Businessman Zeljko Kerum (on his campaign poster above), the local answer to Donald Trump, has jumped into the May 17th Split mayoral race as an independent, and is stirring things up.

An open letter was published, this week, by several of Split’s ‘intelligentsia’ urging people to vote for anyone but him.

But given Split’s recent luck with local politicians (look at the monstrous 10 million Euro waterfront renovation we got two years ago – guests often ask in which year did Tito build it!), who knows, maybe, he wouldn’t do a worse job!

He is definitely courting the populist vote – driving expensive cars (Ferraris, a Hummer and a Maybach) in a relatively poor city; guaranteeing jobs for the 400 old workers at his Hotel Marjan renovation (it was a heavily-indebted, government-owned hotel until recently); even his poster (above) is in the local Dalmatian dialect – rather than the national Croatian language (Vrime je! instead of Vrijeme je! – meaning Its Time!).

Kerum’s problem is that he has huge conflicts of interest. He has many projects on the go with several requiring local council approval. And there have been persistent rumors about Kerum doing dodgy business (selling UN aid, supplied by his father, through his first mini-mart during the war; not always paying his staff and creditors regularly).

But it really is a case of his ego requiring him to enter and win. His more obnoxious critics have called him a hill-billy – from the family village of Kerumi over the mountains – and it does appear as though he is desperately seeking someone’s approval.

But here in Eastern Europe, elections usually come down to choosing the most altruistic egotist.

Yesterday’s poll had Kerum in second place with about 30% of the vote – behind the SDP (centre-left) candidate.

But the big question is – with all their money – why can’t ‘The Donald’ or Zeljko get better hair cuts?

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