Learn Croatian: Samo da mi službenik potpiše odobrenje! - If only the official would sign the approval for me!

The construction samo da + present tense is used to express a strong wish or hope for the future that the speaker feels is still achievable. This is called an optative sentence. Even though English often uses "would" or "could" to express wishes, Croatian uses the present indicative here to emphasize that getting the signature is a realistic hope.

Wait, potpisati is a perfective verb. Can we use perfective verbs in the present tense like this?

You are right that perfective verbs normally cannot stand alone in the present tense to make a simple statement. However, they are perfectly fine when introduced by certain conjunctions like da, ako, or dok. In this wish, the da in samo da provides the grammatical structure that allows the perfective present potpiše to be used.

Why use the dative clitic mi here instead of saying za mene (for me)?

While za mene literally means "for me" (for my benefit), using the dative clitic mi is a much more natural and common way to show who is emotionally or practically affected by the action. This is called the "dative of interest." It shows that the official signing the document matters to you personally, rather than just doing a physical favor "for" you.

Could the clitic mi be placed later in the sentence, for example after službenik?