The Presidential Years 321
At the beginning of 1965, an unexpected change also took place in the posi-
tion of federal secretary for internal affairs. Vojislav Lukić, who led that depart-
ment as Ranković’s man, was forced to resign after only two years in favor
of Milan Mišković, with the excuse that “the comrades in Serbia needed him
[Lukić].” He was appointed organizational secretary of the Executive Com-
mittee of the Serb League of Communists, which meant an obvious loss of
power. This change of cadres created an unheard of situation, in that for the
first time there were two siblings at the head of the secret services, both mili-
tary and civil—the brothers Mišković, neither under Ranković’s control.^293
Social and National TensionsIn spite of a disastrous earthquake in Skopje, which required rebuilding the
city at great expense, the economic situation improved in 1963. In the first five
months of that year, industrial production grew by 14 percent compared to the
same period in the year prior, exports experienced constant growth, and the
harvest was good.^294 But in 1964 the economy stalled again, so the authorities
had to temporarily block imports and to apply for funding from the Interna-
tional Monetary Fund. The country was still mostly underdeveloped, with
average productivity and salaries among the lowest in Europe. The workers
were dissatisfied and started to strike, especially in Slovenia and Croatia, where
public opinion overwhelmingly held that it was not possible to ask for any
more sacrifices of the population. Tito himself, in a speech at Niš on 7 March,
affirmed that living standards and development should go hand in hand, and
that it was necessary to take into account individual needs in elaborating new
economic plans. In spite of the opposition of Petar Stambolić, the president of
the federal government, the Fourth Plenum of the LCY on 17 March 1964
decided to remove the economy from state control once again, and to condemn
“bureaucratism” and redefine the role of the party. The plenum concluded,
“Lead from inside, not outside or from above.” By mid-April, the Federal
Assembly had approved a resolution regarding further economic development
with the support of the trade unions. Since the administrative measures taken
until that point had not yielded satisfactory results, it was necessary to pass to
a radical reform related to the distribution of incomes that would give individ-
ual enterprises sufficient room to maneuver.^295
In an atmosphere strained by a revival of national polemics between Bel-
grade and Zagreb, preparations were made for the Eighth Congress of the
LCY. The last one had been held in Ljubljana in 1958. According to the statute,
the next congress should be organized five years later, but because of issues that
had developed in the meantime, it had been postponed by a year and a half.
Everyone involved was convinced of its importance, as it was evident that at the