Test

Unlike our newly-fledged ambassadors to Russia and Bulgaria (Danilo Z. Markovic and Rados Smiljkovic) who did not have to sit for a test before a Foreign Ministry committee and prove that they had passable fluency in at least one foreign language, which is a must, former longtime general director of the "Crvena Zastava" plant in Kragujevac and future Yugoslav Consul in Milan Radoljub Micic, was not exempt from taking the test. In spite of his long years of associating with Italians (experts in the Kragujevac automobile factory), visits to Italy and a paid course to learn the Italian language, Micic didn't make it. The knowledge he showed in front of the exam committee was insufficient, and the future consul will have to try again, unless he manages to wriggle out of this unpleasant requirement somehow.

Elan

After last year's unsuccessful adventure with the sale of the once famous ski factory Elan, the pride of Slovenia's industry was on the market again recently. The entire shares in the ski factory from Begunja which also produces other sports equipment were being sold in a package. The Zagreb Business bank (the current owner) offered the shares for 70,200,115 DEM, offer valid until 10 April. The last spectacular sale failed because Frank Kadriu, an American businessman of Albanian origin did not bring the money. The affair ended as an embarrassment for Kadriu and Slovenia, the Government and Ljubljanska Bank which had failed to buy Elan a year ago, for half the money, a piffling 30 million DEM.

Patriots in Slovenia hope that Drnovsek's Government will have more tact, and that "Elan" will once again become Slovenia's property, all the more so, as the state has adopted a law on the financial rehabilitation of the Maribor based TAM and Avtomontaza automobile industry, and come up with 13-15 billion tolars (SlT). Therefore, if the program of financial rehabilitation fails, the state stands to lose around 200 million DEM. In other words, the state has enough money to enter into speculations with white elephants in the new market conditions which have arisen after the disintegration of Yugoslavia, with money which would have bought three "Elan" plants.

Borba

After numerous moves behind the scenes, the new editor-in-chief of the state-owned daily Borba has been elected. This is Zivorad Djordjevic the former editor of the Serbian edition of the "Komunist", and until his latest appointment editor-in-chief of Radio Yugoslavia. Djordjevic is a sympathizer and cadre of the Yugoslav United Left (JUL). VREME has learned that his main opponent was Zeljko Simic, the former Yugoslav Government vice-PM, and currently the number one man of the Yugoslav Water Polo Federation. Our sources claim that Simic was backed by the so-called liberal current in the Socialist Party of Serbia (Dacic, Covic...), while Djordjevic had the support of Mirjana Markovic (Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's wife and top JUL official). The name of Borba's new editor-in-chief was learned at the last moment and from the highest place in the land. In other words, Mr. Simic is still in the doghouse.

A Smelly Story

Now nobody knows, or they pretend not to know, how twenty times the country's estimated annual requirements of Lysol entered the country during a five month period - from August 1993 to January 1994.

The good news announced last week say that the Lysol is slowly leaving the country and will go to Djibouti, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.

In the meantime, an investigation has been launched to look into the death of a warehouse worker, at least one person has suffered acute poisoning due to Lysol, several cleaning ladies have burns, some patients in the Valjevo hospital recognized the smell, a goat allegedly died, and a number of pigeons in the vicinity of the warehouse in which tons and tons of Lysol stood stored for a year have also died. The story is familiar, it's just that details vary.

To start with nobody knows what it's all about: journalists and their sources use the words Lysol, Cresol, carbolic acid, Phenol, poison... The matter concerns carbolic acid which dissolved in alcohol, glycerol and fatty oils up to 3% acts as an antiseptic (and has been used in surgery for over a hundred years). In greater concentrations it is used to disinfect instruments, rooms, the water works and anything else that needs to be disinfected. That which entered Yugoslavia is called Cresol (a 50% solution), while Lysol is the name of the 3% solution (or weaker) and whose smell will bring back sentimental memories to older readers.

It is not known how much of this entered the country. Published figures vary between 1.4 million liters to 1,902 tons.