Interesting -- in the local press, one of the most repeated phrases is "the competent authorities" -- it can refer to anything from law enforcement to cutting the grass in front of a government building. The Serbo-Croat term translated as "competent" apparently literally means seated-over, holding a rightful position. So it's really the authorized or anointed authorities, as opposed to an assertion of fitness for purpose. Competence is prevenient.
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One interesting thing I noticed in the capital city of the last country. There was a small fig tree growing out of the foundation of the Ministry of the Interior building, a run-down, graffiti-covered structure just across from the old Austro-Hungarian buildings that are the Whitehall of that country. Not unreasonably, a tree taking root in the crevice between the sidewalk and the foundation was apparently thought to be a bit problematic, so it was cut down, leaving just a few small stumps coming up at the corner. Something about that. A problem and a structural danger, and yet -- a fig tree. There's a famous line from a 19th c. British diplomat, something along the lines of -- everything in the Balkans is the opposite of what it might reasonably be thought to be. In that spirit, perhaps the quintessential Balkan tree -- a trouble from the beginning, a danger to those around, and yet -- a fig tree.