZ (current major political party holding a coalition government) is holding Party elections, characterised by the split of the party into two evidently viciously warring camps. Current President Andre Plenkovic and his team on one side and Miro Kovac and his team on the other – each asserting that they are the right people to reinvigorate this fragmented party into what it once was – a party to be looked up to by a large proportion of the nation’s population. The implications of this rest on the realisation that even the Croatia’s major political party, that ushered in Croatian independence and secession from communism, has lost the critical consensus regarding where Croatia should go or should be; one faction claiming to be “more Croatian” than the other.  Furthermore, also on the right-wing of politics, there are a number of political parties and movements and independent politicians vying for a similar outcome if elected into government at this year’s General Elections. The leading groups opposing HDZ’s control of the right-winged or patriotic electorate are the Croatian Sovereignists (led by Hrvoje Zekanovic and made up of a number of smaller political parties and individual activists) and their current coalition partners in the Parliamet (Block for Croatia/Zlatko Hasanbegovic and independent MP Zeljko Glasnovic) as well as the newly founded Domoljubni Pokret (Patriotic Movement) headed by Mirislav Skoro.

There does not seem to be much movement on either the left or the right side of the political spectrum to reel into their fold voters from the opposing ideological camps. This of course suggests that nationally, ideological divisions still prevail and, hence, attachments to individual politicians rather than party programs (for all the people regardless of their political ideology). Political ideology defined life during the communist Yugoslavia era and it seems it will take some serious work in order to free the people of this burden, and encourage them to look beyond political personalities when voting. Otherwise, fragmentation of body politic will continue to flourish even though the race to secure a cushy position for the individual politician and not for true representation of voter or constituency needs is obvious, and in essence disliked by the very constituency.

As socio-political actors, it is time when people and politicians need to realise that they are not on a crusade when it comes to Croatia as a legitimate State; rather, that they are, at this time of severe fragmentation of body politic,  on an exploratory expedition to bring Croatia to how it was imagined and fought for during the Homeland War. Croatia is independent, sovereign and as such has the capacity and validity to make its own decisions for national welfare.

While the end-goal of electoral politics is winning, it should also be more about the advancement of certain programmes and policies. In a democracy it is the latter that brings in votes. And when faced with the reality of electoral or body politic fragmentation arrived at through personal ambitions of individual politicians, unless critical consensus is reached between them, leading to programme-framed and managed coalition – victory is poor, if at all existent. An interesting six-month period for Croatia and its progress into full democratisation and national identity – coming to your door! Play your part for Croatia! Ina Vukic

 

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