Politics

Milan Bandic wants Referendum on Renaming of Marshal Tito Square

The square, which bears the name of the controversial Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito has found itself the subject of fierce debate for many years.

As Index reported on the 12th of June, 2017, newly re-elected Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic has announced his proposal to hold a referendum on the renaming of Marshal Tito Square (formerly Kazalisni Trg/Theatre Square).

Asked if he had already begun talks about forming a majority (in essence, upon whose ''hands'' can he count) Bandic told reporters that when the time comes, he intends to go to the public from his party's seat. "The most important thing is that we have the trust, the majority, the relative majority, at all four levels'' he said.

When Bandic was asked whether or not he would agree to a condition for the changing of the name of the controversial Marshal Tito Square, Bandic said that he had already made a referendum proposal.

"I did this without consulting anyone, and I said after the election that I would refer the referendum to the first session of the Assembly, and I have to be consistent [true to my word] both before and after the elections. I am going forward with what I talked about before the elections'' stated Bandic.

Otherwise, Marshal Tito Square is one of the biggest squares in the City of Zagreb and has carried its somewhat questionable name since the year 1946, it has been a topic of heated argument and has faced intense criticism from people on all sides of the political spectrum ever since.

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