World leaders shunned the funeral of Croatia's late president, Dr Franjo Tudjman, yesterday, a sign of the disdain felt for his years of authoritarian rule.
The West has already written its own history of Dr Tudjman, viewing him as dictatorial at home and trouble-making abroad.
The outside world has not forgiven him for supporting the ethnic cleansing by Croats of Muslims during the Bosnian war. He further angered the West by blocking efforts to bring Croatian war crimes suspects to justice in recent years.
Only one head of state, President Suleyman Demirel of Turkey, attended the funeral service in a rain-lashed Zagreb cemetery, with most other nations sending ambassadors. In contrast, ordinary Croats turned out in their tens of thousands to watch the funeral cortege.
In a coffin draped in the national red and white checkerboard flag that he helped to design, the body of the 77-year-old autocrat was driven through the streets with an escort of white-uniformed motorcycle police.
Many people travelled from across the country, including Mr Ivan Znaor, who brought his four-year-old grandson from a southern province to watch the funeral. "To pay him respect and thank him is the least that we could do," he said. "He gave us everything."
For the moment, Dr Tudjman, who died from cancer, is revered by many for being the man whose hard-line leadership saw Croatia seize independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Four years later, annoyed at the stalling of United Nations talks, he unleashed two devastating offensives which captured Serb-held parts of Croatia.
But his reputation may also be tarnished at home if the opposition has its way.
Yesterday one leading opposition figure, Mr Stipe Mesic, vice-president of the Croatian People's Party, vowed that if it won January's general election, the party would open major investigations into government-sponsored corruption.
Opponents say Dr Tudjman used sweeping presidential powers to preside over massive corruption, which has seen ordinary people impoverished as an oligarchy of party cronies has grown rich.
"Big money leaves big traces," Mr Mesic said. "We will follow those traces, and we think we will have the support of the international community. We need to establish democracy and the rule of law here."
Dr Tudjman's reputation may suffer from revelations about links with war criminals. Two paramilitary leaders accused of massacres in central Bosnia are already awaiting trial in The Hague, with another awaiting extradition.
Meanwhile, Hague investigators are investigating the actions of three Croatian army generals during the offensive to drive Serbs from the country in 1995 that, once again, is likely to show a paper trail ending at the president's office.
The big question is whether his legacy will help or hinder the ruling party, the HDZ. It was lagging in opinion polls behind an opposition coalition before his death, and was viewed by many as corrupt and nepotistic. But the HDZ government is likely to use its direct control of state media to play on the reputation of the deceased president, hoping for a sympathy vote on January 3rd.
Western diplomats hope voters will not equate the man with his party and will vote for an opposition campaigning for fast reforms.