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Amazed that the article paints Croatia as a country with "rising anti-democratic forces" while for some reason not mentioning that a month ago the mayoral elec

Amazed that the article paints Croatia as a country with "rising anti-democratic forces" while for some reason not mentioning that a month ago the mayoral election in the capital city (quarter of the population) was won by a left-green coalition modelled on Podemos. They won 40% of the vote.

madengr 5y ago
The left is anti-democratic when they establish power. Not saying that the right is either.
hef19898 5y ago
Croatia is strange in that regard. On the one hand you have that mayoral election, on the other you have their national soccer team flying the nationalists version of Croatias flag. (if what our newspaper claimed was true. even if it is, they also printed a wrong flag of the opposite team on their jerseys once, so it could also just be a stupid mistake). I love that country so, very nice people and a beautiful landscape!
- dinoooo 5y ago
  > nationalists version of Croatias flag It wasn't the nationalist version, any state flag is inherently a nationalist symbol, the problem is that the logo is from the NDH, a Nazi puppet state of Croatia, which created the Jasenovac concentration camp. It might be a mistake, but as a young adult, everyone around me (I live in Croatia) knows what the 'first white square' symbolizes.
  - hef19898 5y ago
    Thanks for clarifying. Any idea how that flag ended up on the jerseys? That's kind of printing the Reichkriegsflagge on German jerseys, with the true equivalant, the Nazi fla, being outlawed.
    - elmo2you 5y ago
      I believe the official explanation was an "interpretation error" of the vector image used as the source. The printer has taken "full responsibility" for this mistake and apologized. How convenient. From a technical perspective not very plausible, if not borderline impossible. More likely, a deliberate choice made by a powerful individual, for which anyone with any actual knowledge or proof knows all to well that it would be suicide to talk about it publicly. Whether that would be literal or figurative suicide, that is debatable. Either way though, while Croatia is part of the EU these days, the way in which things function are still very much similar to some other countries in the region .. where powerful individuals can make arbitrary decisions with absolute impunity. There are plenty of powerful individuals in Croatia who harbor strong sympathies towards the country's dark fascist history. Plenty of those managed to get away with their role in war profiteering (or worse), during the last wars. Probably more than anything because they happened to be useful and on the side of powerful corrupt people in the USA and EU. Regretfully so, because Croatia is beautiful country and home to some incredibly whole/goodhearted people (very much like in other former Yugoslavian states).
      - hef19898 5y ago
        Thanks for the background. Fully confirm what you say about the people. It's just sad to see how much damage a couple of ruthless, self-service people can do. But blaming the printer, really? That's like blaming an intern...
        elmo2you 5y ago
        > But blaming the printer, really? That's like blaming an intern... To clarify, I mean the printer as a company, not the device .. and yes, it indeed is as bad as blaming the intern.
        hef19898 5y ago
        Blaming the device would have been better, if you ask me!
- emptyfile 5y ago
  Are you seriously comparing a tectonic political shift in the capital with the wrong chessboard on the LITTLE MATCH ICON on the football shirts... ffs
mlang23 5y ago
Well, my condolences then. I dont know where this sentiment comes from that left/green is automatically good and democratic. Thats a really weird propaganda bit that went through almost everywhere.

madengr 5y ago

The left is anti-democratic when they establish power. Not saying that the right is either.

hef19898 5y ago

Croatia is strange in that regard. On the one hand you have that mayoral election, on the other you have their national soccer team flying the nationalists version of Croatias flag. (if what our newspaper claimed was true. even if it is, they also printed a wrong flag of the opposite team on their jerseys once, so it could also just be a stupid mistake). I love that country so, very nice people and a beautiful landscape!

dinoooo 5y ago
> nationalists version of Croatias flag It wasn't the nationalist version, any state flag is inherently a nationalist symbol, the problem is that the logo is from the NDH, a Nazi puppet state of Croatia, which created the Jasenovac concentration camp. It might be a mistake, but as a young adult, everyone around me (I live in Croatia) knows what the 'first white square' symbolizes.
- hef19898 5y ago
  Thanks for clarifying. Any idea how that flag ended up on the jerseys? That's kind of printing the Reichkriegsflagge on German jerseys, with the true equivalant, the Nazi fla, being outlawed.
  - elmo2you 5y ago
    I believe the official explanation was an "interpretation error" of the vector image used as the source. The printer has taken "full responsibility" for this mistake and apologized. How convenient. From a technical perspective not very plausible, if not borderline impossible. More likely, a deliberate choice made by a powerful individual, for which anyone with any actual knowledge or proof knows all to well that it would be suicide to talk about it publicly. Whether that would be literal or figurative suicide, that is debatable. Either way though, while Croatia is part of the EU these days, the way in which things function are still very much similar to some other countries in the region .. where powerful individuals can make arbitrary decisions with absolute impunity. There are plenty of powerful individuals in Croatia who harbor strong sympathies towards the country's dark fascist history. Plenty of those managed to get away with their role in war profiteering (or worse), during the last wars. Probably more than anything because they happened to be useful and on the side of powerful corrupt people in the USA and EU. Regretfully so, because Croatia is beautiful country and home to some incredibly whole/goodhearted people (very much like in other former Yugoslavian states).
    - hef19898 5y ago
      Thanks for the background. Fully confirm what you say about the people. It's just sad to see how much damage a couple of ruthless, self-service people can do. But blaming the printer, really? That's like blaming an intern...
      - elmo2you 5y ago
        > But blaming the printer, really? That's like blaming an intern... To clarify, I mean the printer as a company, not the device .. and yes, it indeed is as bad as blaming the intern.
        hef19898 5y ago
        Blaming the device would have been better, if you ask me!
emptyfile 5y ago
Are you seriously comparing a tectonic political shift in the capital with the wrong chessboard on the LITTLE MATCH ICON on the football shirts... ffs

mlang23 5y ago

Well, my condolences then. I dont know where this sentiment comes from that left/green is automatically good and democratic. Thats a really weird propaganda bit that went through almost everywhere.