Little Tomorrow, Milanović

Our Government, it is evident, cannot last long without gaffes. The latest in a series is, we can freely interpret it this way, a diplomatic scandal resulting from Angela Merkel’s absence, the Chancellor of the most influential country in the EU, regarding the celebration of our country’s entry into that association.

This is the biggest slap that Prime Minister Zoran Milanović has received since he took office in Banski dvori, and it is a slap that echoes in the ears. Chancellor Merkel, by refusing to come to Zagreb on June 30 (almost certainly due to ‘lex Perković’), not only sent a message that the times when basic rules of the game were changed for pure political reasons are over, but with this move, she embarrassed Milanović’s Government precisely at the moment when the top leaders of our country were supposed to be the proudest among their esteemed guests.
The statement that arrived from Banski dvori very quickly after the media broke the news that Merkel would not come insults the intelligence of the citizens of Croatia. The statement reads: ‘Yesterday, the Office of the Prime Minister was confirmed by the Office of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel that, due to other obligations, she will not be able to attend the central celebration of Croatia’s entry into the European Union in Zagreb on June 30.’
First of all, Angela Merkel had already noted in her planner that she was to come to Zagreb on June 30, so if there is anyone in this country naive enough to believe the statement from Markov trg, then even if naive, they would be smart enough to wonder what urgent obligations Merkel has that would suddenly change her planned activities from her planner. The Government assures us that Merkel has more important work than attending an event that is important not only for Croatia but also for EU countries. On that day, something is happening that does not occur very often, which is that a new member is being admitted to that association, and indeed only some super important event should change Angela Merkel’s plans. However, there are no announcements that Barack Obama is coming to Germany nor that any other leaders are meeting anywhere, most other leaders will be in Zagreb that day, and there is no crisis situation in Germany that requires the Federal Government to urgently convene, so it is clear that a pure lie has been sent to the public from the Government. Admittedly, formally speaking, it is not because I have no doubt that the Office of the Federal Chancellor indeed wrote that Angela Merkel is busy that day, but it is known that this is a matter of ordinary diplomatic courtesy.

Secondly, by issuing the statement, the Government scored another own goal. The first was playing against Germany (‘lex Perković’), and the second was scored playing against the public when they themselves wrote that ‘yesterday (Tuesday, June 25, ed.) it was confirmed’ that Angela Merkel would not come. That it is not a benign matter is clear from the fact that the public was not informed immediately after the confirmation of her absence. No, this was senselessly concealed until the media found out about it, and I can imagine what panic they were in the Government for 24 hours thinking about what to say to the public.
Angela Merkel also sent a message that from July 1, the rules agreed upon must be followed, not whatever one pleases. Therefore, the celebration of Croatia’s entry into the EU will seriously be overshadowed by this diplomatic scandal. And with the senseless silence and the word ‘yesterday’ in the statement, they only revealed to the public that this statement is pure nonsense, so we are left to tell Milanović only ‘little tomorrow’.