Cablegate: Croatian Press Coverage of Prime Minister Sanader's Visit

VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVB #1314/01 3031114
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 301114Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6858
INFO RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 1914
RUEHSQ/AMEMBASSY SKOPJE 2562
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 0805
RUEHLJ/AMEMBASSY LJUBLJANA 6365

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001314

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR-PPD ROXANNE CABRAL, EUR-SCE RAFFI BALIAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO KMDR PGOV PREL HR
SUBJECT: CROATIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF PRIME MINISTER SANADER'S VISIT
TO WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 15-18, 2006

1. Summary. Reporting on Croatian Prime Minister Sanader's visit to
Washington was mainly positive in tone and grew more enthusiastic as
the visit drew to an end, though a few commentaries wondered what
concessions Croatia might have made to earn the top-level treatment
that Sanader received in the U.S. All media reports quoted
President Bush saying that it was in the "world's interest" that
Croatia should enter NATO in 2008, and noted his stated intention to
support Croatia's bid for full membership at the Riga summit. End
Summary

2. Following the first day of Sanader's visit in Washington,
Croatian dailies carried reports about the meeting with Secretary
Rice and her support for Croatia's accession to the EU and NATO.
The media saw Sanader's meetings with the senior levels of the
administration as an indication of how much the U.S. administration
values the Prime Minister and good bilateral relations.

3. Croatian Television (HTV), the most influential media outlet in
Croatia, gave extensive coverage to the visit. In addition to
lengthy reports prior to and during the visit on the main evening
news program, HTV also had special programs dedicated to the visit,
and carried the press opportunity with President Bush and Prime
Minister Sanader in its entirety on late evening news on Tuesday,
October 17. Prior to PM Sanader's departure to Washington, HTV also
interviewed Ambassador Bradtke.

Triumph or Tradeoff?
--------------------

4. The Bush-Sanader meeting was reported in all media as a triumph
of Sanader's policy. Most dailies carried the story on the front
page with large photos of Sander and Bush shaking hands. All
Croatian newspapers quoted President Bush saying it was in the
"world's interest" that Croatia should enter NATO in 2008, which is
why he would support its bid for full membership at the Riga summit.
HTV's Washington correspondent Branka Slavica commented in her
October 18 report on the positive atmosphere and success of the
meeting, noting the Croatian delegation's satisfaction with the
visit. She pointed out that even Prime Minister Sanader himself did
not expect such open support from the U.S. President, adding that no
open issues remained between the two countries. All media reported
that PM Sanader invited President Bush to visit Croatia. Even
newspapers usually critical of PM Sanader and his government noted
that his visit to Washington was extremely successful and important
for Croatia.

5. Zagreb-based weekly "Globus" columnist Jelena Lovric assessed the
visit as good for Croatia but claimed that Croatia's promise to
double its number of troops in Afghanistan and the Government's
perceived support of U.S. company Barr's purchase of Croatian
pharmaceutical company Pliva were Sanader's concessions to
Washington. She concluded that it was still not completely clear
what Sanader will bring back in return. Zagreb-based
financial/business daily "Poslovni dnevnik" implied that there was a
potential link between the visit and the pending decisions on the
Croatian Government's purchase of APCs and military planes, for
which General Dynamics is one of the bidders.

6. Rijeka-based national daily "Novi list" speculated about the
connection of the visit with the U.S. rumored interest in investing
in Croatia's energy sector and in the ports of Rijeka and Omisalj.

7. Deana Knezevic's commentary in the October 19 edition "Vecernji
list," titled "Croatia as a partner," reminded readers that whatever
he might have promised to the U.S., Sanader does not have the
authority to make decisions on sending soldiers to Afghanistan or
signing an Article 98 Agreement. Knezevic, however, said that
because Sanader is a friend of the U.S., the U.S. administration
will not ask him to make moves that would jeopardize the upcoming
(2007) Croatian elections.

President Bush to Croatia?
--------------------------

8. Damir Grubisa, Rijeka-based "Novi list" commentator, saw the
visit as a good thing for Croatia, but decided that democracy in
Croatia is still struggling and that kind words from the U.S. will
not help the state of affairs in Croatia. Davor Butkovic in
Zagreb-based mass-circulation "Jutarnji list" speculated that Prime
Minister Sanader's very successful visit could boost his chances in
next year's elections in Croatia.

9. Most papers carried stories on Bush's and Rumsfeld's possible
visits to Croatia, possibly to Split (even claiming that Croatian
Ambassador to the U.S. Neven Jurica has already received
confirmation from the Pentagon that Secretary Rumsfeld will visit in

spring 2007).

Good News on NATO
-----------------

10. As the week went on, reports focused on Croatia's NATO entry,
speculating on what the supportive language on NATO entry meant for
Croatia, with several newspapers quoting Sanader as saying that the
meeting was "historical" and important for opening the doors to
NATO. Croatian press also reported on the "reliable partner" that
Croatia has become to America. Most commentaries said that this
support will also be useful to Croatia's strategy in EU
negotiations. Rijeka-based "Novi list" discussed what Sanader's
strategy will be for convincing the Croatian public that joining
NATO is a positive thing, quoting him as saying that had Croatia
been in NATO in 1991 there would not have been a war.

Sanader Has the Last Word
--------------------------

11. Zagreb-based mass-circulation "Jutarnji list" on Saturday,
October 21, carried an interview with PM Sanader in which he said
that the success of the visit was not the result of any kind of
bargaining or deals but, rather, was due to Croatia's recent
policies and actions, led by him personally, President Mesic, and
the Croatian Parliament.

12. Comment: One Croatian newspaper characterized the visit as
"three days which will change Croatia's future." Certainly,
government officials were openly very pleased with the visit, and
their enthusiasm was reflected in all media coverage, largely
drowning out the few critical commentaries musing about
under-the-table deals. Still, clearly underlying most reporting was
surprise among journalists and their editors, who had grown
accustomed to recycling headlines about strained relations, that the
U.S. and Croatia were "suddenly" friends, and also a touch of
disappointment that supposed points of serious contention they had
reported for years hadn't even been raised at the meeting.

BRADTKE

© Scoop Media