UNPRINCIPLED POLITICIAN OR MAYOR

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 9 /SRNA/ - The Mayor of Banja Luka /Draško Stanivuković/ has once again in recent days demonstrated an old political habit - that his political ambition is often more important to him than the office he holds, said SNSD councilor in the Banja Luka City Assembly, Bogoljub Zeljković.

Zeljković told SRNA that instead of considering what is beneficial for the city he leads and the people he represents, Stanivuković chooses what comes most naturally to him: political performance.

"I must admit that he is quite skilled at that," Zeljković emphasized in an opinion piece he wrote for SRNA, which we present in full:

If the goal of such tactics is to be on good terms with Jelena Trivić again, only to have her fall out later with Nebojša Vukanović, then that may be good political tactics. But if we are talking about a strategy that would benefit the Serb people, Republika Srpska, and Banja Luka, then what opens up before us is a rather empty political landscape.

Because the Mayor of Banja Luka always has a choice. He can be an unprincipled politician or a mayor.

In this case, he could have done what any serious mayor in Europe would do - try to make use of a visit by a man who comes from a family whose investments, projects, and business ventures are known worldwide.

Banja Luka is perhaps the best place in Republika Srpska for such investments and development projects, especially at a time when U.S. policy is increasingly focused on infrastructure and economic investment in the region.

The mayor could have initiated a meeting. He could have sought talks with the guest or someone from his team. He could have demonstrated that Banja Luka is a city that knows how to recognize an opportunity and knows how to seize it.

Instead, he chose, like any political opportunist, to attack the bearer of good news and favorable circumstances for Republika Srpska.

That may bring immediate political applause on social media, but in the long run, it says far more about him than about the person he is attacking.

Therefore, before calling something "tragic," the mayor should choose his words more carefully. Especially if we take into account a series of truly tragic episodes from his term in office.

We have kindergartens opened in the middle of an election campaign that gather dust instead of children. We have the largest public lighting tender in the history of Republika Srpska, awarded to a Croatian company, completely excluding Banja Luka-based firms. And then, just a few months later, we have a situation in which the mayor experiences humiliation at the Croatian border.

Is there a greater political tragedy than humiliating both yourself and the city you lead?

That is why it would be wise for the mayor to exercise caution when speaking about guests visiting Banja Luka, particularly when considering the impressive list of individuals he has warmly welcomed and hosted.

He has been visited at City Hall by Benjamina Karić and Christian Schmidt. The mayor rode a bicycle with Viola von Cramon, a German Green politician known for her anti-Serb positions, support for Kosovo’s independence, and political actions against Serbia and Republika Srpska.

Unlike those guests, Donald Trump Jr., who came to Banja Luka at the invitation of Igor Dodik, did not come with the idea of taking anything away from us or abolishing anything.

He came with a message about building a bridge between Republika Srpska and the United States - a bridge of cooperation, economy, and political dialogue.

Bridges, by the way, are a good metaphor for the political reality in this city. Because whenever bridges are discussed in Banja Luka, there is one interesting fact: not a single bridge in this city, not even the one in Česma, has been completed without the SNSD.

And perhaps that is the clearest distinction between politics that puts on a show and politics that gets the job done.