‘Accountability’: the main Orešković and Croatian linguistic problem

‘Accountability’ is not just responsibility but responsibility with consequences, which the mandate implies. If he teaches his associates such an ‘Americanized’ responsibility, we have a chance.

The candidate for Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia, Tihomir Orešković, has spent most of his life outside Croatia and his working life in the international business world. One of the first characteristics of the new Prime Minister that has been publicly emphasized is that he sometimes expresses himself grammatically incorrectly. Given that there is a part of the communication barrier due to the fact that he has lived outside the country for a long time, as a person who has also been educated and worked internationally in Canada, I feel the need to point out that there are words in the Prime Minister’s vocabulary that are extremely important for the future of all who will work with him. Of these, one is invaluable for successful communication with him. Unfortunately, it is not in the Croatian dictionary – that word is ‘accountability’.

Independence without consequences

Very often, this word is incorrectly translated as ‘responsibility’, but there is no equivalent in the Croatian language. There is only a descriptive translation, ‘responsibility with consequences’. Namely, a significant characteristic of Croatia in all elements of society is often the emphasis on responsibility and autonomous decision-making – ‘independence of institutions’, but no one mentions the consequences for the decisions made and behavior, regardless of whether those consequences are good or bad.

In addition to the lack of an equivalent word for ‘accountability’, another confusion has arisen in Croatia: that the word ‘independence’ is a synonym for irresponsibility, and that applies to anyone and for anything and towards anyone. The issue of irresponsibility can be easily illustrated. Namely, no one should influence the decisions made in courts, but the question must be asked why two judges in the same court and in similar cases have a different number of rulings in the same period. The question must be asked why two doctors in an outpatient examination differ so much that one has an average of two examinations, while the other has ten for the same number of hours. This problem exists in both fiscal and monetary policy. The Prime Minister must hold accountable (with consequences) the minister who is unable to reduce the deficit and stimulate economic growth through fiscal policy measures within the agreed timeframe, just as the Parliament must hold accountable (with consequences) the governor of the Croatian National Bank who states that the measures of the Croatian National Bank have caused an increase in external debt or that the Croatian National Bank does not see what could have been done regarding the problem with loans in Swiss francs.

There are many such questions in all segments of society. This is precisely the problem of the way of functioning because everyone is rushing to be responsible and independent, but no one wants to bear the consequences. The Prime Minister comes from a world where one must be accountable for decisions made and behavior. A world based on the word ‘accountability’.

Investment colonization

In this context, no one is interfering with the independence of institutions, but institutions through their responsible persons must be accountable for the current state and for what they do or do not do, and they should be doing. This is not about whether someone should interfere in someone else’s business or influence decision-making; it is about asking why the work is not being done. This is neither an attack nor an intrusion into independence; it is simply a question of responsibility and the consequences of not doing the job. That is, whether someone has or does not have ‘accountability’ for their behavior, position, and decisions made.

From the above, it is clear that the problem with the linguistic barrier of the future Prime Minister is much greater than what all his associates think. Namely, when he uses the Croatian word ‘odgovornost’, he means responsibility with consequences – ‘accountability’; and those who listen to him think that there will be no consequences. That is precisely why the future of the Prime Minister is actually very simple – he will either be colossally successful or colossally unsuccessful.

If the Prime Minister teaches his associates to behave according to the meaning of the word ‘accountability’, they will pass it on to their associates, and the overall way of functioning of the government in the country will simply change. In doing so, all institutions will be independent in decision-making, but they will have to bear the consequences for the results of those decisions. If the Prime Minister fails to impose such a way of performing duties, with consequences, we will simply face a future that some economists invoke with the phrase ‘foreign investments’, actually meaning the transformation of the state into a colony through the sale of assets.