ZAGREB, 9 Feb 2022 - The strongest opposition Social Democratic Party and We Can!, which ran separately in last year's local elections in Zagreb, are no longer hiding that they are coming closer at national level, Večernji List daily said on Wednesday.

Although the next regular parliamentary election is two years away, both parties are saying off the record that they will not run independently because nobody can form a government alone, and only together can they be a strong alternative against the ruling HDZ.

The only dilemma at the moment, top SDP officials say, is whether it is better to run in one bloc, all centre-left parties together, or in two, one comprising the SDP and We Can!, and the other with Centre, GLAS, Focus and similar parties.

The SDP and We Can! say they are satisfied with their cooperation in parliament, and that their ruling coalition in Zagreb will be an essential factor for a possible joint success at the national level.

"The SDP-We Can! coalition is the first step without which there is no chance at all of defeating the HDZ in the next election. If it's done soon enough, like (the then SDP leader) Ivica Račan did in 1998 with Dražen Budiša and the HSLS, which means offering a clear platform and people, it's a really good alternative which can look for voters' confidence in the election," an eminent SDP member was quoted as saying.

The fact that you have coalition potential and that there is a wish before the election to change things points to an honest approach which will certainly bring results, he adds.

Večernji List's We Can! sources think the same. They say the constant attacks on the HDZ over its scandals is counterproductive in attracting attention, and that in the months ahead the SDP and We Can! must solely present their policies to citizens, showing that they have both a platform and a vision, and are capable of solving problems.

The latest public opinion polls speak in favour of the SDP-We Can! cooperation, showing that together, they have higher support than the HDZ, the newspaper said, adding that the next most popular party, Bridge, has not clearly said whether it will run in the election together with the SDP and We Can!, but "swears" it will not go with the HDZ a third time.

For more, check out our politics section.

February 9, 2022 - Student self-testing in Croatia should begin soon as the Ministry of Science and Education has sent instructions to principals.

How will it look?
Index.hr reports that the procedure should be as follows: The Civil Protection Headquarters will deliver rapid antigen tests to schools. Schools will then distribute the tests to parents or guardians, or students. Testing is conducted once a week by a parent, guardian, or student. If the test result is positive, information about the positive test is reported to the educational institution's selected family doctor or pediatrician.

All students with a negative result continue to attend classes regularly, and if they test positive, they do not come to school.

Testing is repeated for the entire class in which positive test results are determined the first day after a student receives a positive Covid test.

What did Fuchs say about it today?
Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs commented on student self-testing in an interview with HRT today, confirming that the distribution of tests has begun.

Fuchs called the process of rapid antigen testing "a de facto process of abolishing self-isolation for students so that all those who are not ill are in school." However, he also said that this was not a step towards mandatory testing or vaccination.

Fuchs said the first part of the tests, about 300,000, went to Dalmatia yesterday.

"At the end of this or the beginning of next week, all schools will have tests available."
"Of course, we are going to the islands as a priority, as it is a bit more difficult to distribute there, and that's why we went to the Dalmatian regions first.

The rest, up to a million, arrive maybe today in civil protection warehouses, and the moment these tests are received, they immediately move on to schools. So I think by the end of the week or early next week, all schools will have tests available," Fuchs said.

“We have said that this student testing is voluntary and that parents will declare in one piece of paper whether or not they will conduct testing of their child,” he said.

What if someone refuses?
"All those who refuse, de facto, nothing will happen to them, nor the children, of course, except that the moment a positive student appears in the class, or possibly someone from that child's environment becomes ill, that child will have to go into isolation," Fuchs said.

He also said that these tests are very similar to those that can be bought in pharmacies and that, unlike PCR, it is not inserted deep into the nose with a test cotton swab or stick. Still, a swab is taken from the front of the nasal cavity, and it is a straightforward procedure.

There are no repressive measures.
Fuchs also said that parents who will not test their children and will say that they were negative will not be traced because they do not intend to apply any repressive measures.

“I hope the parents are responsible enough and won’t cheat because this is done so that the education system would virtually abolish self-isolation using a self-testing system,” he said. 

"These slogans, shouts and petitions 'We don't give our children' are quite incomprehensible; I don't understand them, no one touches children. In fact, after these two years of the pandemic, we are doing everything to give children a more normal life and attend school better," said Fuchs.

"Removing both testing and self-isolation if field data justify it."
Fuchs also said that if the number of positives dropped significantly, in February, they would switch to the testing variant only in those classes when it is ordered. It would be ordered when a positive case occurs.

"And after that, we would go for the complete abolition of both testing and self-isolation if the data from the field justify it," Fuchs said. He also said that they did not consider testing children in kindergartens.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

Februay 9, 2022 - With his contract due to expire in June, the euphoria of the fans, and the complicity of returnees Marko Livaja and the recently introduced Nikola Kalinić, there are plenty of reasons to believe in the return of Perišić to Poljud. The petition, created by Hajduk fans and supported by Livaja himself, is already underway with the slogan #PerišićVrimeJe (Perišić, it's time).

It is impossible to deny the influence and insistence of the Hajduk Split fans, especially when one recalls their great effort to retain their star player, Marko Livaja, under the motto: ''Livaja, ostaje u Hajduku'' (Livaja, stay at Hajduk). Said and done, the idol born in Split decided in the end to stay and today he has contributed 17 goals in 20 league games so that Hajduk finds itself fighting for the title, 5 points behind leaders Dinamo Zagreb and 2 points behind Osijek and Rijeka, with one game less than both.

The Dalmatian club presented yesterday at the Poljud its brand new signing, striker Nikola Kalinić, who arrived from Hellas Verona after a prolific career that includes top clubs such as Atlético de Madrid, AC Milan, and Fiorentina. Hajduk surprised everyone on Sunday night when they posted an emotional video on their social media that appealed to nostalgia and memories, as well as the connection between Split and Verona, which in the end revealed the agreement reached for Kalinić's return to Poljud.

During Kalinić's presentation, the player revealed in the press conference that both Edin Džeko and Ivan Perišić called him the night before, but did not reveal the details of the conversations but added that he told his teammate from the national team that ''everything was on him.'', reports Net.hr. Hajduk fans, quick as no other, began to speculate on the return of Perišić, even more so considering that the winger ends his contract with Inter Milan in June this year, and will go on to become a free agent. At the moment, nothing is certain regarding a possible renewal with the Italian team, as well as offers from other clubs, which invites one to dream of the return of Perišić to Poljud.

Speculation has now turned into a petition, and even Hajduk fans already have a slogan to kick off the motion: #PerišićVrimeJe (Perišić, it's time). It should be remembered that the intentions of signing the 33-year-old winger from Omiš are not new, since the motto was coined last year after the long-awaited renewal of Marko Livaja. But hope in Hajduk fans has increased considering Perišić's contract situation, and even more so after Livaja himself joined the petition in a video that has now gone viral on social media.

At the moment, with nothing certain about his future, Perišić is focused on his current team, with whom he beat Roma 2-0 yesterday for the Coppa Italia, in a match in which he played 85 minutes. The Croatian player has the full confidence of his coach, Simone Inzaghi, and is an undisputed starter in his formation. Ivan's commitment and concentration are necessary for the remainder of the season. The 'neroazzurri' will visit Napoli on Saturday in a decisive match that could help them secure the top spot in Serie A, as they are coming off losing to arch-rivals AC Milan and the Napolitan team is currently second with just one point behind. Also, next Wednesday they will face powerful Liverpool at home in the return of the UEFA Champions League, for the round of 16.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, 9 Feb 2022 - In 2021, the second pandemic year, Croatian museums logged 2,549,841 visitors, up 74% on 2020 but only 48% of the visits recorded before the pandemic, a survey by the Museum Documentation Centre shows.

The survey was conducted last month and covered 141 of Croatia's 164 public and private museums.

While many European museums were closed last year due to COVID, this was not the case in Croatia where the number of visitors was also a result of revived tourism last summer.

Almost 25% of the visitors registered last year visited the three usually most popular museums.

The Archaeological Museum of Istria in Pula saw 313,180 visitors, up 91% from 2020, but only 54% of the number logged before the pandemic.

The Split City Museum attracted 135,891 visitors, up 228% from 2020, but only 34% of the number before the pandemic.

Dubrovnik Museums had 111,411 visitors in 2021, up 166% from the year before, but only 37% of pre-pandemic figures.

Last year, as in 2019, foreign tourists accounted for almost 25% of museum visitors. Still, this only accounts for 42% of the visits generated before the pandemic.

Zagreb museums log sharpest fall in visitors due to earthquake, pandemic

The sharpest fall in visits was registered by Zagreb's museums, which have been closed since the March 2020 earthquake and are awaiting years-long reconstruction. The pandemic, too, reduced the number of visitors due to these various events.

Mimara, the Croatian Natural History Museum, the Strossmayer Gallery, and the Croatian School Museum had no visitors at all in 2021. The Croatian History Museum and the Archaeological Museum had between 1,000 and 1,500 visitors on other premises. The Museum of Arts and Crafts logged 15,182 visitors or 19% of the pre-pandemic number. The Klovićevi Dvori Gallery, typically the most visited venue, had 58,056 visitors, only 16% of figures compared to 2019.

The Vučedol Culture Museum in Vukovar registered 8,081 visitors, whereas in the years before the pandemic their numbers went up to 90,000.

The only category which saw a rise in 2021 in relation to 2019 were those who visited museums with a family ticket, with 120,726 registered in 2019, 57,749 in 2020 and 136,212 in 2021.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 8 Feb 2022 - Istria County prefect and former Pula mayor Boris Miletić on Tuesday dismissed "all the unfounded accusations and ill-intentioned insinuations" made by Social Democratic Party county councillor Danijel Ferić, who said he had pressed charges against Miletić.

Speaking for HINA, Miletić said this was not the first time Ferić was using criminal complaints "solely as a tool for political promotion."

He said Ferić's MO was "to press charges, call a press conference and then, making bombastic statements and announcements to exert pressure on the Croatian judiciary, because he knows very well that when the charges are dismissed as unfounded and false, he will not carry any responsibility."

Miletić said Ferić, like every individual, was personally responsible for every publicly uttered untruth "which the court will easily establish."

Ferić told the press earlier today he had filed criminal complaints on behalf of the SDP against Miletić and his closest associates when he was the mayor of Pula on suspicion of financial wrongdoing.

For more, check out our politics section.

February 9, 2022 - Lauba's project cycle "Send on" continues with exhibitions of works by young authors, and this time hosts the artist Tara Stanić. The opening of the exhibition ''Only Dreams'' will take place on Thursday, February 10, at 19:00.

The exhibition cycle "Send on" of the House for People and Art Lauba, in which young authors have the opportunity to present themselves to the public, continues on Thursday, February 10, with the exhibition "Only Dreams" by Tara Stanić, reports Večernji List.

''In these works, I transfer my own dreams into reality by focusing on the atmosphere and emotion I had at that moment'', mentioned Stanić in the announcement of the exhibition.

Tara Stanić/www.lauba.hr

''I wake up from sleep with an intense feeling that accompanies me through the morning and day. In the process of waking up, I remember situations, dialogues, and emotions from dreams, and sometimes I try to discern what they were with difficulty. To prevent dreams from fading from memory, I write them down. However, certain dreams are etched in my memory for years. I am fascinated by the way dreams intertwine with each other, and how detailed and vivid they are in their unreality. I draw inspiration from their apparent incoherence, meaning, my own thoughts, dialogue, and their bizarreness. In these works, I translate my own dreams into reality by focusing on the atmosphere and emotion I had at the time'',  says Stanić about her work.

Tara Stanić/www.lauba.hr

Tara Stanić was born in Zagreb in 1998 and graduated from the School of Applied Arts and Design in Zagreb. She is a student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb at the Department of Fine Arts, majoring in graphics in the class of Professor Igor Čabraja (second year of graduate studies). Through graphics, illustration, comics, and painting, she explores the grotesque, the fantastic, alienation, and loneliness. Using narration, imaginary monsters and the dream realm combine the unusual, the creepy, and the witty. She has participated in group exhibitions in Zagreb (ALU, 2018-21) and Antwerp (Royal Academy of Fine Arts 2019, TICK TACK Gallery, 2020) where she has been part of the Erasmus + program (2019).

You can find in the map below the address and location of the House for People and Art Lauba.

Admission to the exhibition is free, and it is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m, and all prescribed epidemiological measures will be followed.

You can find more information about Tara's event in the official Facebook event.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

February 9, 2022 - The vaccination campaign across the country continues during omicron, as Prime Minister Andrej Plenković received booster dose today. Croatia is currently leading in terms of mortality per million inhabitants, and at the same time, is at the bottom of the EU in terms of vaccination.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković received booster dose of the vaccine, reports Telegram. With the publication of a photo of the moment when he received the dose, Plenković again called on the citizens to respond to the vaccination, especially in the middle of the wave of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

“In addition to my previous recovery from COVID-19 and two doses of vaccine, I also received a booster dose today, in consultation with doctors. The additional dose is particularly important during omicron circumstances. Get vaccinated and use a booster to protect against more severe forms of COVID'', Plenković announced on Twitter. The Prime Minister received the second dose five months ago, on September 10, 2021.

Plenković calls for vaccination in the midst of the collapse of the vaccination campaign. It was announced today that the CNIPH is developing a new strategy because sufficient quantities of vaccines, mobile teams, and counseling centers have not yielded the desired results. Yesterday, only 613 people were vaccinated with the first dose in Croatia.

Croatia is currently leading in terms of mortality per million inhabitants, and at the same time, is at the bottom of the EU in terms of vaccination. The number of deaths in Croatia during the pandemic is 14,244, and in the first week of February alone, 367 people died. In January, 267 people died in the same period, which means that in the first seven days of this month, as many as 100 people died more than in the same period last month - and this can be attributed to poor vaccination.

In Croatia, only 56.5 percent of citizens were vaccinated with the first dose which, when it comes to COVID, is too little to reduce mortality. 54.3 percent of citizens were vaccinated with two doses, and 19.6 percent with the booster. Citizens' interest in vaccination is declining from month to month - yesterday only 613 people were vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine, and the day before, on Sunday, just 11 of them.

For more, check out our politics section.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, make sure to bookmark our dedicated section and select your preferred language if it isn't English.

February 9, 2022 - The Jadroplov electric ferry, the first large Croatian ship to transport 1,000 passengers and 156 cars without the emission of harmful gases, could sail in 2024. 

Sometime in the spring, the construction of an electric ferry could begin in one of the Croatian shipyards. It would be the first of its kind in Croatia - without harmful gases. The project documentation is nearing completion, with all calculations and model tests.

The prototype was designed by the Split company "Classis." Predrag Čudina, a ship designer with forty years of experience, told Slobodna Dalmacija more. 

"The ship will be built for Split's "Jadroplov," with which we have signed a contract for the development of the project. So far, several electric boats have been built in Croatia, but we are talking about the first large Croatian ship to transport a thousand passengers and 156 cars, or about twenty buses and trucks and 89 small vehicles. It is a closed ferry. For the sake of comparison, it is bigger than "Petar Hektorović" from Jadrolinija's fleet."

When can we expect to see it in action?

"The project should be ready for the shipyard already in March. And it usually takes two years to build a prototype. So, "Jadroplov" could have this ship as early as 2024 if there are no problems with shipbuilders' contracts, and we are counting on domestic shipyards."

How much would this ferry cost?

"It is difficult to project, but roughly 30 million euros."

Which lines would it run?

"All lines to the central Dalmatian islands, equally those closer and further away, such as Vis or Korcula, not to mention Hvar, Brac or Solta. Of course, it can be done in any other area, but this is the closest to us. For example, the line from Split to Supetar or Rogač can be maintained six times a day in both directions without recharging the battery station. Or, three cruises a day between Split and Stari Grad, or twice to Vis or Vela Luka and back. All with one night charge, since there is less load on the electricity grid at night, and electricity is cheaper."

Where would the ferry charge?

"The port of Split has a capacity of about ten megawatts, which would be enough to charge three ships at night. Then, of course, a filling station should be built, which should not be a problem in Split, given the existing capacity of the network. Then, finally, three or four megawatts of power should be provided for islands, equivalent to the power needed for 400 households. So it’s not something that should be a problem at night."

How much does it cost, and how long would it charge?

"24 or 25 megawatts are consumed during the day. This means that if we want to charge the batteries in five hours, we need to have a five-megawatt port. If we charge it for eight hours, then three megawatts of power is enough."

There is no filling station at the ports. Who would build them?

"Preparatory meetings are already taking place; State bodies, the County Port Authority, and the Split Port Authority are also seriously interested in constructing these stations. So naturally, it counts on financing plants with European money."

What is the projected capacity of the batteries?

"We have decided for a larger capacity battery. It is more expensive but extends battery life. Today's lithium-ion can withstand six or seven thousand charge and discharge cycles, or twenty years. If you charge it once a day, the battery will be good for two decades. Charging it five times a day will shorten its life to five years. It is also important that the ferry is completely autonomous during the day and can be tied to any berth in Split. It doesn’t have to go to one that has a charging port."

What are the advantages over a classic ferry?

"The advantage is zero gas emissions, which is imperative today. And the math is good: lithium-ion battery plants have become ten times cheaper in the last ten years, so today, their price is roughly comparable to the cost of a diesel marine plant. Moreover, they usually come from China or Korea. So, this electric ferry should not be more expensive than the classic one. And the price of a night kilowatt-hour of electricity is up to three times cheaper than a kilowatt-hour from a diesel engine.

In short, for the same sailing speed, the cost of propulsion energy will be several times less than a comparable diesel ship. Of course, maintaining an electric drive is simpler and cheaper than diesel, but it is also less often needed."

How will the islanders accept an electric boat?

"Here are the arguments: passengers will come to the island or the coast faster and more comfortably. The speed of the ferry is about 15 knots in service. There will be no exhaust on the sun deck, it will have air-conditioned saloons, a bow and a stern ramp for vehicles, so there will be no need to maneuver on board, which is time-consuming. The garage will not be below the main deck, but on it, with two platforms on the side, and there will be no vehicle entry under the deck.

The voyage to Supetar will be fifteen minutes shorter and to Stari Grad up to half an hour, compared to the ships that now maintain these lines. Even bad winter weather should not affect navigation. It has been designed with two swivel stern propulsors and one bow thruster, which allows it to have decisive maneuverability."

Where else are these ships built?

"In Scandinavia: Denmark, Norway, and Sweden when we talk about Europe, but also in Japan. This niche market will be further developed, especially concerning environmental directives on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. So why not be a part of it: to have our projects and shipyards that can build such ships for domestic and foreign clients."

Is there money for such projects?

"The recovery and resilience plan, which we hear so much about, probably assumes that the allocated European money in Croatia will be spent on the recovery of the Croatian economy. The current recovery plan includes purchasing three passenger ships and three double hulls. It would be natural for them to be built on Croatian slipways and for some domestic shipyards to master the ability to construct double hulls. To employ our capacities, not just buy abroad.

State Secretary at the Ministry of the Sea Josip Bilaver said at the celebration of Seafarers' Day in December last year that the European Commission will not allow the spending of the mentioned money to construct ships that have harmful emissions. Therefore, diesel or hybrid drives would not be considered."

For more, check out our lifestyle section.