Thieves in Politics: Honest Politicians Should Defend Us from All Theft

Marko Starčić has had his five minutes of fame. The young member of the Living Wall shouted during Prime Minister Plenković’s statement last Thursday in Poreč: ‘HDZ – thieves. Scoundrels!’ For this, he received an express misdemeanor report. Not for insulting or slandering, but for – disturbing public order and peace. In the meantime, he has printed T-shirts with that slogan. So far, there is no news about a ban on the T-shirt that disturbs public order and peace.

This only continues my theme from last week about (in)equality before the law. To remind, I defended Zdravko Mamić from death threats he received on social media. No, I did not defend Mamić’s arrogance and his violence, nor did I convince readers of his innocence in the lawsuits the state is conducting against him, I did not support his moves in Dinamo that are destroying the club I support, which has just lost its European autumn… Regardless of all that – about which I have written very critically in this column on several occasions – I still believe that even that kind of Mamić deserves to be defended from bullets and death threats. And for that, lonely chroniclers are not enough.

>>> Zdravko Mamić as a Test of Equality Before the Law

However, the state has not particularly engaged itself. The media have exhausted themselves, and the police cover themselves with the classic ‘the investigation is ongoing.’ A week ago, I wondered whether the police would react to the online death threats against Mamić as promptly as they did when threats were made against a bishop and a prime minister. Of course, there was no such reaction.

Equally promptly, the police reacted to the murder of the fan Ivan Mate Blažević in Stobreč. A warrant for Nikola Gusić Janjić, suspected of murder, was issued only after 18 days. And the prime minister, to whom ‘public order and peace were disturbed,’ commented on the police action in Poreč with a Pilate-like washing of hands: ‘The law must be enforced.’ Thus, the Mesić and Bandić ‘let the institutions do their job.’

But institutions work faster in one case, slower in another. The shout against HDZ in Poreč thus deserved a quicker reaction than the police, judicial, and political evaluation of the inscription ‘For Home Ready’ in Jasenovac. I do not mean to say that there are thieves and scoundrels in HDZ (at least not in a greater percentage than in other parties), but that honest majority should be ready for the Poreč, even pejorative, expression of dissatisfaction with party, and even state policy. And they should defend all of us from rogues, that is, scoundrels in their ranks.