So far I have written by electronic mail to four commissioners of the European Union, two of which have held the same post at different times. These are commissioners for enlargement, employment, and justice, in that order. But each time I have written to any of them, a meaningful reply has come my way within a day or two. Their administrations function like clockwork, I must say. Would that they would teach their Croatian counterparts some of their communication skills. And this goes for the entire hierarchy, from the president and prime minister to sundry ministers and governors down to mayors. Almost none of them respond to snail mail, let alone to electronic mail. They must assume the latter is only for kids. One way or another, concerned citizens are irrelevant to them. Will that ever change? My hope is that it will, and especially if citizens start writing to the Union’s commissioners so as to reach their own politicians. This I have managed to do on a couple of occasions. And I have gotten reasonable replies from Croatia itself. This must be an old habit in this country. Communication often came via Belgrade or Budapest or Vienna. And now it is Brussels’ turn. Old habits are slow to die.

Addendum (November 13, 2016)

So many years later, I am quite sure that poor communication skills of Croatian politicians will never change. Deeply entrenched, they are here to stay. In this case, hope is misguided, if not also meaningless. So long as the European Union is still around, the only way to get in touch with them will be via Brussels. When the Union falls apart, though, every attempt to get in touch with Croatian politicians will be in vain. And this is how things will remain until Croatia itself falls apart one fine day. Hope is for the birds, anyway.