[ELECTION 2005] Templars From The Air

Today is the last day of election campaign. Tomorrow starts so-called "electoral silence" that would last (at least formally) until the publication of the first results.

Needless to say, the campaign intensified in the last days and became more eventful. And, as it is the case, I haven't got as much time to blog about as I have wanted.

The most spectacular event of the campaign is the yesterday's distribution of leaflets in Split, referenced on East Ethnia blog. The leaflet, signed by the group calling itself "Templars", called Stipe Mesić (Stipe Mesic) all kinds of names and asked "patriotic Croatians" to vote for Jadranka Kosor. While the first reports said that the leaflets were dropped from one of Split's skyscrapers, the actual source was a Cessna 172 plane, piloted by Matko Raos, retired Croatian Air Force brigadier and former commandant of Divulje Air Force base.

When confronted by media, Split air traffic authorities confirmed giving permission for the leaflets to be dropped.

It is still uncertain whether the dropping of leaflets, which has caused some problems with traffic on Split streets, lead to any kind of criminal investigation.

In any case, image of political extremists operating planes and using them to make their point isn't exactly the most comforting one in post-9-11 world.