Dinner with Đinđić (Djindjic) Redux

Roughly one month after last month's brouhaha, Serbian methods for changing the heads of government are again advocated as a recipe for Croatia. At least, that is what President Stipe Mesić (Stipe Mesic) thinks of the poll resulted published in the last edition of Globus. That weekly conducted survey over some 800 Croatians and asked them whether they think that Mesić's and Račan's (Racan's) assassination would be beneficial for Croatia or not.

11.8 % answered positively (which is hardly surprising, since Croatia, due to its troubled past has bigger share of extremist cranks within its population).

Soon afterwards, Mesić reacted. Unlike his predecessor, who had dealt with critical media using old-fashioned methods of secret police harassment, "pornography" taxes, military drafts and criminal prosecution, Mesić used indirect approach. He sent a public letter to Croatian Journalist Society asking them whether such polls represent incitement to murder and whether they are within the limits of journalistic ethic.

Even before Society published its response, Igor Alborghetti, Globus editor-in-chief, issued public apology, trying to explain that the purpose of poll was strictly to discover why statements about "dinner with Đinđić (Djindjic)" became part of Croatian political mainstream.