The Later Years 431
it, Jovanka. Where do we go from here?” On 9 March, during another meeting
of the Executive Bureau, Kardelj suggested that in future all the officials of
importance should report only to Tito and take orders only from him. He and
Dolanc informed Jovanka about this, but during the conversation she fell apart
completely, the meeting was halted, and the confrontation was not resolved.^222
The only victim of this affair was Mišković himself, against whom Jovanka
waged an absolute psychological war. He was abruptly removed from all his
offices in July 1973, ostensibly for “health reasons.”^223
Despite his advanced age, Tito did not lose interest in the fairer sex. Two mas-
seuses appeared at court, sisters Darijana and Radojka Grbić, with whom
Jovanka engaged in a fight without quarter, but a fruitless one. From the begin-
ning of her relationship with Tito, she indulged in bouts of jealousy, which
continued to torment her, although she knew well that the marshal could at
most bestow “pats on the butt.”^224 His intimate contact with the two young
women, which lasted every day for hours and was necessary for his damaged
leg, sent her flying off the handle. She insisted that the massages should be
strictly regulated and should be carried out in presence of the doctor, which
Tito refused, being infatuated with the two women. He did not know, or pre-
ferred not to know, that after every session they informed his attending officer
what was discussed during the treatment. If the information was interesting,
they reported it to the secretary of defense, Nikola Ljubičić.^225
In February 1975, a series of quarrels arose between Mr. and Mrs. Broz at
Igalo, a Montenegrin spa. Jovanka behaved in such a violent way that she seri-
ously worried the president’s personal doctor and his attendant, General Marko
Rapo. They feared that in the midst of a nervous breakdown she might shoot
or strike her husband. Petar Stambolić, the head of his cabinet and the vice-
president of the SFRY, summoned Stane Dolanc, the president of the Federal
Council, Džemal Bijedić, and Nikola Ljubičić to Igalo. During a secret meet-
ing aboard the Galeb, Tito confessed that he was in anguish: he would have
to relinquish all his duties if he could not appease Jovanka. The Yugoslav
Xanthippe was taken into custody and transported to Belgrade to be examined
by a special “medical and political” commission. After a series of meetings with
her, the commission established that she was not involved in any plot; she was
simply paranoid. The best solution would be a divorce. Tito could not go that
far, and instead he reconciled with his wife and allowed her to take revenge
on her “enemies.”^226 He did, however, accept the restructuring of his cabinet,
which strongly limited Jovanka’s influence in favor of Dolanc, Bakarić, and
Kardelj. (In spite of his serious illness, the latter obviously thought he would
live longer than Tito.) According to an order simply called “Kardelj’s rule,” the