402 The Later Years
Did he include his protégé among the “small Titos,” fifty-two-year-old Stane
Dolanc, the operative of the LCY, whom many predicted would be the mar-
shal’s successor? In those years, a strong propaganda machine churned behind
him, aided by the confidence that the beefy Slovene enjoyed with Tito and by
his close contacts with military and intelligence circles.^51 At the Eleventh Con-
gress of the LCY, in June 1978, he was nominated for a new office—secretary of
the Presidium of the LCY—which confirmed his preeminent role among Tito’s
closest collaborators. According to a CIA report, he was even angling to become
secretary of defense and engaging in a “dirty” campaign against the other can-
didate, Admiral Branko Mamula. Many, however, disliked his rise and the in-
creasingly aggressive expansion of his influence. Dobrica Ćosić said that he was
the strong man of the Brioni monarchy, its iron fist for nearly fifteen years. He
wrote: “To the reign of Tito, debilitated by old age, he gave the energy of an
alpinist and the cruelty of a small game hunter. Dolanc supplied the strength
Tito was lacking. Without him, his despotism could not have functioned.”^52 As
evidence of this, it is worth quoting the rumor circulating in the mid-seventies
that it was not safe to go hunting bears with Dolanc. “It was not said with much
animosity,” wrote the British ambassador, “but the fact itself that it was said
by a politician, close to the real inner circle, confirms my conviction that you
cannot be Tito’s tool for recentralization, without creating a lot of enemies
regarding the future after Tito.”^53
While party officials waited for the “rotation” of leaders due in 1976, a large
hostile front formed against Dolanc, with Jure Bilić, a member of the party
executive committee, at its fore.^54 CIA analysts suspected that this anti-Dolanc
group was nourished by the Soviets, who disliked him because he did not hide
his critical attitude toward their hegemonic ambitions. In Washington they were
convinced, however, that the “highly pragmatic and organized” Dolanc would
be able to consolidate his position while awaiting D-Day. At the same time,
they did not exclude the possibility of his fall in the case of unforeseen events,
noting that “the pivotal factor is likely to be Tito himself. His personal reaction
to the squabbling in the leadership currently appears to be to let the contest run
its course. He can thereby influence the selection of the first-among-equals,
without appearing to force his own wishes on those who survive him.”^55
The atmosphere of intrigue that characterized the last years of Tito’s life is
exemplified by the fate of Džemal Bijedić, a capable Bosnian Muslim who
was called to the presidency of the federal government in July 1971. During his
mandate, he was in two airplane crashes, losing his life in the second one, on
18 January 1977. The general opinion was that he was killed by those who dis-
liked a “Muslim nation” being recognized in the heart of Yugoslavia, and that