ZAGREB, 27 January 2021 - President Zoran Milanović said on Wednesday that there was no influence-peddling in the meeting between HDZ MP Žarko Tušek and independent councilor Viktor Šimunić on alleged cooperation in local elections, but that it was influence-peddling pro futuro.
Milanović said this in a statement to the press following a wreath-laying ceremony at Zagreb's Mirogoj cemetary on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
He added that it was good that the public could see what kind of methods political parties used, what they offered and what their intentions were.
The case could not be equated with a crime, the president said, asking: "What is post offering if not a coalition agreement?"
He added that state-owned companies were led by the chosen ones on behalf of the government.
"This is not about defending the prime minister and Tušek, but an indicator of how the system works," Milanović said.
"That is not normal, it is pathetic, but let's stop talking about sending people to jail for it," the president said.
