This ability was put to a test several times during his reign, notably during the Croatian Spring (also referred as the Masovni pokret, maspok, meaning "Mass Movement") when the government suppressed both public demonstrations and dissenting opinions within the Communist Party.
Denne evne blev testet flere gange i hans regeringsperiode, særligt i det kroatiske forår (også kaldet Masovni pokret, maspok, med betydningen "massebevægelse"), hvor regeringen både undertrykte offentlige demonstrationer og afvigende holdninger internt i kommunistpartiet.