Since we are all slightly fed up with the COVID-19 related topics, we have started to pay attention to life after the pandemic. In addition to many things that will change and continue to be done as during the pandemic (for example, I continued to ride my bike to work and have lunch more often in the peace and quiet of my backyard instead of in a restaurant), many bad and ugly things from the time before will return, including nationalism, xenophobia, conspiracy theories (“migrants are installing 5G equipment that spreads the virus”) and similar things that confirm Einstein’s alleged quote:” Two things are infinite – the universe and human stupidity. And I’m not so sure about the universe.”
So, in the vast pool of examples of “reverting to the old”, we are bringing you a refreshing quote from the Croatian President, Zoran Milanović, who was a prime minister back in 2015, at the height of the migrant crisis, and who was known for his haste and often insulting statements back then. Cue to five years later and Milanović has matured into a serious politician with a style which is all the more reason why we should pay attention to his reaction (to the map of the Greater Hungary, posted by Viktor Orban on his social media accounts):
“Apropos the map/globe showing the hypertrophied Hungary, otherwise our neighbouring state and, in recent history, a friendly country, currently in the firm grip of chronic “map-maniacs”, here is my message of encouragement to Croatian students before their graduation. Croatia is a modern European state and nation. Our closets and archives hide numerous historical maps and maps that show our homeland much larger than it is today. The closets of most European countries hide similar maps. Do not “share” them and put them on your profiles. They are not current or attainable today, and, more importantly, they irritate our neighbours to no end. We are also as irritated and marvel over the “historical” maps that, as a dark fetish, conveniently and predictably emerge from the social media of people in our neighbourhood who call themselves “leaders”.”