It is precisely as a result of this unstated position on the part of international representatives that many of the political projects that they supported in BH and RS have failed. The most drastic example is the complete disappearance of the Unity Coalition and the political marginalization of its leaders. But it is obvious that the international community does not want to admit that the Bosnian stew does not smell so good because they used the wrong spices and so it is continuing with its policy of leap-before-you-look.
That is why they are beginning the deconstruction of new RS Prime Minister Mladen Ivanic, forcing him to dismiss his trade minister, Goran Popovic, who symbolized the return of the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) into the executive government, before Ivanic had a chance to do anything else upon assuming office. The element of tragedy in the whole affair is added by the overt desire of the international community to see Ivanic in the Prime Minister's office, while the comic element lies in their determination to strangle him with their irrational decision to allow members of the SDS to serve as RS president, vice-president, parliamentary speaker, to propose legislative acts, to head municipalities - but not to perform the duties of a minister.
The question is why did Ivanic, who is certainly aware of all this, agree to a concession which may not have completely destroyed but certainly shook up his credibility and the faith of the citizens that his assumption of the premiership will result in a positive turn for many processes?!
Elimination of arguments: With the decision to dismiss Popovic and the promise that his Party of Democratic Progress (PDP) will support the Alliance for Changes in the Chamber of Representatives of the BH Parliament, Ivanic has eliminated accusations that it is his party which is obstructing the formation of a BH Council of Ministers without the [Muslim] Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the SDS and the Croatian Democratic Alliance (HDZ).
More accurately, he has eliminated the argument by his possible partners in the BH Federation that he is threatening the formation of a BH Council of Ministers without national parties "because he formed a government at the entity level with the SDS". Ivanic has thus transferred responsibility for further developments in the setting up of the government at the BH level into their court. Now that "Ivanic is no longer a problem", it is up to the representatives of the international community to get closure on the issue with the Alliance. It is possible, of course, that the Prime Minister's move will be interpreted as "a latent tendency to give in under pressure" and that one of the representatives of the Alliance or the international community will "find another" SDS member in the RS Government and try to blackmail him into further "purging" of his cabinet. This would be tantamount to a conscious destruction of the RS Government and its Prime Minister and deliberate destabilization of the Serb entity, and not a desire to see change in BH.
Witch hunt: Simply, the dismissal of Popovic was the only and the last concession which Ivanic could have given. Should he agree to further concessions, he would create the same situation for himself that his predecessor, Milorad Dodik, was in for almost two years - that of "buying" the support of a parliamentary majority with numerous concessions, that is, of vegetating without the real support of the Parliament.
In this situation Ivanic would be left without the support of the SDS, which had a hard time accepting the Prime Minister's dismissal of Popovic. The leaders of that party did Ivanic a favor, probably assessing that the members would "buy" the line that "in order to realize our program we need to make one last sacrifice"; however, further witch hunts would be rejected for fear that they themselves would end up as their victims. Should "the Popovic incident" repeat itself, the premier would also find himself confronted with huge problems in his own party where some turbulence is already apparent as a result of his decision to support the Alliance, which includes Haris Silajdic's Party for BH, at the BH level.
It is apparent that Ivanic, if the persecution of his ministers continues, could turn to forming an open alliance with the national parties not only at the entity level but also at the BH level and thus enable the SDA, the SDS and the HDZ to form a council of ministers.
This would deprive the region of its "last breath of fresh air" but through no fault of Ivanic's. Instead, the true culprit would be the lack of will of the international community to cooperate even with local politicians previously endorsed by it.