Former head of the Slovene Parliament France Bucar said that if Slovenia  buckles in the Croatian-Slovene border dispute, it will “squander its statehood” and become a “banana country”, Slovene media report Monday.

- A solution cannot be attained until Croatia forsakes its concept, according to which it sees itself as a new local super power – Bucar told a press conference after the presentation of his book “Slovenes and the Future”.

Slovenia is competition to West-European powers

We will need to be calm, patient and courageous, because the pressure on Slovenia will grow and the border is not the only thing in question. For us, Europe is of vital significance, but we have to take part in its formation and we need Eurosceptics.

France Bucar

Bucar wonders how to combine patriotic awareness, economic and political power, along with geopolitical position so that Slovenes could “be competition to West-European powers in the future” and “protect their national interests”.

- Slovenia is late is resolving the dispute, because we have not done anything in 17 years. If we give into Croatia now, we will largely squander our statehood, we will become a banana country – Bucar said at the launch, supporting Prime Minister Borut Pahor`s position.

Bucar claims that the Slovene people need to develop patriotic awareness and healthy Euroscepticism in order not to loose their “national interests”, being subjected to the zeitgeist.