Outgoing High Representative Schwarz-Schilling defends record

Looking back on his 18-months in office, High Representative to BiH Christian Schwarz-Schilling defended his record in an interview published on Thursday (June 28th), particularly his reluctance to use his far-reaching Bonn powers. Sacking senior officials is not an effective method, Schwarz-Schilling argued. He insisted that he had carried out significant reforms that were never broadly publicised, and accused politicians Haris Silajdzic and Milorad Dodik of irresponsibility for stalling other reforms.Slovak diplomat Miroslav Lajcak assumes the post of high representative Monday. In a separate interview with the Slovak newspaper Pravda, he described the Dayton Accord as “a war constitution” that needs revision to ensure the state functions better.