Politics

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - The six mayoral terms of Milan Bandić, who died of a massive heart attack early Sunday morning, were marked by many projects implemented in the capital city as well as by a series of corruption scandals and a few court proceedings. Bandić was born in Grude in southern Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1955, where he finished primary and elementary school. He graduated from the Zagreb Faculty of Political Science and after that he worked in the Ledo factory of frozen food. He began his political career as a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Bandić was erased…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - Dozens of local residents in Grude, southern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on Sunday gathered in front of the birth house of Milan Bandić, the mayor of Zagreb who died of a heart attack earlier in the day, and they lit candles in his memory. An image of Bandić was displayed on a video wall on a building in the southern city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, letters of condolence have been sent from several local office-holders and religious dignitaries. Some of those who sent condolences to the Bandić family and the Zagreb city administration are the mayors of…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - The Social Democratic Party candidate for the mayor of Zagreb, Joško Klisović, on Sunday extended his condolences to Mayor Milan Bandić's family, saying that Bandić had left a mark on Zagreb for 20 years in his way and that he would not discuss his political activity until after the funeral. "I didn't know him personally, but I can say that he really left a mark on Zagreb for 20 years in his own way," Klisović said on Croatian Television. He said Bandić's family, friends and everyone who loved him had the right to say goodbye in a dignified…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - The candidate of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) for Zagreb mayor, Davor Filipović, on Sunday sent his condolences to the family, associates and friends of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, saying that he does not expect problems in the functioning of the City of Zagreb. Filipović told reporters he did not expect any problems in the functioning of the City of Zagreb as there were deputy mayors and the City Assembly would continue to function normally until the election of a new mayor on 16 May. Filipović did not want to answer reporters' questions about the late mayor Bandić and…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Sunday sent his condolences to the family and associates of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, noting that after two decades of work, Bandić left behind numerous projects that have contributed to the development of Zagreb and its recognisability. "I received with regret the news of the sudden and premature death of Milan Bandić, longtime Zagreb mayor and president of the Labour and Solidarity Party... In these painful moments, I extend, on behalf of the government and my own, sincere condolences and sympathies to the Bandić family, friends and associates," the prime minister's letter of…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - President Zoran Milanović on Sunday extended his condolences to the family of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, who died of a heart attack earlier today aged 65. "I extend my condolences and sympathy to the members of the family of Mr Milan Bandić, the mayor of Zagreb, on his sudden and too early death," Milanović said in a social medium post.

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - Zagreb Deputy Mayor Jelena Pavičić Vukičević on Sunday sent her condolences to the family of Mayor Milan Bandić, who died this morning, and underscored that he lived and died for this city. "Milan Bandić truly lived and died for this city... For 20 years he worked selflessly for this city. I know that critics will say that he made some mistakes along they way, but let him who is without sin cast the first stone. I don't think there is someone like that among us," Pavičić Vukičević said in her address to the public. In retrospect, each…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - The mayoral terms of Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, who died of a heart attack aged 65 on Sunday, were plagued by many scandals, only two of which ended with non-final court verdicts, although more than 250 criminal complaints were filed against him. In October 2014, Bandić and several of his closest associates were arrested on suspicion of crimes at the expense of the City of Zagreb, including illegal favouring and hiring, waste management, the use of official cars for private purposes and forging documents in a case later dubbed Agram. After one month in custody, Bandić was released on HRK…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - Zagreb City Assembly member and candidate for Zagreb mayor, Tomislav Tomašević, sent his condolences to the family of the deceased mayor Milan Bandić, expressing regret that they will not face off in the upcoming local elections. "I express my condolences to the Bandić family. Since it is well known that I am his longtime political opponent, in that sense I am sorry that we will not face off in the upcoming local elections," Tomašević told a press conference. At the press conference, Tomašević was supposed to speak about the neglect of public infrastructure and lack…

ZAGREB, 28 February 2021 - The Social Democratic Party (SDP), whose member the deceased Zagreb mayor Milan Bandić used to be until late 2009, said on Sunday that they would remember Bandić for his undeniable talent for populism. Bandić was erased from the SDP membership in 2009 before the Croatian presidential election when he defied the then party leadership's suggestion that he should not run for the president. When he and the SDP parted their ways, Bandić ran for the country's president as an independent candidate. In the presidential runoff in January 2010, he was defeated by the SDP candidate Ivo Josipović.…