T K Vogel — research & analysis

On October 1, Haris Silajdžic took a leisurely stroll down Sarajevo’s main pedestrian street. He had good reason to be pleased with himself on that sunny and warm Sunday.

In what resembled an anointment more than a competitive election, voters in the Croat-Muslim Federation were about to hand him the Muslim slot on Bosnia’s three-member presidency.

Silajdžic comprehensively defeated the incumbent from the nationalist Party for Democratic Action (SDA), of which he had once been a leading member.

Such a peaceful election was by no means preordained given the country’s disastrous economic situation, the enduring division between Croats, Serbs and Muslims — and the nastiness of a campaign dominated by fear-mongering and personal attacks.

But just as discontent was breaking into the open in Central Europe with riots in Budapest’s streets, Bosnians registered their unhappiness the old-fashioned way: at the ballot box.

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