ZAGREB, December 10, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović held an election rally in Zadar on Monday, calling on voters to go to the polls, and in a comment on her rivals, she said that some had sown discord for their own gain while some, who today sang patriotic songs, had been out of the country during the 1990s war.
She said that five years ago, when she was elected president, pessimism reigned in Croatia.
"Some used to say that Croatia was an accidental state and you know best how you fought for it," Grabar-Kitarović told those who gathered for the rally, thanking war veterans and all victims of the Homeland War.
Speaking of Croatia's first president, Franjo Tuđman, she said that Croatia would mark the 20th anniversary of his death on Tuesday and recalled that she had put up his bust in her office and proposed introducing an order named after him, to be awarded to those who promoted Croatia's freedom and national identity.
In a comment on Tudjman's work, she said that one had to be guided by a sense of responsibility.
"He made mistakes, I make them, we are all human, the easiest thing is to shun problems because then you definitely do not make mistakes," she said, adding that "the sin of omission is a major sin and those who led Croatia after President Tuđman pushed it into 'the region', where it does not belong."
More news about Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović’s campaign can be found in the Politics section.
