Let institutions not do their job

Elasticity is the property of some materials to return to their original state after the action of a force (deformation) ceases. This applies up to a point known as ‘elasticity limit’. Beyond that point, there is no return to the previous state, i.e., the deformation remains permanent.

What applies to some materials, also applies to institutions. To a certain extent, they can be bent by political or other forces. When the force eases, the institution more or less returns to its original state. But when the authorities overdo the force they exert on the institution, when the elasticity limit is crossed, the institution remains permanently deformed.

In recent days, three examples of institutions that, due to the excessive application of force by the current authorities, have apparently reached the point of permanent deformation have been recorded. The first case is the unexplained dismissing of the director of the regulatory agency HROTE Boris Abramović, a man who warned about the surpluses of HEP’s domestic gas. Then it turned out that long-standing political pressures on USKOK resulted in no one wanting to apply for the director’s position anymore. Finally, within the Osijek police department, there was a cover-up attempt of the true classification of the murder of a girl committed by a police officer of that department.

Sanader’s syndrome

There is some curse in the second consecutive mandate. Ivo Sanader is an example of this. If he had lost to Zoran Milanović when he himself expected (2007), much unpleasantness would not have happened in his life. Let’s leave aside the handover of management of INA and other matters that led him to court and prison. A scene unfolded when an economic awards ceremony was held in a Zagreb hotel. The then Prime Minister arrived in a white van. He got out from the passenger seat and told the driver to let another driver take over. To the surprise of those present, it turned out that the Prime Minister had forced one of his main ministers to be his driver.

One should not expect such extravagances from Andrej Plenković in the remainder of his second mandate, but the ease with which institutions are compromised or the shortcomings made by HDZ members in institutions are relativized has indeed become concerning. And far-reaching dangerous. The dismissal of the HROTE director is a terrible signal to all heads of state agencies. A man who was only doing his job has been punished. The message is: if you want to remain in a leadership position, do not rock the boat. Turn a blind eye to irregularities and illegalities.

Therefore, it is not surprising that no one applied for the position of director of USKOK. Everyone who would meet the requirements knows how things have functioned for years regarding the ‘independence’ of that institution. The President of the Parliament Gordan Jandroković even goes so far in a radio show as to blame the opposition for the lack of applications for the position. As if people do not want to apply because they are criticized by the opposition. Such a level of mockery has not been heard for years.

Bandić’s catchphrase

And when reality is so relativized, it is not surprising that in the case of the murder of a girl in Osijek, the head of the local criminal police dared to state before journalists that it has been ‘irrevocably established’ that the police officer accidentally killed the girl through a dangerous act of negligence. Fortunately, in the institution called DORH, despite years of devastation, there are still those who try to do their job professionally. Thus, there was a change in the ‘irrevocably established’. What is worst, the Minister of the Interior, Davor Božinović, has been assuring for days that there was no attempt at a cover-up. If he cared about the dignity of the institution, he would at least formally order the Internal Control to determine whether those responsible bear any responsibility. But we have reached a point where even basic form is ignored.

Perhaps one day, mid-September 2023 will be marked as a turning point when the authorities overdid the frequency and strength of the force with which state institutions were compromised. Someone will say that the latest cases are just a consequence of nervousness before a super election year. But violence against institutions has been ongoing for years and has continuously intensified even in years without elections. This is now just an acceleration of a trend that could be reduced to a slightly modified catchphrase of the former Mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić. So now it would simply read, without embellishment and sarcasm from Bandić’s days: ‘Let institutions not do their job.

Permanent deformation of institutions does not mean that it will cause the collapse of the current authorities. It is very likely that such violence will not be punished at the elections. This means that the authorities will not fall, but the system of values in society as a whole will be permanently deformed.