se times
30/12/2010
If Croatia's Ivo Sanader craved a return to the spotlight, it likely wasn't in this way.
By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb -- 30/12/10
If Croatia's Ivo Sanader craved a return to the spotlight, it likely wasn't in this way.
By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb -- 30/12/10
Following the arrest and detention of former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader in Salzburg, the Croatian public has developed a seemingly insatiable appetite for information about the case.
The country's media outlets are happy to serve up any details -- corroborated or not – that they can find. These include Sanader's alleged role in the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank scandal, the police search of his house in Zagreb, and the confiscation of his art collection.
Croatian bloggers, too, are weighing in on the case. Few show any sympathy for the embattled politician.
The media's obsession with the intricacies of Sanader's life goes back a long way, writes columnist Srecko Horvat, and is rooted in the image he cultivated of himself as a leader.
"Do you remember how he was [portrayed as] 'tanned and in high spirits' last year while spending a holiday on an 18m yacht, or how he was 'sun-tanned and in top shape' last October when he landed at the Zagreb airport?"
Given such fawning, Horvat writes, it's no surprise that the public is now being inundated with reports about "what his cell looks like, which toilet he goes to and how often he takes a shower".
Zriha believes that whatever malfeasance may have taken place, it was hardly limited to the prime minister. "Sanader should have been arrested four years ago, and the entire government should have been dismissed because of the decisions made by Sanader and his allies, who are still holding high-ranking positions," she writes.
The country's media outlets are happy to serve up any details -- corroborated or not – that they can find. These include Sanader's alleged role in the Hypo Alpe Adria Bank scandal, the police search of his house in Zagreb, and the confiscation of his art collection.
Croatian bloggers, too, are weighing in on the case. Few show any sympathy for the embattled politician.
The media's obsession with the intricacies of Sanader's life goes back a long way, writes columnist Srecko Horvat, and is rooted in the image he cultivated of himself as a leader.
"Do you remember how he was [portrayed as] 'tanned and in high spirits' last year while spending a holiday on an 18m yacht, or how he was 'sun-tanned and in top shape' last October when he landed at the Zagreb airport?"
Given such fawning, Horvat writes, it's no surprise that the public is now being inundated with reports about "what his cell looks like, which toilet he goes to and how often he takes a shower".
Zriha believes that whatever malfeasance may have taken place, it was hardly limited to the prime minister. "Sanader should have been arrested four years ago, and the entire government should have been dismissed because of the decisions made by Sanader and his allies, who are still holding high-ranking positions," she writes.
On a similar note, Horvatinkoln criticises former allies who have since gone out of their way to distance themselves from Sanader. The whole saga is worthy of Hollywood, he suggests.
"A man has to be really vain and frustrated to surround himself with such a number of amateurs and geeks that he could manipulate," writes TV anchor/editor Zoran Sprajc.
Finally, Sanader's ex-colleague and former head of the Justice Ministry Vesna Skare Ozbolt says she paid a high political price for questioning the way Sanader was handling state issues.
"Back in 2006, I was drawing attention to the strange way in which Sanader was behaving and governing. I criticised him while the others were applauding," she writes. "When I did this, he carried out my political euthanasia."
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
"A man has to be really vain and frustrated to surround himself with such a number of amateurs and geeks that he could manipulate," writes TV anchor/editor Zoran Sprajc.
Finally, Sanader's ex-colleague and former head of the Justice Ministry Vesna Skare Ozbolt says she paid a high political price for questioning the way Sanader was handling state issues.
"Back in 2006, I was drawing attention to the strange way in which Sanader was behaving and governing. I criticised him while the others were applauding," she writes. "When I did this, he carried out my political euthanasia."
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com.
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