Antonio Zanardi Landi to replace Schmidt in Bosnia: an Italian diplomat with the old Belgrade in his CV

The Office of the High Representative in Bosnia (OHR) has confirmed that Christian Schmidt is leaving the post of High Representative after five years. According to Sarajevo's „Dnevni avaz", Italian diplomat Antonio Zanardi Landi is being considered as the successor. And in the Balkans - especially in Serbia - that name already sounds familiar.

Why? From 2004 to 2006 Zanardi Landi was Italian ambassador to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. That means the entire diplomatic apparatus in Belgrade knows him - and the other way round. When the international diplomat in Bosnia is a man who was in Belgrade in the period right after the assassination of Zoran Đinđić - that is a very different profile from Schmidt.

Born in Udine in 1950. Studied law in Padua. Started his diplomatic career in 1978, with a specialisation at the prestigious École Nationale d'Administration in Paris. In other words - no improviser. He is a career diplomat of the old school, with a 47-year run, who has lived through every relevant turn in Italy and Europe.

The timeline of his postings is instructive. Deputy Secretary-General of the Italian Foreign Ministry (2006-2007). Ambassador to the Holy See and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (2007-2010). Ambassador to Russia and Turkmenistan (2010-2013). Diplomatic adviser to the Italian president (from summer 2013). From 2 September 2016 - ambassador of the Sovereign Order of Malta in the Vatican.

What does this mean for Bosnia? Schmidt was a political profile. A German politician, a former minister. Quick on his feet, uncomfortable for those who did not want changes - a wave of amendments, selectively blocked laws, and so on. Zanardi Landi is a different breed. A diplomat, not a politician. Careful hearing, quiet approaches, far more „consultations" than „decisions". For Republika Srpska that may be less uncomfortable - but for Bosnia as a whole, it also means slower dynamics.

One more note - his time in Moscow (2010-2013) and later at the Holy See is not coincidental. He knows both Russian and Vatican circles, which in Bosnia - a country where both Russia and the Holy See play their own roles - may be useful. The only question is - useful to whom. That is what the Balkans will be watching in the period to come.