Zoran Djindjić – zur Lebensleistung eines europäischen Politikers
Zoran Djindjić – Achievements of a European Politician

Summary/Abstract: Maybe it will be realized some day that Zoran Djindjic had changed from a highly talented, successful and shrewd Balkan politician into a statesman during the weeks before his violent death on March 12, 2003. Presenting his “Strategy for Kosovo and Metohija” to trigger the discussion on the unsolved Kosovo problem, he shocked Western politicians who had hoped to leave this question to the slumber decreed by the international community. Djindjic knew that the sacrifices he demanded from an impoverished people for the sake of transforming the run-down country had to be counterbalanced by a renewed hope and vision. However, where should self-confidence come from, if a part of the Serbian territory was occupied by foreign powers disputing the capability of the Serbs to run their own country? Djindjic hoped to increase the attractiveness of Serbia to a hostile and resisting Kosovo Albanian minority by building a democratic state under the rule of law, by modernizing the economy and improving the standard of living. All the reforming should eventually help to solve the explosive Kosovo question. His courage to strive for an aim worth all efforts, even from a seemingly hopeless position, was characteristic of Djindjic’s political struggle against his archenemy Slobodan Milosevic. In order to triumph over the “oriental dictatorship” of the villain and his clan, he did not even shy away from choosing dubious allies. After his sweeping success in October 2000, Djindjic had to cope with a dreadful legacy. His attempt to break up the iron grip of organized crime on Serbian politics has presumably cost his life. Having freed his country from a vicious rule and international isolation, his few years in charge were overshadowed by a paralysing controversy with his former companion President Kostunica. Djindjic, an outstanding European leader and a hope and model of young Serbs was also a tragic figure.

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