2005-01-04

Croatian elections turn ugly

The unpopular foreign minister Miomir Zuzul, shadowed by a corruption scandal, has resigned, observers suggest in an effort to improve the image of HDZ. Drax is reporting that health minister Andrija Hebrang will soon follow. One candidate who did not make it to the runoff, rich guy Boris Miksic, is claiming fraud.

Now today an article has appeared in Nacional (Nacional is a subscription site; the story is reported also by Index, which is free) calling into question how Mr Miksic acquired the wealth on which his reputation and campaign were built. It includes charges of theft of intellectual property (which a court rejected), dishonest connections with the Tudjman family, invention of biographical details ... juicy stuff.

If this is an effort to discredit Mr Miksic before the election, one has to wonder why it was not done before the first round. At this point it might be asked whether stories like this are more likely to influence Mr Miksic or his supporters.

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