Moja Štikla: Seve International

At the very first hint that Severina might represent Croatia internationally, a friend who's surprisingly well-acquainted with German showbusiness commented that it would only be a matter of time until her... out-of-hours... career came to the attention of the German tabloid Bild.

Dating from the very first appearance of Štikla-to-be in the Croatian media (when the only scandalous thing about it was that it was alleged to be a copy of Ruslana's Eurovision-winning Wild Dances), the Gazette can conclude that 'a matter of time' now stands for 'more or less 90 days'.

The Bild article - the first and last time Severina will be described as a 'Schlager-Star'? - has quickly found its way into the Croatian press, complete with the comments from Nicole, the German winner of Eurovision in 1982:

'The Grand Prix, or the Eurovision Song Contest as it is called today, is not a sex contest, but a serious musical presentation! And this sort of affair damages the seriousness of the contest. The people responsible for Eurovision ought to review whether Severina is allowed to participate in it at all under such circumstances.'

'Afrika paprika' to you too, Nicole...