Croatian President's Year Sees High and Lows

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic has angered some and delighted others with her statements and actions over the year.

1. The wrong kind of chocolate:

Visiting the southern coastal resort of Dubrovnik - marking the 25 anniversary of the attack on the town by the Yugoslav People's Army, JNA, and Serbian paramilitaries - Grabar Kitarovic visited a local kindergarten and gave out signed photos of herself to the children.

However, she inadvertently angered one local parent who said it "was sad" that on such a day she was also giving out chocolate produced in Serbia, the dominant force in the old Yugoslavia - whose army had bombarded Dubrovnik.

The President sounded mortified. "I was extremely disappointed to find some products in the basket that were not products of Croatia, which is just fine, they are there on the Croatian market, but as the Croatian President I must promote Croatian products," she apologised on Wednesday, pledging that it would not happen again.

2. ISIS fighters swarm back to Bosnia:

In a comment to Al Jazeera Balkans this Tuesday, the Croatian President claimed that "thousands of [ISIS] fighters" were returning to Bosnia, quoting an alleged report of the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency, SIPA. She angered many in Bosnia - whose Security Minister, Dragan Mektic, insisted no SIPA report made any such claim.

3. Putting her feet up:

Is the Croatian President a secret advertiser? When Croatia and Argentina played the Davis Cup tennis finals in Zagreb in late November, Grabar Kitarovic put her feet up on the fence while sitting in the stands. She may have been just relaxing - but some claimed that she was promoting the firm...