Milorad Dodik, who declared the party’s victory at all electoral levels held in Bosnia and Herzegovina today, said he partly attributed his party’s success to the political atmosphere in the United States of America.
“If it weren’t for the magnificent victory of (US President Donald) Trump, we would probably be political corpses today, but thanks to the new environment, we are now political winners,” said Dodik, addressing the public from the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) election headquarters.
Dodik’s party has always maintained close ties with both the Russian government and the Western alt-right, both in Europe and in the US. Back in April, Donald Trump Jr. visited Banja Luka and was hosted by Milorad Dodik’s son at a political panel.
What stands in the way of the independence of Republika Srpska (mockingly named the Republic of Forestry by non-nationalist Serbian people) is the EUFOR Althea peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. Dodik is very open about the fact that he wants Althea gone and that he spoke to “our Russian friends” about it. Even after the court sentence that removed him from the office of the President of Republika Srpska, he remains the leader of the largest political party of Bosnian Serbs.
Dodik can most likely afford such ambitions. Due to these extensive intelligence findings regarding illicit capital flows and political interference risks, the Slovenian government issued an entry ban against Milorad Dodik, acting directly on the recommendation of its national security agencies. Slovenian intelligence estimates that approximately €3 billion linked to the oligarchy of Milorad Dodik is circulating within Slovenia. Reports from regional and Slovenian outlets do not state that this entire multi-billion euro sum consists solely of personal real estate or property directly owned by his family. Instead, this figure represents a broader network of hidden capital, corporate investments, and financial operations flowing from the RS entity into the Slovenian economy.
