The President of the Party of Democratic Action Bakir Izetbegović told BHRT that he will be a candidate for the Presidency of BiH, and official confirmation is expected today at the session of the SDA Presidency.
“I intentionally let this take a long time, so that people in the SDA can think carefully, because I will definitely not run for office myself,” said Izetbegović, adding that he received 100 percent support from the party.
He emphasizes that he is convinced of his victory, although, as he points out, the President of the SBB, Fahrudin Radončić, should not be underestimated either.
“Radončić is a capable man, he should not be underestimated,” believes the SDA President.
Izetbegović says that the Troika, together with Bećirović, has lost the trust of the people.
“I think the people are fed up with this government, and rightly so. They are aware that if Bećirović stays, the Troika will stay and the situation will worsen,” he emphasized.
Speaking about economic indicators, Izetbegović claimed that around 10,000 jobs had been lost in recent months and that public companies, which had previously performed positively, were now facing financial problems. He blamed the Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina for this situation, stating that every government led by the SDP, according to him, had left negative consequences.
He stressed that the SDA, as the largest political party in the country, should take a leading role in political processes, while he said that the SDP could be a partner, but not the bearer of political direction. He also recalled the war period, stating that the then SDA leader Alija Izetbegović led key processes, while Zlatko Lagumdžija had a more secondary role.
Commenting on the work of the federal government and Prime Minister Nermin Nikšić, Izetbegović said that the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing stagnation, economic decline and growing problems, adding that without new debts, a large number of pensioners would be below the poverty line.
“Absolutely nothing is going well, everything is blocked, in the red, sinking, we have lost 10,000 jobs in the FBiH. If they had not borrowed money, we would have had 80 percent of pensioners below the poverty line, they would not have been able to buy bread and medicine. And everything was in the red.”
Regarding the work of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina, he said that its actions depend on a political agreement between the leaders of the HDZ and SNSD, Dragan Čović and Milorad Dodik.
Speaking about the departure of High Representative Christian Schmidt, Izetbegović said that such a development of events partially surprised him, especially since, as he claims, Schmidt did not complete the reforms of the electoral process and the introduction of new electoral technologies before leaving.
He criticized Schmidt for the decisions made at the beginning of his mandate, assessing that the amendments to the Constitution and the electoral system weakened the political position of Bosniaks. However, he stated that he later took certain steps that he considered positive, including blocking the attempt to transfer state property to the level of Republika Srpska.
He also expressed the opinion that Schmidt was politically close to HDZ and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, and that their connections influenced certain decisions of the High Representative.
Regarding former High Representative Valentin Inzko, he said that he was sympathetic to Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that he did not have enough determination for stronger political moves. Izetbegović believes that Schmidt should impose the law on state property before leaving, and sees a person who will have more political determination and authority as his successor.
Commenting on the issue of the Southern Interconnection, he said that he sees the presence of the American side as a “lesser evil”, claiming that the HDZ had previously slowed down the implementation of the project. He added that the state must prevent any energy monopoly and ensure market competition.
Speaking about the draft law on proportional representation, he assessed that there are chances that the HDZ will support it due to its interest in the position of Croats in areas where they are a minority.
Finally, he also addressed political relations in the region, stating that, in his opinion, there are long-term political pressures in Croatia related to the idea of a third entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but that they are being implemented more subtly than in Serbia.
