How did the public discussion of the environmental impact study of golf development to the west of Motovun go yesterday afternoon? Hard to put a finger on it, but here are my impressions. Slobodan Vugrinec, the mayor of Motovun, and his stooges won. How is that possible? He played the public discussion as though it was a political rally rather than a meeting at which concerned citizens can ask questions about the content of the study itself, as the law specifies.

Together with all the environmental activists from Istria who joined me at the public discussion, and there were five of them, I asked specific questions referring to the study. The mayor and the representatives of the team from the Croatian Civil Engineering Institute (Institut građevinarstva Hrvatske), where the study was prepared, were supposed to answer these specific questions, but the mayor kept taking broad swipes at all the environmental activists present. As the meeting progressed, he took ever-greater liberties, too. He ended up insulting us and threatening us with legal action.

At some point a young journalist from one of the local newspapers, who was in Motovun for the first time in that capacity, noted that all the people asking questions were against golf, at least in the form in which it was presented in the study, and she wanted to know whether anyone present was for it. This was what the mayor must have waited for, for he immediately asked all the present to vote for or against golf. I protested several times, saying that there was no place for voting at the public discussion, as well as that many of us were for sustainable golf, but this is when the silent majority joined the mayor in full force. They were all from surrounding villages. One of them said that he was forty-five years old, but that all of those against golf put together had not spent so many years in Motovun. As strangers, we had nothing to say about the future of the town. All the local chauvinists applauded at this escapade. Of course, not a single supporter of the mayor had absolutely anything to say about the study itself, which they most likely had not even browsed through, either. All my protestations were in vain. The mayor and his stooges celebrated their victory late into the night.

Although a handful of members of Motovun – Eco Town were present, there were not enough of us for this strange game. Given the nature of the public discussion, this should not have been a problem, but the mayor successfully turned the meeting into a political rally, which is why all those silent villagers where there in the first place. Had I known that something like this could ever happen, I would have pleaded with the members of the association not to miss the meeting. Too late for such thoughts, however.

It is clear by now that all our questions concerning the study will be dealt with rather casually by the mayor and other politicians further up the hierarchy. They can manipulate the planning process as they see fit, and yesterday’s public discussion will be only a minor glitch on their path. And so I must admit that I feel rather discouraged at the moment. The probability that we will achieve anything at this stage is so small that one cannot but ask whether it is worth the effort. Or this is how I feel the morning after.