ZAGREB The death of Croatia's "Father of the Nation," Franjo Tudjman, a year ago, paved the way for democratization of the country which however is still struggling hard to recover from the consequences of his rule.
"Tudjman's era represented a waste of time for Croatia in the key period of transition," Ivo Banac, an analyst and professor at Yale University told AFP, referring to the fall of communism in East Europe in the early 90s.
Admitting that the 1991-95 conflict between Zagreb and its secessionist Serbs largely contributed to a halt in Croatia's overall development, Banac stressed that Tudjman's authoritarian policy of self-isolation was far more devastating.
Tudjman, who died on December 10, 1999 after a three-year-long battle with cancer, fiercely denied in public, and a month of agony in a Zagreb hospital, had led Croatia since its independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.
Thwarting democracy through dominating virtually all segments of the country's life, Tudjman's nationalist policy also severely damaged Zagreb's relations with the international community.
Croatia was seen as a destabilizing factor in the Balkans, especially due to its support to the secessionist aspirations of the Bosnian Croats.
Advocating the theory of 200 wealthy families, including his own described by independent media as the strongest para-institution in the country Tudjman and his allies managed to devastate the economy, mainly through fraudulent privatizations, enriching themselves overnight.
His death, followed less than a month later by the humiliating defeat of his Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) in parliamentary elections, permitted Croatia to begin on the road to recovery which, notably regarding economic and social issues, proves to be long and painful.
The new rulers admitted that they inherited a worse-than-expected situation, but critics argue that almost a year after they took power, no clear long-term strategy to fight the problems has emerged.
"Although Croatia made a rather important detachment from (Tudjman's) euro-phobic and totalitarian views, in practice, notably in the economy, there are no major improvements," Slaven Letica, a sociologist and a former Tudjman adviser, told AFP.
Such a negative trend could be the main obstacle for further development of democracy, Letica warns.
"Meanwhile, Tudjman remains a kind of alibi, an excuse for all mistakes of current authorities," he emphasized.
But for those who go to visit Tudjman's tomb at Mirogoj Cemetery on the hills above Zagreb the fact that he founded an independent state absolves him from any responsibility.
"If there was no Tudjman there would be no Croatia. I just do not understand why people do not respect him," said 65-year-old Danica Seme as she bent to light a candle on the black-marble tomb, a ritual she repeats every time she goes to Mirogoj.
Analysts warn that Tudjman's wrongdoings can not be compensated by his merits for Croatia's independence.
"Despite the fact that he was Croatia's first president we have to take into account that almost everything he did since its independence was burdened by extremely problematic actions," Banac said stressing as the most notorious example Croatia's involvement in Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
The local press keeps publishing transcripts of Tudjman's regularly recorded conversations with visitors and top officials, now leaking from the Presidential Office.
They disclose the involvement of Tudjman, his family and allies in political intrigues, corruption and protection of war crimes suspects.
The HDZ has called on Croatians to light candles in their windows on Saturday night in memory of Tudjman.
"The average Croat, struggling to make ends meet, has no time to think about Tudjman," Banac says, stressing that every serious analysis would point to a direct correlation between such a situation and Tudjman's rule.