His music is bad Balkan rock. But it’s his fascist salute that divides Croatia

A contrasting pair of festive extravaganzas is bringing merriment and discord to Croatia’s capital in the run-up to Christmas.

- Guy de Launey Zagreb

The markets of Zagreb Advent are generating festive cheer in the squares of the city centre, with ice skating, stands selling sausages, and scores of musical acts on illuminated bandstands. The tourism board’s boast is that it won the award for Europe's best Christmas market so many times it was barred from entering the competition.

But it doesn’t have much to say about the city’s other high-profile seasonal show. On 27 December Marko Perković will perform at Arena Zagreb for more than 20,000 paying punters. Known by his stage name, Thompson — supposedly the make of gun he used as a soldier in Croatia's war of independence in the 1990s ~ he is a polarising figure.

His best-known song, Cavoglave Battalion, opens with a fascist salute. Thompson has also performed a song glorifying the Nazi-allied Ustasha movement and its genocide of Serbs in the second world war.

Thompson attempted to book another night. But by that time the city council had passed a ruling banning the use of municipal venues for events likely to promote discrimination, racism or fascist salutes.

Mayor Tomislav Tomaéevié, of the green-left MoZemo! (We Can!) party, said the move was “similar to Uefa’s rules for sporting events”. Thompson threatened “radical steps”, while his management accused the mayor of “causing divisions in society”.