Inzko: US Democrats' return to power good for Bosnia

The US midterm elections gave Democrats a majority in both chambers of Congress. In addition to winning the House of Representatives, they also secured the Senate, winning in several states previously considered Republican strongholds.

The results represent a major political blow to Donald Trump, who backed several Republican candidates during the campaign. However, in Valentin Inzko’s view, the Western Balkans and Bosnia and Herzegovina could benefit from this outcome.

"I can only say that two Republican presidents, father and son George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, respected Dayton, but its strongest advocates were nevertheless Democrats. They are now making a comeback, and I believe they will revive their policy, which is very straightforward and based on the rule of law. In the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina, this means respect for the Dayton Peace Agreement," Inzko told FENA.

He stressed that as long as Dayton remains unrespected, 'an independent judge should continue to operate in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and that is the High Representative'.

The Austrian diplomat, who served as High Representative in BiH from 2009 to 2021, emphasized that peacekeeping forces generally withdraw once a country’s institutions are functioning properly. This was the case in his native Austria ten years after World War II, although international forces remain deployed for longer periods in some countries.

"Japan still has 30,000 permanent US troops, and South Korea has 30,000 as well. In Cyprus, which is a member of the European Union, the United Nations Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP) remains deployed and will withdraw if the communities reach an agreement. So I believe the Office of the High Representative in BiH (OHR) is not an obstacle to anyone. Quite the contrary, it might even need to be more active. But domestic solutions are the best solutions," Inzko said.

He also referred to the example of the law banning genocide denial, which he personally imposed after an agreement could not be reached at the state level, as well as a series of political blockades that had compelled him to intervene.

Inzko said he was generally optimistic, stressing that electoral changes in the United States and Serbia were 'positive signals for the times ahead' for the Western Balkans and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Returning to the prospect of US Democrats taking centre stage again, he recalled positive examples from the past of their approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"I would not go into too much detail, but based on what I witnessed in the past, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton gave strong support to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bill Clinton even visited Srebrenica, where I was present at the time," Inzko said.