Politics

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenkovic said on Friday that at the moment he did not see any reason to get tested for the coronavirus again and that he usually consulted with experts on such matters. "I am not a 'do it yourself' person when it comes to medical consultations, I have a habit of consulting with experts. That is what the Scientific Council is for. If they suggest that I do so, I will consider doing that. At the moment, I don't see any reason for it," he said during a visit to Koprivnica…

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - President Zoran Milanovic said on Friday that due to an increase in the number of new coronavirus infections, postponement of parliamentary elections set for July 5 was theoretically possible but that he doubted that the election would be postponed. Milanovic noted that postponement of the elections in the current situation would be constitutionally possible but that it would require his holding talks with the prime minister as well as understanding on the part of the Opposition. "Such a situation is not exactly envisaged by the Constitution, but some sort of solution would be found. I believe…

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - Member of European Parliament Valter Flego of the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) has said that a key point in the IDS's platform for the July 5 parliamentary election is the digitisation and efficiency of the public administration system and that Croatia is at the bottom of the EU ladder for digitisation. "Unfortunately, according to the latest survey of economic and social digitisation for 2020, Croatia is at the very bottom in the European Union for digitised public services, whereas Pula, for example, is an absolute champion in digitisation in Croatia," Flego underlined. Noting that Europe is offering concrete…

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - The Croatian People's Party (HNS) presented its election slogan on Friday - "Croatia is loved through work," saying that its platform includes measures for the economy and free kindergartens, adding that HNS is prepared to go into a coalition with anyone that accepts its election platform. HNS has real solutions for real problems and after the election, we will go into a coalition with those parties that accept our election platform, HNS leader Predrag Stromar said. "We would go into a coalition with the HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) or the SDP (Social Democratic Party), but not…

ZAGREB, June 26, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday that the July 5 parliamentary election was very important for the future of the country and that the date was decided by the President. By dissolving Parliament in May we wanted the election to be held when the intensity of the coronavirus was lowest, and it was the President who decided that the election would be held on the second to last date possible under the constitution, Plenkovic said in the eastern town of Vukovar. Earlier in the day, during his visit to Vinkovci, he said that the…

ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - The number of coronavirus cases in Croatia is on the rise because members of the national crisis response team and the prime minister set a bad example and because recommendations from the Public Health Institute (HZJZ) are being ignored, Ivan Bekavac of the Bridge party said on Thursday. Bekavac was presenting the party's healthcare programme for the forthcoming parliamentary election. He wondered how it was possible to organise a concert for 600 people in Knin, where the singer was infected with the coronavirus, without the HZJZ measures being observed. He said that yesterday's decision to…

ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - The Croatian government on Thursday announced the possibility of introducing shorter working hours as a new measure designed to help save jobs, to be introduced in the second half of the year for businesses with more than ten employees. Labour and Pension System Minister Josip Aladrovic said that the government was working on defining, in cooperation with trade unions and employers, criteria for job keeping aid to be granted as part of a scheme envisaging shorter working hours. The measure would be in force from June 1 to December 31. Under the measure, employers who need…

ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a government session on Thursday that the government's measures designed to help businesses hit by the coronavirus crisis had helped save 600,000 jobs and 103,000 businesses. Plenkovic recalled that the measures included payments to employers for workers' wages, the write-off of direct taxes and contributions and the procurement of medical equipment for the health system. Plenkovic said the government had ensured the necessary aid also owing to Croatia's reputation on international financial markets. "We have secured financing and liquidity, payment of wages and pensions and the normal functioning of…

ZAGREB, June 25, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic on Thursday issued a message on the occasion of Independence Day, a memorial day marking the historic decision of the Croatian parliament for Croatia to separate from other Yugoslav republics. "This year we observe Independence Day as a memorial day commemorating the Croatian parliament's historic decision, the adoption of the constitutional decision on Croatia's sovereignty and independence, and the declaration on Croatia's sovereignty and independence, which confirmed the will of the Croatian people to establish an independent state," Plenkovic said in his message. Recalling the Great Serbian aggression that stood in the…

June 25, 2020 - The Croatian general election is 10 days away. Leading political commentator Ankica Mamic offers her thoughts in this pre-election preview.    Official election campaigns for parliamentary elections in Croatia have begun. Though it seemed that the election would be held in a corona-free atmosphere, that unfortunately will not be the case. The coronavirus is again among us. At the moment, the numbers are not alarming nor worrying, but the fact is that certain events have favoured its spreading, such as the Adria Tour tennis event in Zadar where numerous organisational mistakes occurred. This is damaging for the current…