The Last Flicker of Hope

A downtown Belgrade daily's New York correspondent was also religiously inspired: "Milan Panic... while keeping his jocular yet aggressive charm and originality, truly does seem to be a preacher of hope". The Belgrade-based Institute for Political Studies has ascertained that 77 pollees spoke favorably of Mr. Panic.

Mr. Ivan Stankovic, of Saatchi & Saatchi's Belgrade branch, said, in a talk with a "Vreme" reporter, that Mr. Panic gives the impression of a modern, authentic, unconventional politician, whose vocabulary is straightforward ("perhaps due to his troubles with Serbo-Croatian"). His gestures, sentence structure, his reflexes, spontaneity and even the way he dresses are new in relation to hitherto cases. "He is completely different from the typical communist official to whom we are accustomed: permanently somber, repulsive and testy, unprepared for any sort of compromise".

According to Mr. Stankovic, what is best about Mr. Panic is that he is turned towards the future and is not interested in "who stole whose sheep first", i.e. rejects chauvinist hotheadedness. According to this marketing expert, that could also prove to be his biggest weakness if he comes into conflict with the conservative environment, which has been building its political identity particularly on chauvinist discrimination over the past years. He will be reproached for his relaxed attitude and lack of "patriotism" (already mentioned by Mr. Seselj, the Serbian President's favorite MP), says Mr. Stankovic. According to Mr. Stankovic, the most useful advice for Mr. Panic would be to pay special attention to the domestic public in order to secure its support in the imminent conflict with the existing political structure.

The most proximate foreign public shrinks from the "man from the West", as Mr. Panic was dubbed by the pro-Slovenian Government paper "IN", whose editorial said: "All of us, including well-informed Slovene circles, share the same fear that the world could be tempted to give Mr. Panic another chance". Croatian Television readily shows Mr. Panic waving his arms. A Radio Sarajevo commentator, despite his morbid surroundings, was in a good humor when he described Mr. Panic as a "combination of Ante Markovic (the last SFRY PM) and Ivan Kramberger (the recently assassinated Slovene presidential candidate, famous for his bizarre and naive proposals)".

The more remote foreign public still hesitates to give a final judgment. "The Economist" claims that he says the right things, but nobody knows if he can do more than that. Nevertheless, even the things he says get him media attention and make him an acceptable partner for talks, as opposed to political lepers from Belgrade and Zagreb, and (as it is evident now) Sarajevo. Western diplomats posted in Yugoslavia are mumbling something about "Americans not giving any information on Panic", which could mean that they are still giving him certain protection, at least concerning sticky issues regarding his business records.

However, Mr. Panic's every appearance in the media brings him into serious conflict with those who appointed him. Such is the opinion of Mr. Ivo Viskovic, PhD, assistant professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, expert in Yugo-American relations. "With time, Mr. Panic will receive more and more support from the citizens, but at the same time he will be getting on his protectors' nerves more and more", Mr. Viskovic told "Vreme". Pointing out that the PM's biggest handicap is his terrible Serbo-Croatian (which lessens his persuasiveness), he predicted that Mr. Panic will try to use simple, easy-to-remember slogans as much as possible, which is in tune with American political rhetoric. "He can become an important political figure, provided that he keeps on learning and working, especially because an overwhelming part of the public sees him as the last flicker of hope", stressed Mr. Viskovic.

He admitted that Mr. Panic reminds him of an "uncle from America": "But the uncle sent not only money, but also visas for a new world, which resolved all his relatives' troubles. Mr. Panic could provide a re-entry into the World for this country, and the people are aware of that." If patience and a good memory serve him well, in addition to luck in his imminent collision with the "governor" (as he, comparing himself to the US President, likes to refer to the Serbian President). A young British woman journalist witnessed the scene when Mr. Panic threw the receiver at his subordinates, irritated because his associates could not establish radio contact with the command of the Serbian forces around Gorazde even after half an hour. Prior to that he said she could call him "Milan". On another occasion, a Democratic Party leader was explaining to Mr. Panic for quite a while who's who on the political scene in the country which he is supposed to rule, only to be asked at the very end everything that seemed to be quite clear in the beginning.

He has not lost his humor yet. Paying a bill in a Belgrade restaurant prior to his departure to New York, he threw all the cash he had in dinars on the table, saying the following: "We won't be needing this any more, we are going to America".

To most inhabitants of this country, Mr. Panic is like light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, as Mr. Stankovic said: "We have to make magic to make his magic work".