There's a joke circling Croatian society that goes something like this: How will Mesic be remembered after his death? Second to Franjo Tudjman. There is no better joke that can sum up Mesic's presidency, and deservedly so. The man's first campaign was based on jokes and folly. Distasteful, at that. There is no bigger ego in Croatia. And no bigger shadow cast upon a politician than that of Tudjman's on Mesic. Mesic knows this. And yet how did he go about dealing with it? He insisted and continues to insist upon a verbal assault aimed at his dead predecessor and a legacy marked by success and honor. Mesic is no fool. He played to a constituency riddled with Balkan "culture" that prizes and holds barroom joke-meisters, distaste and tactlessness over professionalism, dignity and virtue. The fruition of 45 years of communism. But how could he have won, many ask. Easily. For all the farcical Mittle-Europa talk in Zagreb and other Croatian cities; for all the glamour, the supposed European etiquette and for all the "kultura," the Croatian people have what they have. An ex-Yugoslav secret police agent. A joke-meister. The "citizen-president." The Yugoslav president never to be. The man that had his autobiography renamed. Three times. Each time adjusting the title to fit the particular political constellation in his cherished West Balkans. If you're beginning to think that this piece is going to be an attack on Mesic, you're right. Croatia's president is the reflection of a good portion of Croatian society that lacks discipline, self-respect, sense of self and the true markings of what was once an honest and proud nation.

If you're often wondering why Croatia and Croatians get no respect in the international arena, perhaps we should start examining why that is. There is no need to look further than the country's president himself. Since his first inauguration in 2000, Mesic has led the "detudjmanization" pack step-by-step, and piece-by-piece, dismantling every last bastion of Croatian pride. If he isn't degrading Croatia's recent history, more precisely, the major actors of that history, by telling tasteless jokes or making utterly irresponsible and simply unforgivable comments about the military operations of the force he is now commander-in-chief of at home, he is ridiculing his nation abroad. Of all the many treasonous statements Mesic has made, one stands apart. It was during his trip to the Ukraine last year when he openly and boldly stated that Tudjman's politics were a "retreat from the region," overtly declaring to the world that Croatia's future lay in the Balkan mix that so many Croatians fought and died to rescue her from. To make matters worse, he called Tudjman's politics "xenophobic." Translation? The fight for an independent Croatia was a fight fought in vain based on hatred for Serbs. Why thank you, Mr. President. Croatians have for much of their history led a losing battle against enemy propaganda. The reason? Look no further than Mesic and the likes of him. How Mesic and his ilk have damaged Croatia's image and position on the international plane can literally be tallied by the fallout from his comments on his opposition to the US war in Iraq. Mesic, running his mouth, adversely impacted US-Croatian relations. Thanks again, Mr. President.

The President-jester has just recently stirred up more controversy that surrounds the always-politicized Sinjska Alka by, you guessed it, calling for the depoliticization of that centuries old cultural manifest. No politician has caused more divisiveness in Croatia than the president himself. Willing to sponsor the Alka and make his trip to Sinj this summer, but only on his own selfish terms, Mesic has called for the heads of the local leaders that express opposition to his treasonous politics. Fearful that the people of the Sinj region will loudly express the repulsion they reserve for Mesic, he has sent them a clear message. Your cultural manifestation will be esteemed only with my presence. And how have dissidents in Mesic's democracy paid for their opinions? A local political leader of the fringe Croatian Pure Party of Rights, Luka Podrug, has been stripped of his seat in the Vitesko Alkarsko Drustvo, is under investigation, and could quite possibly be facing charges! All this in an eerie development that is reminiscent of Tito and his Yugoslavia. The dictator of a totalitarian state that Mesic holds dear. Mr. Mesic has proven time and again, most memorably by his testimony in the political kangaroo court at The Hague, that he is a traitor to his country and people. Unlike Podrug in Croatia, here in the United States I can say that without fear of any type of consequence. In a nation that cherishes democratic and civilizational standards. The same standards that Mesic ironically claims to promote, making his claim the best joke he has ever told.

Frano Budimlic

New York