Recently, a book by Ivan Burić titled ‘Sociology of Croatian Society’ was published. In the section dealing with social values, the author recalls the research of Krunoslav Nikodem, which indicates that ‘values of political authoritarianism are rising in Croatia’. Although support for the democratic political system in Croatia remains consistently high (90.1 percent in 2017), an increasing number of citizens consider certain aspects of an authoritarian political system to be ‘good’. In 1999, 11.5 percent of citizens believed it was good to ‘have a political leader who does not look back at the government and elections’. Twenty years later, that share has increased to as much as 38.6 percent. Among the youth, the call for a powerful leader jumped from 32 to as much as 47 percent.
Whether we want to admit it or not, most politicians intuitively sense the preferences of voters. Therefore, it is not surprising that the pre-election competition in Croatia is marked by a duel between two leaders, each in their own way, who favor authoritarianism. The current Prime Minister and head of HDZ, Andrej Plenković, has been slowly building the image of a strong leader over the past seven years, subordinating most institutions that should be somewhat independent. Recently, he has also targeted EU institutions (the Office of the European Public Prosecutor). On the other hand, the challenger in the form of the President of the Republic, Zoran Milanović, demonstrates his determination in the project ‘Rivers of Justice Coming’ by openly opposing the Constitutional Court.
Hamster in democracy
The increasing inclination of citizens towards strong leaders is most often associated with the weaknesses of democracy: increasingly pronounced corruption, nepotism, and the erosion of institutions. It is often emphasized that economic reasons are not decisive in the decision of young people to leave the country. However, this is not true. People are dissatisfied with the entire politically democratic, but also economically capitalist package. Democracy and capitalism have not fulfilled the expectations with which socialism was left in the nineties. This is the main reason why authoritarian leaders are coming to power and staying in power longer in many countries. Croatia has so far been spared extreme scenarios, but there are many signals that we are on the path to joining the ‘fashion trend’.
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The rulers will pull out statistical data on the growth of wages and pensions and the increasing GDP per capita. But every now and then, examples emerge in the media that show that much of it is an illusion. The experience of a hamster that persistently runs faster in that wheel but is actually not moving from its place.
Examples? After thirty years of returning to capitalism, fewer and fewer families in Croatia can afford a week of summer vacation by the sea. And children’s day trips are paid in installments. Pensioners, even those who had above-average earnings during their working lives, cannot afford a home for the elderly in Croatia. So, an increasing number are going to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the end of socialism, renting was expensive, but now the latest stories say that young families can no longer find rental apartments at an affordable price. So, the geniuses from the HDZ election headquarters announce that the state will subsidize the difference between the market and affordable rental prices. It is clear that landlords will raise the ‘market’ price even more to get more from the state.
Buying an apartment for young families is as challenging as it was in 1988. Back then, one fell into debt slavery, which is also the case now. And it was necessary, as it is today, to work two jobs to patch up the household budget.
Truth in old cars
And here is one, it seems to me, still unspoken comparison in public. The vehicle fleet in Croatia is getting older. It has reached 14.6 years. And do you know what the average age of vehicles was at the end of the eighties, just before the collapse of socialism? A study by the Economic Institute – Zagreb from 1989 estimated that the average age of cars in Yugoslavia at that time was 12.5 years. In Croatia, as a more developed republic, the age was probably even lower.
Of course, the durability of the then Zastava vehicles and today’s global brands is incomparable. But it remains a presumption that both then and now, drivers want to have newer cars. There is clearly a reason why cars today are older than they were three decades ago. There is that slogan in front of the railway crossing ‘The train is always faster’. It could be paraphrased to say that today ‘prices are always faster’.
When the feelings of social injustices and purchasing power, which has not actually improved, are summed up, it is not surprising that a large part of the population is seeking an alternative. Enlightened absolutisms usually end up as ordinary, inefficient absolutisms, but collective memory is short.
