Croatian President Zoran Milanovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic are at it again - this time over whether Croatian soldiers will march in a military parade in Paris. The dispute, ceremonial on the surface, actually exposes a deep crack at the very top of Croatian power.

Milanovic, who is supreme commander of the army, refused to approve participation in the parade. His reason: France had earlier turned down Croatia's invitation to mark „Operation Storm," so now he's returning the favour. „The army will not go," he declared, stressing that only the supreme commander decides on such matters.

Plenkovic shot back that this is a ceremonial event that requires no presidential approval, and that authority lies with the defence minister, not the president. He went further - threatening to dismiss the chief of the General Staff, General Tihomir Kundid, if the soldiers are not sent. The two most powerful men in the country are publicly accusing each other, while the army stands between them as a hostage to their quarrel.

In the Balkans we know this picture well - two institutions that, instead of working together, compete over who has more power, while the state sits and waits. The question Croatia leaves open is simple: when the president and prime minister can't agree on a single parade, what happens when a joint decision on something genuinely serious is needed?