A válságpolitika bűnei és mítoszai
The Vices and Myths of Crisis Policy

Summary/Abstract: Croatian Miodrag Sajatovic recently voiced criticism regarding his government’s position vis-a-vis the recession using vivid imagery. What is approaching us now, wrote the editor-in-chief of Croatian business magazine Lider, resembles the tsunami that laid waste to large portions of the coastal areas of Southeast Asia four years ago. Meanwhile, he added, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader looks a lot like one of those tourists standing on the beach and watching the huge waves approach while failing to appreciate their destructive effect. Let us take this image further: If the policy regarding the crisis in the post-communist countries is reminiscent of the tourists who watched the approaching tsunami as if spellbound, then the policy of the West recalls desperate and futile last-minute attempts to pile up sandbags along the shore. It is impossible to stop a tidal wave. What can be done, however, is to help drain the water away as quickly as possible. The different conditions in 19 formerly communist-ruled countries, stretching from the Baltic to the Adriatic and the Black Sea, make generalized distinctions of any kind impossible. Ten of these countries are already EU members, two are candidates for membership (one being in the process of negotiating its accession), and four have signed Stabilization and Association Agreements, while three lack any prospect of membership for years to come. The 19 countries are distinct with regard to their size, culture, and political and economic structure, as well as with respect to their economic indicators, and above all their economic performance, which is up to four to five times better in the most developed countries than in it is in the most backward ones. All these differences notwithstanding, it is indeed remarkable that most of these countries’ governments are being criticized by their respective oppositions and media for a lack of action, while in the vast majority of old EU member states it is precisely governments that appear to be pushing the agenda of crisis policy.

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