ZAGREB, January 19, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenković said at an event marking the 30th anniversary of the party's branch in Split on Saturday that his government had achieved its goals and that Croatia today was a better country than four years ago.

"Four years ago, when the party membership supported our mission to restore voters' trust in the strongest Croatian party, we had several clearly defined goals and we have achieved them all, despite attempts to weaken or destablise us," Plenković said, adding that Croatia today was a better country, with sound economic development.

He stressed that his government had shown how the dignity of the Homeland War should be protected. "Improving the status of Croatian defenders, the army and police is part of our policy," said Plenković, whose address was interrupted several times by party members' applause.

Stability of parliamentary majority important, protest movements present across Europe

Plenković underlined the importance of the stability of the parliamentary majority, noting that the government had stayed on its course.

"We have stayed on our course with those MPs and parties that have said that they share the goals of our government. We have even made some steps to develop cooperation with parties that do not share our worldview. I am aware that that is not easy, living with that and defending oneself from possible dissatisfaction, but there are no other reserve pools of MPs and votes," said Plenković while explaining the HDZ's coalition with the Croatian People's Party (HNS).

Commenting on current developments on the political scene in Croatia, he recalled that "protest movements are not present only in Croatia but all around Europe."

"They channel messages of some of our citizens who feel excluded and dissatisfied and who do not see the benefits of reforms," he said, adding that protest movements in Croatia were possibly prompted by crime and corruption at the local level and a wish for greater involvement of state institutions.

"Those tasks are ahead of us," he said.

The gathering in Split was also addressed by Split County head Blaženko Boban and Split Mayor Andro Krstulović Opara, who both expressed support for Plenković's policy.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 18, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković on Friday dismissed interpretations that the party under his helm "has gone too much to the left," reiterating that Croatia was enjoying political stability and economic growth thanks to the responsible policy of his government.

"I lead the party really transparently and, in my opinion, politically successfully as well," said Plenković in his comment on criticisms from hopefuls for the presidency of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

He rejected claims by possible challengers that the party had moved towards the left of the political spectrum and added that the HDZ would hold party election conventions in due course.

Plenković recalled that the HDZ under his helm won the 2016 early parliamentary elections when he promised political stability.

"This is the principle we stick to. This is something we are implementing in cooperation with those protagonists with whom we can find the common ground for the government's agenda, and I refer to the parliamentary majority," said Plenković when asked by the press about the situation in the HDZ and the ruling majority.

The parliamentary majority is a precondition for the implementation of projects as well as for ensuring a sound economic growth and restoration of Croatia's investment ratings, Plenković said.

During the term of this government, Croatia has experienced a growth of three percent without taking on additional borrowing. Furthermore, a positive climate for entrepreneurs to do business is being crated, and as a result, growth is being generated and new jobs created, Plenković said adding that pension allowances and monthly salaries are on the rise, demographic revival measures have been adopted and the country's international position is being reinforced.

Dismissing the criticism about going too much to the left, Plenković called on his critics to specify their concrete objections.

As for the objections from some right-wing circles about the government's support for the Marrakech Compact and the Istanbul Convention, he recalled that the adoption of the convention was also part of the agenda of the then HDZ presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in the 2014 presidential race, which means that this was part of the HDZ programme also before he took helm of the HDZ.

He pointed out that the the problem with the "disgruntled right-wing" actors had arisen when Nina Obuljen Korzinek became culture minister in 2016 after this position had been filled by Zlatko Hasanbegovic. "If you take a closer look, you'll see that no objections were made before that personnel decision. There's no ideology here, it's a made-up story."

Considering criticism about the HDZ forming a coalition with the Croatian People's Party (HNS), Plenković described the HNS as a liberal and people's party and said that their cooperation should be looked at through their programmes.

"Can the CDU and the CSU in Germany cooperate with the Liberals? I guess they can. Can we do that here? Yes, we can. Who else are we supposed to cooperate with? Who else is left? Do they want us to go with the SDP? Let them be a bit more specific." the HDZ chief said.

He also recalled that the cooperation with the HNS was established after "the worst possible disloyal move by the MOST(party)" when the MOST ministers voted for a no confidence motion against their colleague in the government, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, Plenković said.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

Croatian President-Elect Zoran Milanović gave his first interview to Mislav Bago of Nova TV on January 16, 2020. When asked what people should expect from him as president, Milanović indicated that he would defend the constitution, fight against thieves and do everything which he promised during his campaign. He also spoke about the murder which occurred in Split last weekend, as Slobodna Dalmacija reported. Here are some highlights from that interview.

What can people expect from you as Croatian president?

To defend the constitution, I will fight against thieves and all that I have said in the campaign. I haven’t promise miracles. I’ll do what I promised.

Croatia has recently been shocked by the triple murder (in Split), and there are those who have organized and want to take justice into their own hands.

It shocked me, as it did you, and all of us. Split thrives on the idea of safety although it's not a very safe city. But it's not the worst city in the world either. Croatia is a reasonably safe country and the degree of public security is very good. More work is required on prevention. I could understand the approach of people on Facebook at first, but now I can't.

That needs to stop, and the government has my support. Split is a very segmented and unique city. It is large by Croatian standards; the second largest. And it is a large diverse urban entity when Solin and Kaštela are included. Unlike Zagreb, Rijeka and Zadar, Split is very diverse on the political level. In some parts of Split I received 78 percent of the vote and in other city districts I got 20 percent. This city was built on muscle, big growth and rapid urbanization, which it has not been able to reconcile. It is a big sociological and security challenge.

These people have organized themselves (on Facebook) because they believe that the system is wrong, so they have decided to take matters into their own hands.

I haven’t seen them do anything, but the idea itself is bad.

The system has also been exposed by the tragedy in Andraševac, particularly as it relates to the elderly. We are a nation of elderly people, and the government has announced changes to the law, but they probably want to hear what the President thinks.

The existing Croatian law was adequate, and now the government has become the most convenient scapegoat. Something horrible occurred in Andraševac and it is awful. We are an aging nation and need to invest in the right types of care for people. The city of Zagreb does not even have 4,000 beds in public homes and an average bed is 4,000 HRK (538 EUR) a month. In private homes this amount reaches as much as 1,000 EUR. This is a serious political problem and anyone who seeks a government position in our country will have to address citizens’ needs, which are realistic and justified.

You are expected to assume the presidency on February 18, 2020; and you have said you want to have a normal inauguration, what would that look like?

First, this does not mean that the others weren’t normal. This is one action, you assume the office, and the only thing the constitution says is that you are required take the oath of office before the President of the Constitutional Court. This can be organized in a hundred different ways. That day will take place at Pantovčak, in the President's office, and I will invite those who I think should be present. That includes the current President, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Presidency of the Parliament, the President of the Supreme Court, the Chief of Staff, the people who ran my campaign and my wife.

Our diplomacy has already informed us about the inauguration. What if some of the presidents of neighboring states want to attend?

That won't be possible, and they won't want to attend. The inauguration will be organized the way I’ve described. In Slovenia, a directly elected president takes the oath of office in parliament. This is probably possible in Croatia as well, and it seems more appropriate to me.

Rumor has it that you and the Turkish president will initiate changes to the Dayton agreement?

This is impossible, this contract is like a border agreement and cannot be canceled by standard procedure. You would have to reunite all the stakeholders, which is impossible.

Putin congratulated you and invited you to celebrate May Day in Moscow. Have you decided whether you’ll go?

It's a legendary Russian parade. I think I'm going to attend, and I don't know what would happen if I didn’t go. I do not support the annexation of Crimea, but that does not mean that I won’t work on good relations with Russia.

In terms of cooperation with the currrent Croatian President, how is this transition period going?

It’s going OK; I'm pleased.

Were you surprised by the Prime Minister's statement regarding difficult cohabitation or were you expecting a different reaction?

He has had enough turmoil in his own party, which has been going on now for years, so I won’t comment.

What should we expect in this difficult cohabitation?

You can expect constructive cooperation, and not destructive behavior. When I gather people, who are worthy and who I consider to be the best, it won’t be to lock horns with the government. It is easy to be resourceful in the position of the presidency every day. My big advantage is that I know what it looks like on the other side. It’s a lot more difficult.

The Croatian air force planes could be a topic for disagreement?

I can’t challenge that because it’s a government decision.

But they will listen to your position. You have said publicly that this should be done directly with the Americans, without an invitation or tender, yet the government informed seven countries about the purchase, why do you think it is better to automatically work with the Americans?

Because we are not buying cars for the Croatian parliament like we did recently. You call a public tender, specify those cars and know in advance that Audis are being purchased. But if you call a public tender through the General Affairs Office of the Government, Parliament and Procurement Office: they’ll end up spending too much, rather than just buying cars directly, which is twice as cheap.

Let's say a one-year-old vehicle is purchased, however. And we are not buying cars, but deadly machines, which are essential for national security. If that decision has already been made, I won’t oppose it. There are a several factors to consider. The main one, apart from quality, is reliability. Therefore, the long-term reliability of our partners is important, as is the availability of training and spare parts for rebuilding the system. The safest route is to work with the Americans.

Could we survive without investing in aviation and invest in the Croatian Navy instead? We have a lot more sea to defend. I don't want to downplay the Air Force, but nowadays, Americans are killing and disabling targets with drones.

I agree with you. I am also the Commander-in-Chief now. The President of the Croatian Republic is only nominally the Commander-in-Chief in the event of a war or declaration of war. We have not declared war and didn’t even do so during the actual war in Croatia in the 1990s. This is what the government does during peacetime, and the President is always present. He is a kind of symbolic figure. I know a little about these things and dealt with this issue 20 years ago. However, this system is managed by the Government and I will be their partner, and what I am saying is that this is Croatia’s best interests. I can say this because I do not decide on allocating state funds. I do not decide on procurement and do not have any personal preferences. I do not know about present-day companies or factories. I used to know about all the fighter jet manufacturers as a kid, now I don't know anything about them.

I ask this because some people say that in the long run it will be more important for us to protect the sea, and we are not investing money in this area, and the question is when and under what conditions will we get the planes?

I have been saying this for five years or more. As Croatian Prime Minister, I left the mandate with an outstanding order for one, or four more – so a total of five Coast Guard patrol vessels, which are part of the Navy today. This is what we need as a minimum, but it is not enough. I consider the Navy a priority, so our 12 or so planes mean nothing in the global arena. It's purely a badge pride to have those and have that ability. It is expensive, but we are a country, not just NATO members, and the Navy and sea are our most precious resources besides humans.

You have said publicly that we do not belong in Afghanistan. Will you formally initiate the withdrawal of our troops when you take office?

I will constantly bring this up because it is a completely senseless mission. There is no solution for that situation, and the question is when the US will withdraw. It's often said, ‘We went in together, we will leave together,’ but it's not a real combat action to refer to warriors’ honor. It is a mission that our people cannot defend.

We entered there a year after the Americans, a year after the Taliban were defeated. We entered there on the initiative of Ivica Račan, but that does not oblige us. We can withdraw when we decide to without consulting anyone. It cannot be on the principle that several soldiers there earn a slightly higher salary. I'm glad about that, but I'm not glad when they come back wounded or die. The situation is stagnant, and I wonder why. The key question is why.

We also have soldiers in India and Pakistan. One wonders what our interest is there.

There is a much smaller number there, but we need to constantly check and review the ratio, not jump in blindly for our partners and their interests.

You said that Slovenia needs Croatia to be a strategic partner, but how can this be achieved with all the obstacles we have; like the arbitration issue, for example?

We’ll proceed patiently, as we did in the campaign. Slovenia is naturally our closest partner. Our challenges with them are nothing compared to the problems we have with other countries.

Do you think Bernardić could be Prime Minister?

He is the president of a strong political party, if the SDP achieves solid results in the upcoming elections and win more than 76 seats, they will have the mandate. And I cannot foresee what kind of prime minister he will be.

Europe has proposed a comprehensive green plan – and as a continent we would like to return to sustainable energy. Do you think that citizens are aware of what lies ahead and what we must do to save planet earth?

They are not currently aware but will become more so over time. We, as a small country and a small economy, contribute little or nothing to climate change and global warming. However, we also do not have the wealth and sometimes pretentious moral guard of Denmark or Sweden. This needs to be clear - it concerns us, it concerns our coast. If the sea level begins to rise, it affects our environment and where our people live. These are things that need to be talked about constantly. There are also several moral issues, such as how shamelessly rich countries are exploiting natural resources, and currently have the right to set the pace for those who are being exploited.

We know what to expect from your inauguration, but what will be among be your first decisions?

I will gather people whom I consider important. I do not mean an advisory team which bypasses the government and copies it. The team will be smaller, but for practical reasons. I can't gather everyone I’d like to have on board. There will be a smaller number of professional advisors, but don't consider it a savings. This is not because I am frugal, but that’s how it is coming together this point. Those I nominate will represent my priorities and those are: defense, national security, foreign policy and practically nothing else. I cannot reveal any names right now. I will certainly not have a social services advisor because appointing someone for that position would be pretentious and wrong. I'm not the government. I have no right to mentor the government if I cannot offer a solution. I will make a few of the social fields a priority including education and curricular reform…

What role will your wife play? She said she would like to promote the field she is working in.

She is primarily a university professor and works at the state institute on various projects. She will be doing what she would like to do. She'll probably be more present than when I was Prime Minister, but not much more. It is, after all, her decision.

Follow our Politics page for updates on the Croatian presidency.

ZAGREB, January 17, 2020 - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, who on Thursday arrived in Berlin for a two-day visit, expressed hope that the EU-Western Balkan summit meeting in Zagreb would bring about progress in opening accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.

The two officials discussed the coordination of activities pertaining to the presidency of the Council of the European Union considering the fact that Croatia is the current country-in-chair and Germany will be the next one in the second half of 2020.

Merkel and Plenković reiterated their commitment to finding solutions for the issues such as the exit of Great Britain from the European Union, the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework and a stalemate in the enlargement of the EU bloc.

After the meeting, Merkel said that the EU-Western Balkan summit meeting, set for May in Zagreb, "is a very important thing considering the problems in the opening accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania."

In late 2019, France, Denmark and the Netherlands vetoed the opening of the membership talks with those two candidates.

Plenković shared Merkel's optimism about progress to be made at the Zagreb summit meeting on 5-6 May.

The summit meeting will provide a realistic perspective on the relations between the EU and the countries in the neighbourhood so as to define a pace of the accession of the aspirants, said the Croatian premier.

Plenković emphasised the fact that his country and Germany have been fostering excellent relations for thirty years.

"Germany has been the most important partner in the political and economic fields for 30 years," he added.

In 2019, three million German holiday-makers visited Croatia and made over 21 million overnight stays.

He recalled that last year the two countries signed an action plan for boosting the bilateral relations. As a result, new economic projects are being implemented and one of them refers to the selection of Croatia as this year's partner country of the Green Week in Berlin, the world's biggest fair for food, agriculture and horticulture. The fair is taking place at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds from 17 to 24 January.

More news about relations between Croatia and Germany can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 15, 2020 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Wednesday he would not allow Croatia to be labelled as a country of anarchy, disorder and distrust in the system.

"That simply isn't correct," he said in parliament during Question Time after Social Democratic Party president Davor Bernardić said a recent triple murder in Split pointed to a lack of trust in institutions, which he said was Croatia's huge problem.

Citizens are bitter with good reason and side with those who take justice into their hands, which is not good. People have lost trust in the police, the State Prosecutor's Office, the judiciary and the government, Bernardić said, asking Plenković what was being done to stop the chaos, disorder and lawlessness.

"Such a generalisation doesn't hold water," Plenković said, adding that statistics showed Croatia to be one of the safer EU member states.

He said Bernardic was taking the Split case out of context. "It's as though you are showing understanding for an anarchy attempt, for taking justice into one's own hands."

"The government and state institutions won't allow that. There will be no anarchy in Croatia," Plenković said, adding that the police had undertaken many operations which resulted in arrests and indictments against many criminal groups.

In Split-Dalmatia County alone, there have been 1,823 narcotics seizures, he said, adding that the police solved last weekend's triple murder in a matter of hours. He agreed that the work of institutions must be stepped up, including prevention.

Bernardić agreed it was not good that people were taking justice into their hands but insisted that Plenković did not say what was being done and that, therefore, "nothing is being done."

He told the prime minister to look at what the people was thinking instead of hiding in Brussels and Strasbourg. People have lost trust in institutions, they can't look at the chaos, that's why whole families are emigrating, mainly from regions where the HDZ is in power such as Slavonia, he said.

"People feel unsafe with good reason. Your four-year term can be summed up with two words, chaos and corruption," Bernardić said.

More politics news can be found in the dedicated section.

ZAGREB, January 13, 2020 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has said that in the next few months the EU and the UK should show maturity and negotiate by the end of this year the key areas of their future relations.

Brexit is one of the main challenges of Croatia's presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of this year. The UK is expected to leave the EU on January 31, after which there will be 11 months for negotiations on future relations.

British PM Boris Johnson has said he will not seek an extension of the transitional period, which is why Plenković believes that in the next few months it is necessary to "show enough maturity and choose the areas in which there is time to negotiate."

"Now we need clarity, predictability and sensible planning for our citizens and our countries. That's our goal in the next few months," Plenković says in an interview on France 24's "Talking Europe" TV show which aired on Sunday.

After Finland failed to align the positions of the member states on the new European budget, the job is up to Croatia.

Plenković says a compromise should be reached between "the more developed countries, countries which have been in the club for over 60 years, (and) those which joined later, those which came from an undemocratic system, entered the EU 15 years ago or as (Croatia) seven years ago."

He says the less developed countries "should gradually come closer to the standard of living that the most developed countries have," and adds that it is also necessary to put emphasis on climate change, security, migration, innovation, education and other concerns for the 2021-27 period.

"The Croatian presidency will give the Western Balkan countries via the Zagreb Summit in May a clear European perspective, a clear time frame, but also a methodology for future negotiations," Plenković says in the TV show.

He reiterates that he expects proposals on certain modifications of the negotiating process methodology and an additional progress report for North Macedonia and Albania. He hopes that will result in "a political solution and restore the confidence of those two countries before the Zagreb Summit."

Asked if the defeat of Croatia's incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in the recent presidential election would negatively impact his HDZ party in the next parliamentary election, Plenković says "the government deserves credit for economic growth, it has made big progress with regard to greater solidarity in society and higher salaries."

"Presidential elections are personalised elections. We congratulate the President-elect (Zoran Milanović) and appreciate everything our President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović did on the international front together with the government."

More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 11, 2020 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenković said in an interview with the Večernji List daily issue of Saturday that he was confident his party would win the next parliamentary election owing to its unity and the government's results, and that his government would continue to lead Croatia in the right direction.

He also announced that all the necessary decisions, including a decision on calling intraparty elections, would be made in time, adding that this year parliamentary elections would be held as well and that Croatia was now chairing the EU.

Plenković went on to say that anyone who believed that they could contribute to the party was welcome to run for HDZ president and that the winner would be decided by the party membership.

He added that his ambition, when he took over the leadership of the HDZ, had been to put his experience at the service of development of all parts of Croatia and the country's greater visibility in the world.

The government wants to present its achievements to the public in a more detailed and more convincing manner, Plenković said, adding that now that the government's results in all fields were much better than before, primarily for Croatian citizens, those achievements were not sufficiently valued.

"It is our task to enable the HDZ to stay, after the elections, the strongest and winning party, and I'm confident that we will achieve that goal," he said, adding that in the present election system, except in the case of large pre-election coalitions, a single party was not likely to win more than 76 parliamentary seats and that the HDZ would seek partners with a similar platform and worldview.

In that context, he recalled that the HDZ's decision of 2016 to choose as its partners MOST, all representatives of ethnic minorities and several deputies who had supported the HDZ, had been natural and logical.

He noted that the reason for the breakup of the coalition with MOST had been their disloyal decision not to support Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, who had been a member of a previous coalition government together with MOST.

Commenting on presidential candidate Miroslav Škoro, who in the first round of the recent presidential election came in third, Plenković said that Škoro was a former HDZ member of parliament and consul-general to Pecs and that he had never seen any signs of any divergence between Škoro's worldview and identity and the HDZ's basic principles and values.

Plenković added, however, that while listening to his recent speeches, he noticed that Škoro had taken over the rhetoric of the MOST party and that he equated the HDZ with the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

"That cannot be his own theory. I don't think he is sincere. I have had the feeling the whole time that he is stating somebody else's agenda. Unlike him, I speak my mind and stand by my party programme," said Plenković.

President-elect Zoran Milanović deceived voters and HDZ members back in the 2016 election campaign by saying that the HDZ had leaned to the left, and he did it also in the recent campaign for presidential elections, claimed the HDZ leader.

He added that Milanović had falsely accused him of "having a worse opinion of (Franjo) Tuđman than he does", noting that he had a very high opinion of Tuđman and describing Milanović's claim as "a perfidious deceit... that has caused huge political damage."

Plenković said that the elements used to justify the HDZ's alleged leaning to the left were the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (Marrakesh Treaty) and the ratification of the Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention), whereby, he said, his government wanted to strengthen the mechanisms for the prevention of violence against women and domestic violence.

The government also adopted an interpretative statement saying that the Istanbul Convention "in no way introduces gender ideology, which we, too, oppose, into the Croatian legal order," said Plenković.

As for his statement that the cohabitation with President-elect Milanović would be tough, he explained that it meant cohabitation in line with the Constitution between two significantly different political camps.

As for the political future of outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, PM Plenković said that he was confident that she would make the best possible decision about her future political and professional career, thanking her for everything she had done for the country, notably on the foreign policy front.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 8, 2020 - The appointment of the new Croatian ambassador to Serbia can serve as the first test of cooperation between the incumbent government led by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and the newly-elected president Zoran Milanović, the Večernji List daily newspaper said on Wednesday.

Hido Biščević, a journalist and a career diplomat, has already been nominated by PM Plenković for that post and this nomination has been approved by President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović.

However, the whole procedure of Biščević's appointment as the next Croatian ambassador to Belgrade has not yet been completed. It needs to be also approved by the country-recipient and in this case, Serbia has already shown positive response and also the relevant Croatian parliamentary committee is supposed to interview the nominee.

Upon the completion of the whole procedure, the Croatian president signs the decision on ambassadorial appointments.

It remains to be seen whether the procedure will be finalised until 18 February when Grabar-Kitarović's term ends.

Besides, decisions to approve appointments of diplomats towards the end of the term of the outgoing presidents may be ethically disputable. The Večernji List said that Grabar-Kitarović would not rush decisions.

The post of the Croatian ambassador in Belgrade is currently vacant after Ambassador Gordan Bakota was sent to his new ambassadorial duty to Germany.

More news about relations between Croatia and Serbia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 8, 2020 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday evening that the direction taken by the party had been supported "in unison" by the presidency and the national committee during their four-hour meeting in Zagreb at which they discussed the presidential runoff outcome.

In Sunday's second round of the election, the incumbent president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, nominated by the ruling HDZ for her second term, was defeated by challenger Zoran Milanović, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and a few more opposition left parties.

"We must see the reasons for this result. We gave (her) a hundred percent support," Plenković said after the meeting of the HDZ leadership.

Answering questions from the press, Plenković said that he did not feel his responsibility for Grabar-Kitarović's defeat.

Plenković said that he had given her full support during her term as the head of state and since the start of the term of his cabinet.

He underscored that the president's agenda for the second term was supported by the party and the HDZ backed her during the campaign in the run-up to the elections.

In the coming days, county branches of the HDZ are expected to make an analysis of the reasons for differences in Grabar-Kitarović's approval ratings now and five years before when she ran for the presidency for the first time.

Plenković said that more meetings would be held in the coming days so as to see which moves to make.

As for the policy pursued by the current leadership of the HDZ, Plenković said that during the joint meeting of the presidency and the national committee, the direction taken by the party and moves on the political, economic, social and foreign affairs fronts had been unanimously supported.

Asked by the press about criticism made by parliamentarians Miro Kovač and Davor ivo Stier about the course taken by the party leadership, Plenković said that he did not know at this moment what Stier and Kovač thought and explained that they had not been at the meeting as they were not members either of the presidency or the national committee.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 7, 2020 - Commenting on the defeat of his HDZ party's presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović and turmoil in the ruling party, Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Monday that party bodies would analyse what had happened in the presidential election, dismissing as absolute nonsense accusations against him coming from the far right.

Plenković, who is on an official visit to France, said that many people had done their best to prevent the HDZ from repeating its success of five years ago.

"We will have to open some topics that have been hanging in the air for quite a while. Since the very first moment in 2016, the government and I have been targeted by lies, defamation and labelling, none of which is true," Plenković said in Paris, where on Tuesday he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.

He agreed with HDZ secretary-general Gordan Jandroković's statement that the campaign of the HDZ's candidate was more right than the party's policy, saying that Jandroković's statement was not hasty.

Plenković stressed that some of the labels against him were introduced in the public sphere by President-elect Zoran Milanović, "after which they were exploited by the far right via its media outlets and social networks."

He said the claims that the HDZ had moved too much to the centre or too much to the left under his leadership were absolute nonsense.

Plenković said that he would cooperate, in line with the Constitution, with President-elect Milanovic, whom he "phoned briefly and congratulated as a matter of courtesy".

"We will try to find a common language on topics that require our cooperation as well as on national interests, and as to what was said during the campaign, if I were to go back to that, we would not cooperate very much," said Plenković.

He said that the HDZ would analyse what had happened in the presidential election and why Grabar-Kitarović did not repeat her success of five years ago.

"There were many people who did their best to prevent that. Legitimate political opponents are one thing, but those who had supported the president five years ago and now did not, are another. I don't know what the problem is, Croatia today is definitely a much better country than it was five years ago," Plenković said.

Asked if parliamentary elections could be held before elections in the HDZ, Plenković said: "We are not at that stage yet."

As for the HDZ's coalition with the Croatian People's Party (HNS) or the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), which some hold against him, Plenković wondered why nobody had anything against the coalition with the SDSS some 15 years ago, when a deputy prime minister was from that party.

"How can this be a problem at a time when Croatia is a member of the EU, which it chairs, when it is a member of NATO, when we are self-confident, after we have won a war? There are no problems, we are dealing with the remnants of Croatia's economic transition and we are including minorities in that process, which is normal in any country."

He dismissed a reporter's remark that the reason might be that then Prime Minister Ivo Sanader had greater authority in the HDZ than he has.

"No, the reason is that the far right outside the HDZ was weaker. It has grown stronger since, and that did not happen because of me. Somebody else has introduced it into mainstream politics, (far-right politicians) have grown fond of governing and decision-making and when they are not able to do so, they pursue a different policy. That's the point and that topic should be opened and we will open it already tomorrow," Plenković said, adding that nobody would topple him and that the HDZ would hold intra-party elections at which everyone would be able to run for party president.

"Whoever wins will be leading the HDZ," he said.

Plenković also said there was good reason to believe that France's position on EU enlargement, after that country last October blocked the opening of accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, would evolve.

He said that he would discuss that topic at his talks with Macron on Tuesday, during which he would present the main aspects of Croatia's EU presidency.

More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.