Relations between Croatia and Serbia as well as between Croatia and Bosnia are worse now than five years ago. The political climate is bad and I hope political leaders will being a constructive dialogue soon, Croatia’s former President Ivo Josipovic told N1. According to him, Croatia and Serbia have gone too right.

“The situation in Bosnia is a bit more complicated because political and national criteria exist in parallel in this country, but Croatia and Serbia have gone too right, politically,” he said for N1. “We’re witnessing a social regression caused by politics. A political process of the revision of history is taking place, and I think that’s very bad and harmful.” 

Speaking about the policies of former Croatian prime ministers, he said that Jadranka Kosor and Zoran Milovanovic who served between 2009 and 2016 led a pro-European policy.  

“I think the (2008) financial crisis was one of the reasons for the political shift because voters tend to vote for right-wing politicians in  such situations.” 

“The history of relations between Bosnia and Croatia with ambivalent policies is long, and these relations seem to be repeating themselves today,” Josipovic said. “Croatian society has great sympathies for Bosnia. Many Bosnians live in Croatia, not only Croats (but Bosniaks and Serbs as well). We are bound by friendly relations and our cultures are mixed.”