I expected local authorities to show more responsibility in governing this country, Schwarz-Schilling said at his last press conference in Sarajevo, adding that some Bosnian politicians had acted in an extremely irresponsible manner.
He recalled that at the beginning of his term 17 months ago, he had clearly indicated that he would not use his extensive powers, unless it was necessary to ensure full cooperation with the Hague war crimes tribunal or unless peace and stability in the country were threatened, a position he maintained during his entire term.
Asked if he felt personally responsible for the current stalemate in reforms and the political crisis in the country, Schwarz-Schilling said that the situation was not as bad as sometimes painted.
Commenting on the failure of talks on the constitutional reform, Schwarz-Schilling said that it was due to the election campaign and establishment of new authorities.
Fourteen months were spent on that. At the time, there was nobody to have serious talks with, the German politician said.
He said that the reform of the country's constitution was inevitable because the Dayton peace agreement had only set a framework for the constitutional order, which he said had not been functioning at all.
Citing examples and alluding to Bosnian Croats, he said that one people was unable to protect its interests with the mechanism of majority voting of deputies from one entity in the national parliament simply because it did not have enough of its own deputies.
Just like the Constitution, police forces must be reformed sooner or later, and for that to happen local politicians will have to show more responsibility and double their efforts, Schwarz-Schilling said.
He said that he was confident that his successor Miroslav Lajcak would set a new pace for those processes, adding that he considered him a very competent and dynamic person.
He warned that the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina was being unduly neglected because of Kosovo and that some politicians in Bosnia and Serbia were again using internal problems as a mechanism of pressure in settling the issue of Kosovo.
Schwarz-Schilling is to leave Sarajevo for Berlin on July 2. He said, however, that after that date he would be visiting the country to which he was tied in many ways, but exclusively as a private person.