After Glavas - Glavas

AIM Zagreb, 12 June, 1998

"I am not at all interested in the post of the district prefect", declared on Friday, 12 June, five days after rumour leaked in public that Anica Horvat, district prefect of Osijek-Baranja had resigned, her predecessor, now general of the Croatian Army (HV), Branimir Glavas. Had he not on the 27 October last year, when he was saying good-bye to the post he had loved so much, said the meaningful "see you again", and after his formal transfer to the Osijek office of the General Staff of HV, had he not remained in politics with nine out of his ten fingers, perhaps one could have believed him. But as it is, one should stick to the wise political slogan: never say never.

Anica Horvat, 61-year old prefect of Osijek-Baranja district, wrote her resignation back on 2 June, but it became known by pure accident. When the story about her departure came out in the open, it was heard that she had informed only vice-chairman of the Croatian state assembly, Vladimir Seks, and president of the district committee of the Croat Democratic Community (HDZ), Zoran Kovacevic, about her intention. Although she did not belong to any party (she did declare herself to be a sympathizer, but not a member of the HDZ), she saw it fit to inform about her decision - apart from the governor of Slavonia Seks - the party whose candidate for district prefect she had been. It seems that the information about prefect's resignation leaked in the Assembly cafe, that it was Vladimir Seks who said it, since Zoran Kovacevic, president of the Osijek branch of the ruling party, on Monday evening still resolutely claimed to the journalists that it was a pure fabrication. But, when the journalists found out the district prefect's private telephone number (strangely it was accessible to the public!) and directly asked her whether the information about her resignation was true, just a quarter of an hour after Kovacevic's resolute denial, she confirmed her departure.

Although as reasons for her resignation she stated excessive work, health and age, it is clear to everyone that these are just formulations from the "classical political heritage" which are resorted to when one wishes to conceal real motives. Those who are following the political life of eastern Croatia will agree that the three main reasons for her announced departure are: transition and privatization of local economy; Glavas's cadre whom she clashed with in the field; and the hopeless economic situation left to her by her predecessor, Branimir Glavas. Apart from that, in the party she relies on and whose sympathizer she says she is, she is not at all respected, especially since Glavas has realized that the district prefect was not ready to rent her post for implementation of his political plans and ambitions.

As it is known, Glavas was forced to leave his post of the district prefect in October last year after two big issues, unfortunately for him, coincided. At the height of pressures of the international community (primarily former transitional administrator of UNTAES, Jacques Paul Klein and William Walker, and US ambassador in Croatia at the time Peter Galbraith), which considered Glavas a powerful hindrance to the process of peaceful reintegration, he opened heavy artillery fire at prime minister Zlatko Matesa. Unfortunately for Glavas, Tudjman took Matesa's side, so the Osijek-Baranja district prefect was forced to withdraw. It seemed to him at the time that the self-sacrificing, undiscreditted and politically inexperienced deputy might be an ideal person who could be manipulated if installed in his place. But, he was wrong. Although it was clear to everyone, and probably to Anica Horvat herself, that without Glavas's support she would have never become the district prefect, in her case it proved how correct the following test is: give somebody power to see what he is really like.

Soon after that, the former district prefect started to complain about his successor. Various papers intended to compromise her were literally shoved under journalists' noses: from tax returns which, with her salary and compensations for memberships in management boards, annually amounted to up to 100 thousand German marks, to nomination of her own son at the head of the Osijek non-tariff zone and alleged reconstruction of her daughter's apartment with the money allocated for reconstruction of homes of banished persons. It was clear that her political career would be short, so that the period of less than seven months she has spent at the head of the district, in such conditions, cannot be considered to be short.

Different names of her possible successors are already circling Osijek, but nobody who is even the least cautious dares say that Glavas is not among the most serious candidates for the post. It is certain that president Tudjman will have the final say about it (according to the constitution he is entitled to veto election of the district prefect, should he be dissatisfied), but Vladimir Seks will be in charge of it. Seks and Glavas are friends, although in politics friendship is a relative category. They are connected by joint memories of foundation of the HDZ in Osijek, as they like to say - the core from which the ruling party emerged. It is quite clear that Seks will not make any suicidal moves in order to inaugurate Glavas, but being a cunning politician, he knows very well that it would be almost impossible to pass a vote in the district assembly in favour of a prefect who does not enjoy support of Glavas. Therefore, Seks will not have an easy time: should he receive an order from Tudjman to appoint somebody Glavas does not approve of, he could experience what Ivic Pasalic did when he travelled to Mostar and hopelessly tried to appoint Tudjman's protege for the president of B&H HDZ.

This somebody whom Tudjman might propose and who Glavas would not approve of, could be Ivica Vrkic, current director of the state agency for realestate trade. Vrkic has played and exceptionally important role in the process of peaceful reintegration, he has the support of the international community as a moderate and sensible man, he has excellent connections with Vesna Skare-Ozbolt, person whose opinion Tudjman esteems. But, Glavas resents him, and a part of "original HDZ members" still think of Vrkic as a turncoat from the Croat National Party (HNS), denying him participation in "nation-building". Other candidates who are mentioned in Osijek are from Glavas's cadre, but it is difficult to believe that Zagreb would agree with the choice such as Berislav Smit, Drago Tadic or Zeljko Svedl, who are known to be strongly influenced by the former Osijek-Baranja district prefect. One of the candidates, maybe even the most probable one is Zoran Kovacevic, current president of the district committee of the HDZ. But he is constantly in a latent conflict with Glavas, and even mentioning of Kovacevic's name as the possible replacement for Anica Horvat caused vehement reactions of the "original HDZ members".

In circles close to the ruling party in Osijek it is openly claimed that Kovacevic's political days are numbered and that he will be removed from the post of the president of the district committee of the HDZ in about a fortnight. Should that really happen, a confusing situation will emerge in eastern Slavonia: the district will be left both without its prefect and without the president of the committee of the ruling party. Since the resignation of Anica Horvat will not be discussed before 2 July, in such circumstances Glavas will have plenty of time to use his opportunity. Being a master of intrigue, in political chaos that may be created by overthrowing of Kovacevic, Glavas will feel perfectly at ease and probably offer himself as the savior. How the governor of Slavonia, Vladimir Seks, will feel in all that, with Tudjman's order who should be the district prefect, is quite a different issue.

DRAGO HEDL