Miro Kopčalić cannot stand any discord whatsoever, but political discord exasperates him the most. “There are so few people in Motovun,” he says with pain written all over his face, “and yet you are quarreling all the time!” “As a matter of fact,” Klaudio Ivašić chuckles and looks away, “there are too many people in Motovun!” Wondering who in particular would make it into his surfeit, I just nod. The surfeit beware, in any case.

Addendum I (May 29, 2009)

Yesterday evening I found Klaudio’s response to this piece, which he had sent me via the feedback function on the Residua site: “I would be most grateful if you would not mention my name on this website ever again.” He concluded his message by thanking me in advance for my consideration. “I am sorry if I have offended you in any way,” I replied. “However,” I continued, “it is very difficult to promise that I will not mention your name in my writings ever again because you are an important man in Motovun. You own the most prominent café and one of the three restaurants in town, but you are also the president of the local branch of the Istrian Democratic Assembly, long the leading party on the peninsula.” And then I concluded my message: “If I mention you ever again, I hope you will not be offended in the least by what I have to say.” Let us hope this is the end of our polite exchange.

Addendum II (June 2, 2009)

Sadly, the end of our polite exchange is not yet in sight. Yesterday morning I changed my Facebook status in a few words: “Ranko Bon is in Zagreb…” The only response I found a few hours later was even terser: “Klaudio Ivašić likes this.” The way things look at the moment, the surfeit shall be hounded out of Motovun, too.