Vlaho Orepić has seen his fair share of political alterations in Croatia, from becoming minister of the interior during Tihomir Orešković's government, to being shockingly dismissed by Andrej Plenković, to stepping down as an MP for MOST, one of the partners of the former ruling coalition, eventually breaking away entirely and forming a new party of his own - Nova Politika.

Known for not only his position as the minister of the interior, but for his achievements in the sporting world and his political activities in his beloved town of Ploče, Konavle-born Orepić sat down with us to discuss the past, the present, and the future, including his new party.

Why did you decide to set up a brand new political party? What values ​​does it, and you, represent?

Through the experiences I gained through my civic activism, and then through my direct participation in the work of the Government and the Parliament of Croatia I realised that politics in Croatia is not what should be expected of it. It doesn't do the work of the people. On the contrary, all the policies of the past have disrupted the [lives of the] Croatian people, and has impoverished the Croatian economy.

So, we need something new, that is Nova Politika, which will be what people expect it to be, and that means working for the people. This need, this message, and these values ​​are contained in the idea and the very name Nova Politika.

How will your party differ from the countless others who are already operating in Croatia?

We simply need order in the country, as well as in political and social relations because we as a country aren't in a crisis, but we are in disorder. The basic two goals of Nova Politika are the protection of democratic principles and procedures in political relations and the institutional arrangement, as well as the optimisation of the state. Nova Politika as a party is, unlike others, a project. A project of getting together with the aim of institutional convergence from the current disorder putting the country in order.

There are many challenges which require ambitious structural reforms, so new, life-motivated policies are needed.

First and foremost, what we're going to invest a huge amount of energy into is the struggle for the legitimacy of elections. The outcomes of the entire series of electoral processes in Croatia are crucially influenced by the voices of those who have filed a false residence in the Republic of Croatia, and as such gain a whole range of substantive rights, as well as voting rights. In its electoral register, Croatia has at least 150,000 such fictional voters. Parliament has a minimum of 4-6 parliamentarians who base their mandate on those fictional voters. That's been going on for far too long and it needs to stop.

Why did not you take advantage of this opportunity and as the minister of the interior, solve this problem?

I didn't manage to. They dismissed me. I believe that you're familiar with the fact that I uncompromisingly tried to solve this problem. In just two and a half months, the police, to whom the law prescribed that obligation, prompted the deletion of 45,000 fictional residences. Very rapidly this figure has grown to 75,000. This issue, because of political incitement and abuse, is an exceptional problem in our society.

What is especially disturbing is that this is intractable abuse and a kind of blackmail of people in need. People who, because of realistic, existential problems, engage in illegal behavior such as the fictitious reporting of residence in the Republic of Croatia. The Republic of Croatia should systematically and legally care about its emigrants and not just keep tolerating this crime.

You've endured huge political resistance to this engagement of yours and even personal discreditation. Judging from your findings, which parties have encouraged fictitious voters to participate in the elections in the Republic of Croatia?

Fictitious voters' transport from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was organised by the HDZ, SDSS and even MOST, which was concealing it from me as its minister. Even the activists engaged in the recent referendum initiatives have also collected signatures in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the pre-election campaign for local elections in Vrgorac, HDZ had a poster with a cross marked over my face which they stuck in neighbouring places and cities in western Herzegovina. With which they called "their" fictional voters to come to the elections.

But that doesn't matter anymore. It's important to realise the magnitude of this problem and to get credible electoral registers as soon as possible in order to guarantee the legality of elections in the Republic of Croatia. We need to get that in order. To move forward, we need to be able to count the results of the elections to match the real will of the citizens. That's Nova Politika.

Will someone who is already active in political or public life enter your party? Maybe one of the members of MOST? 

I hope we'll all be able get together around the goal as Nova Politika is focused on its political goal, and all those who see Croatia as a decent and well-regulated state are welcome. Let's say that proper order in the area of [registering] ​​residence should be the target of everyone who wishes our homeland well.  This is what I expect especially from those who ran their election campaigns based on fictional voters and who claim they're sovereign.

Will you participate in the forthcoming European Parliament elections, and will you have your candidate for the president of the Republic of Croatia?

The focus is on parliamentary elections. But Nova Politika partaking either alone or in cooperation with someone else in all the upcoming elections hasn't been ruled out.

What's your opinion on the work of current President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. Will you back her for a second term?

She failed to portray herself as the president of all citizens. We definitely need a new president.

At the moment, the most current issue is the collapse of an Israeli jet plane purchase. Do you think Croatia needs war planes? If so, how much money would you be willing to invest in their purchase?

We don't need to call the need for war planes into question. But what we need to take into account is our financial situation. At this point, we have no money for that. We have a whole series of challenges that are related to our bare existence. We must take into account the life priorities that hav arisen from the situation in which we're in and live within our means. Aircraft, at this time, aren't something we can afford and aren't a priority.

MOST has been looking like a conservative party recently, more and more. Do you share such a vision? If not, why were you in that party at all?

I don't share the current worldview of MOST, which is significantly different from the one they were trying to show, and which dominated while I was in MOST. The leaders of MOST have repositioned MOST within the frameworks of their own personal worldviews. It isn't mature, and it is a type of conflict politics, this is a political environment which I can't identify with.

Why did you leave MOST?

MOST as a party abandoned the very idea of ​​MOST, so I left MOST.

In two HDZ-MOST coalition governments, you were the interior minister. Would you enter into a coalition with HDZ again? Will you remain in the Parliament as an opposition representative until the end of your mandate or does a possibility for you to support the current government exist?

I'm going to remain an opposition MP.

Which parties would you potentially enter into a coalition with?

With this very question you've addressed a big problem in the functioning of politics in the Republic of Croatia. Nobody asks you what your suggestions are. What are your political goals, etc. People are already accepting or rejecting you on the basis of your ideological orientation. This approach to politics is wrong and that's why we need Nova Politika. A policy that highlights clear goals and their implementation brings together the necessary majority. We need to evolve current politics into realistic politics. Politics that can and should be measurable. Politics which will be conditioned by the mutual interaction of the principles of trust and responsibility.

Davor Božinović succeeded you as the minister of the interior. How do you evaluate his work?

He's completely unambiguous in his approach in these circumstances we're in and his root changes make him look superficial. Manipulation with fictitious residences and some staffing solutions paralysed the operational work of the police and indicated a lack of workability. He acts unambiguously because he has no ambition and therefore no actual results.

What do you think about the Croatian police's treatment in relation to migrants on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina? Does the behavior of the police differ now than from when you were minister?

The migrant policy of Croatia, of which a lot is dealt with by the police I consider to be good. The work on the frontier is on the line of the one that was designed and established during my mandate. There is no leg room when it comes to illegal border crossings but there's also a very human approach when it comes to caring for people in need. Some isolated failures in treatment can't diminish the significance of the police work done.

When talking about migration policy, every day Croatia that it is a responsible member of the EU, because don't forget that the Croatian police, in protecting the borders of the Republic of Croatia, are also working to protect the EU's external borders.

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ZAGREB, January 21, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Sunday he had been doing all he could over the past two and a half years to reduce divisions and tensions in society, and reiterated that he expected Vukovar Mayor Ivan Penava to calm tensions in the eastern town.

Plenković was speaking to the press in Zagreb on Sunday evening after opening the workshop "Digitisation of Public Services". He spoke about projects for which Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić was seeking government support, about an incident in Parliament between him and Nikola Grmoja of the opposition MOST party, and about the situation in Vukovar.

The prime minister said he could see no connection between the projects for which Bandić was seeking government support and an early election. There is no doubt, he said, that making support of Bandić's parliamentary group for the ruling majority conditional on support for his projects "is an imposed issue that does not exist."

This government has established partnerships and dialogue with regional and local government units, and basically all of them are allocated more money as a result of legislative reforms. Some units may have received less because of their development, he added.

Asked about his conflict during Question Time in Parliament with MOST MP Nikola Grmoja, who accused him and Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić of high treason and working in Serbia's interests, Plenković said that this issue should be seen in a wider context.

"There are parties that want to impose Croatia-Serbia relations and relations between the Croats and the Serb minority in Croatia as key issues, and in a polarising way. If you have people who would block Serbia's EU accession negotiations in chapters concerning statistics, economic and monetary union, then you are dealing with people who do not understand this subject, but use it to intensify the spiral of hatred. Accusing the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of working in Serbia's interests and accusing the prime minister of systematically working in the interests of Serbia is a matter that cannot be ignored and I made that clear in Parliament," Plenković said.

Asked about the latest incidents in Vukovar and statements by mayor Ivan Penava, the prime minister reiterated that he had spoken to him several times in the last few months. "I expect him to do his work by reducing tensions. His task is to be the mayor of all citizens of Vukovar," he said.

Plenković noted that Penava had been elected mayor thanks in part to the support of the local Serb community and that he should make sure he did not make any move that would cause tensions in the town. "We as the government and as the state must move forward based on fundamental prerequisites such as truth, bringing war criminals to account, respecting the symbols of the Croatian state - the flag, national anthem and coat of arms, and investing in the education of young people who show respect for the country of which they are citizens," the prime minister said.

"I have been doing all I can in these two and a half years to reduce divisions and tensions in the Croatian society. In this process I have taken upon myself a lot of things and a huge part of the electorate does not consider it good. Anyway, I am fully confident that what I am doing is good and that there is no alternative to a coexistence, dialogue, education and mutual respect. But war crimes cases must be fully dealt with," Plenković said.

Speaking at the opening of the workshop "Digitisation of Public Services", which will be conducted by Harvard University professors at the State School of Public Administration, Plenković said that this was a valuable project that would focus on the complex healthcare system over the next three days.

The workshop is the result of cooperation between the State School of Public Administration and Harvard University. At the opening ceremony, the executive director of Harvard Kennedy School, Amy Capman, and the head of the State of School of Public Administration, Rudolf Vujević, signed a cooperation agreement.

The project is fully financed by the Lukšić family, which has for many years provided scholarships for Croatian students to acquire additional knowledge at Harvard University. Plenković thanked Davor Lukšić, the CEO of the Excelsa business consulting firm, for that.

During the workshop, about 40 selected participants will acquire specific management skills and knowledge about digitisation, better functioning of public administration, public policy making, and budgeting.

Plenković said he was confident that this would help improve the quality of public service, in this particular case in the healthcare sector.

More politics news can be found in our special section.

ZAGREB, January 19, 2019 - Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković on Friday commented on this week's incident involving Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and MOST MP Nikola Grmoja, saying the prime minister's reaction, no matter how inappropriate, was a reaction to unacceptable accusations of high treason.

"We're not all the same. There's a reaction, there's a trigger, i.e. what the MOST MP said," Jandroković told reporters in Rugvica near Zagreb, inviting them to find out the roots of the commotion in parliament on Wednesday, i.e. who caused the incident by using inappropriate language.

He said Grmoja's accusations of high treason were serious and that he made them because Croatia was not blocking Serbia's European Union accession negotiations. "When you accuse someone of high treason, you have accused them of a serious crime," he said, adding that everyone must be accountable for their actions.

"Political dilettantism, populism and demagoguery in which one is calling for bringing Croatia into an international situation which would harm it, only someone who is politically rather stupid can do that or someone who understands nothing or is very ill-meaning and malicious," Jandroković said.

After a reporter noted that HDZ MPs had also accused the opposition of high treason in the past, he said those were isolated cases, whereas Grmoja did so intentionally. "They are deliberately causing tensions between the Croatian people and the Serb minority. It's planned. They are doing it to score cheap political points," he said, calling it a dirty political game.

Jandroković said Plenković did not try to assault Grmoja but wanted to explain to him that what he had said was unacceptable.

As for five demands which the Zagreb mayor forwarded to the government, he said he had not seen them. "We won't agree to any blackmail. Those who blackmail can't be part of the ruling coalition. If there is any blackmail, we will go to an early election."

Reporters asked Jandroković if there was a connection between a recent assault on a high school student in Vukovar who attends classes in the Serbian language and a press conference by mayor Ivan Penava and the publication of a video of Serb students who did not stand up as the Croatian national anthem was played. He said he could not talk about a connection before the investigation was over.

"I can't tell you what could have produced a certain effect, but I'd also like to ask whether it's OK that someone doesn't stand up during the Croatian anthem. We are talking about children here. They should be protected and children's right to privacy should be respected, but it would also be good to tell everyone in Croatia that they should stand up when the Croatian anthem is played because it's a sign of respect for the Croatian state and the Croatian people."

Jandroković pushed for a balanced approach to serious matters. "This is crossing the line of simple politics. This is encroaching upon fundamental freedoms, fundamental rights. Those freedoms and rights are being threatened and we must be very careful about what we say and how we say it."

More news on the Croatian Parliament can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 17, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Thursday he would not tolerate accusations about high treason, saying that deputies of the MOST party were continuously contributing to growing hate speech and that there was no scenario in which he would cooperate with them.

"Yesterday's debate in parliament resulted in a salvo of insults, lies, defamation and this time even slander, even accusations against the deputy prime minister and myself about high treason. This is a new formulation coined by a MOST MP. I believe this is absolutely unacceptable, this is the line that defines that we as politicians involved in a political struggle, in dialogue, can tolerate insults, lies and slander, but we cannot tolerate accusations of high treason," Plenković said at his cabinet meeting.

During a parliamentary debate on a report submitted by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković about his attendance at European Council meetings in 2018, Nikola Grmoja of the opposition MOST party said that Plenković and Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić were working in the interests of Serbia, which caused an uproar in the parliament chamber, prompting Speaker Gordan Jandroković to order a 10-minute break in a bid to defuse the situation.

During the break Grmoja told the press that Plenković had attempted to lunge at him, but was prevented by other MPs.

Plenković said at the cabinet meeting on Thursday that this was MOST's constant contribution to the spreading of hate speech, "a spiral of hatred that keeps spinning." "In my response I have clearly said that neither I as prime minister, nor this government or the ruling Croatian democratic Union (HDZ) party will tolerate the spreading of the kind of hatred that this party is spreading. We draw a line here. Under no circumstances will we cooperate with such political actors," Plenković said.

The political secretary of the MOST party, Nikola Grmoja, on Thursday commented on Wednesday's incident, saying that he would not take back a single word, on the contrary, he would further emphasise certain things.

MOST leader Božo Petrov said the prime minster had shown that he had a glass chin, while MP Miro Bulj said the prime minister acted like a bully. "Yesterday's incident in parliament during which the prime minister attempted to lunge at Grmoja and things almost became physical between the prime minister and an MP, tells us that all masks are off. The person who claims that it is his objective to 'de-dramatise' the events has made a drama like we haven't seen since 1990," Petrov told a news conference.

Petrov said he could understand if the prime minister was angry or nervous because "it is very difficult to explain why he and his government have enabled the opening of new negotiating chapters for Serbia, despite the fact that Serbia has not met benchmarks from Chapter 23."

"From all of this we can conclude that this government is working in the interests of Serbia and not in the interests of Croatia. Working in Croatia's interests would mean that former prison camp detainees would receive legal protection in Croatia and a possibility would be created for Serbia to pay out damages to Croatian detainees. This hasn't happened to this day," Petrov said, adding that yesterday's incident showed that the prime minister had a glass chin.

Grmoja said that, although Serbia had failed to meet benchmarks from Chapter 23 in its accession talks with the European Union, it had nevertheless opened new chapters. He accused Pejčinović Burić and Plenković of doing nothing to prevent such developments. He then reiterated several times that the Croatian prime minister and foreign minister were working in Serbia's interests.

"The truth is that the entire debate and questions were appropriate and I didn't get the answers to my questions," Grmoja told the press, adding he was standing by all his claims. "I will not back down an inch because this is high treason!" Grmoja said.

MP Bulj said that it was not true that Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS), who was present during Wednesday's incident in parliament, had tried to calm the situation down. On the contrary, the entire time he was saying 'You are provocateurs and you are spreading hatred,' Bulj said.

More news on the incident in the parliament can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 17, 2019 - During a parliamentary debate on a report submitted by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković about his attendance at European Council meetings in 2018, Nikola Grmoja of the opposition MOST party said that Plenković and Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić were working in the interests of Serbia, which caused an uproar in the parliament chamber, prompting Speaker Gordan Jandroković to order a 10-minute break in a bid to defuse the situation.

Grmoja said that although Serbia had failed to meet benchmarks from Chapter 23 in its accession talks with the European Union, it had nevertheless opened new chapters. He accused Pejčinović Burić and Plenković of doing nothing to prevent such developments. He then reiterated several times that the Croatian prime minister and foreign minister were working in Serbia's interests.

In his response, Plenković said: "Don't say that. Your look pathetic when you say that the foreign minister is working in the interests of Serbia. You can be creative, but don't be pathetic." The PM said that he would not allow the situation to turn into a spiral of recriminations that could end up in incidents.

After Plenković's response, Grmoja kept on saying that the prime minister was nervous, which caused clamour among lawmakers.

At that point, the parliament speaker said that a 10-minute break would ensue, urging MPs to stop trading insults. "You are making serious accusations against the prime minister, claiming that he works in the interests of another state. That is slander," Jandroković said addressing Grmoja.

During the break Grmoja told the commercial broadcaster N1 that Plenković had attempted to lunge at him, but was prevented by other MPs.

After the break, several MPs again proposed a new break, while Grmoja kept claiming that Plenković had tried to lunge at him during the previous break. "I do not know if he would have hit me but he wanted to come at me in his nervous state," Grmoja said.

Lawmakers Milorad Pupovac and Anka Mrak Taritaš called for an end to emotionally-charged debates in parliament.

The government press office on Wednesday dismissed Grmoja's claims about Plenković and FM Pejčinović Burić working in the interests of Serbia as unacceptable allegations. The government also denied the MOST MP's claim that Plenković wanted to lunge at him but was stopped by other MPs during a break in the parliament session.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković commented on his conflict with Nikola Grmoja. Plenković said that Grmoja's tirade against Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić and him, virtually accusing them of high treason, constituted hate speech and slander.

"If a person tells you in parliament that you have systematically been working in the interests of another country, in this specific case Serbia, then that is unacceptable. This crossed the line of what is normal in the Croatian parliament," the prime minister said.

He said he was going to ask Grmoja to explain who he meant was a traitor, but the MOST MP had left the chamber.

"We have witnessed a lot of insults, defamatory and slanderous statements, especially by several MOST MPs. But when a member of the Croatian parliament accuses the government of working in the interests of another country, of high treason, then we can say that the line of what can be called a political view or opinion has been crossed. That's too much and that's why I told him that his comments were pathetic," the prime minister said.

More news on the MOST party can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 4, 2019 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in an interview with the national broadcaster (HTV) on Thursday evening that his cabinet would very probably scrap the plan for the purchase from Israel the F-16 fighter jets it chose because of the problems that have come up between Israel and the US.

The Defence Ministry has asked Israel to officially notify it by January 11 if it could deliver the fighter jets Croatia chose transparently in an international tender, saying that if Israel could not, Croatia would cancel its decision on the choice of multipurpose fighter jets.

The ministry reiterated in a press release that Israel had the obligation to obtain the US administration's approval for the delivery of the jets to Croatia in the appropriate configuration. "When the State of Israel officially notifies us regarding the matter, we will inform the Croatian public in a timely fashion," the defence ministry stated.

Plenković said that it was only recently that Croatia got information about Washington's objection to the delivery of the above-mentioned jets, and underscored that now Zagreb was waiting for Israel's answer.

It is almost certainly that Croatia will cancel the tender, if it cannot obtain what it has chosen during the bidding procedure, according to Plenković.

Plenković told the HTV that his cabinet's plan was to improve Croatia's credit rating to the investment level until the end of this new year. During 2018, the world's three leading rating agencies – Standard&Poor, Fitch and Moody's – revised upward their ratings or their outlook on Croatia.

S&P and Fitch now keep Croatia's rating one notch below the investment level, while Moody's keeps it two notches below the investment level.

Fitch has a positive outlook on Croatia, while Standard&Poor's and Moody's outlook on Croatia is stable.

More news on the purchase of F-16 planes can be found in our Politics section.

For political leaders and voters, 2019 will be an exciting year. First up are the elections for the European Parliament in May, followed by presidential elections next winter, which will themselves be just a warm-up for parliamentary elections no later than 2020. Here is the 2019 political forecast for some of the most prominent politicians, reports Jutarnji List on January 1, 2019.

Former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović (SDP) is expected to announce whether we will run for president against his erstwhile opponent, current President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović. On the other hand, we will see whether her political turnaround toward the political centre will succeed, bringing her closer to the current HDZ leadership. This year we will also find out whether Dalija Orešković, the former chairwoman of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission, is a new political star, as well as how the turmoil in SDP will end. Events in HDZ also promise to be interesting, with party leader Andrej Plenković's expected attempt to get rid of remaining party opponents, including deputy party president Milijan Brkić.

Milan Bandić, mayor of Zagreb
The mayor of Zagreb is in good political form, with his parliamentary group expanding with new MPs almost weekly. There are rumours that it is only a matter of time when Bandić will knock on Plenković's door and demand a government's reconstruction, with his representatives becoming ministers. Apart from Plenković, Bandić must keep watch over the State Attorney’s Office and courts. Just one guilty verdict could be enough to end the career of the most enduring Croatian politician. Therefore, 2019 might be a challenging year for Bandić.

Tomislav Karamarko, former HDZ president
The former HDZ chief and the most powerful politician in the country three years ago is reportedly thinking about returning to politics, but the main barrier is his successor Plenković. Another danger is the so-called “fake text messages scandal.” The only good opportunity for Karamanko's political return this year are European elections in May, and only if he succeeds in restoring the right-wing alliance with his former culture minister Zlatko Hasanbegović.

Davor Bernardić, SDP president
The SDP president is facing numerous dangers, and 2019 will be a decisive year for him. The critical moment will be the European elections in spring. If his battered political party is defeated as expected, his remaining allies in the SDP leadership will turn against him.

Damir Krstičević, defence minister
For the ambitious minister of defence, the key political event will take place immediately at the beginning of the year. Possible failure of the project to buy Israeli fighter jets is a significant danger for Krstičević. Failure could easily cost him a seat in the cabinet. To make matters worse, it seems that the fate of this military "deal of the century" is no longer in his hands. The help can only come from Washington.

Andrej Plenković, the prime minister
In the first two years of the prime minister's term, he survived a break with MOST and the potentially deadly implosion of Agrokor. He also dealt with intra-party opponents, but the primary battle is still ahead of him. His expected duel with Milijan Brkić is an opportunity for a decisive victory over the right wing of his party. Excellent prospects for further strengthening of his position are also offered by the European elections, which HDZ is expected to win easily. A stray bullet from the Agrokor affair or possibly some skeletons from the closet are the greatest dangers for Plenković in 2019.

Dalija Orešković, former chairwoman of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission
The former president of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Commission has announced the establishment of a new political party. The key event for her is the spring European elections where she is expected to run with her candidate list. If she manages to achieve a good result, an even better opportunity to break into the very top ranks will be available later in the year – presidential elections. How successful she will be depends a lot on the people she will surround herself with.

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, president
The current president has made her new year's resolution earlier than usual. She has decided to clean up her office before Christmas and enter the new year with new advisors. To win the second term in office, she should get closer to the prime minister and HDZ, and distance herself from the far-right. On her way to the second presidential term, the most significant obstacles are her former friends from the right, but also her old colleague from the time they used to work together in diplomacy – Zoran Milanović.

Zoran Milanović, former prime minister and former SDP president
The leadership crisis in the SDP has increased the chances of Milanović’s return to politics. Numerous SDP members have already expressed their wish to see the former prime minister run for president. Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović is shaken, and if she cannot recover quickly, this could be a chance Milanović would not want to miss. His potential candidacy is at the same time his greatest possible risk because in the case of a defeat he would definitely be remembered as a major political loser. His final decision on whether to run depends on whether the entire SDP and other left-liberal parties would support his candidacy.

Ivan Vilibor Sinčić, Živi Zid president
According to the latest poll, Živi Zid is now the most popular opposition party, so we can say that Sinčić is the new leader of the opposition. The best opportunity for Živi Zid this year is the European Parliament election, as well as presidential elections for Sinčić personally in the winter. The greatest danger is a possible appearance of a new anti-systemic political party that would make him and Živi Zid redundant.

More news on Croatian politics can be found in our special section.

Translated from Jutarnji List.

ZAGREB, January 1, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković has released his New Year message wishing the Croatians in the country and abroad a happy and successful 2019, and recalling the measures his cabinet has taken in the outgoing year to raise the living standards.

In this context, he underscores a marked reduction of the tax burden which consequently has led to growing employment, higher salaries and better consumption, all of which has facilitated the economic growth.

In his New Year message, Prime Minister Plenković recalls that as of the start of the new year, Croatians will pay lower Value Added Tax on food and certain products, which will enable them to have a higher disposable income. "We wish for all Croatian people to live a decent life and therefore we advocate a higher social solidarity."

"We have increased the minimum wage to 3,000 kuna and pensions by 6 percent. A set of measures have helped over 50,000 citizens to have their bank accounts unblocked," he says.

Our future are our young people. Therefore, we are investing a lot in education and raising scholarships. The curricular reform is supposed to provide young people with high-quality education which will be conducive to their efforts to find jobs, he said.

Furthermore, the prime minister expresses his satisfaction with statistical figures indicating that negative birth growth has been halted. Thus in the first ten months of this year, 351 more babies were born than last year, according to Plenković's message.

We are expanding a set of measures aimed at the demographic revitalisation and at attracting Croatian expats to return to the homeland, he says.

Croatian prime minister also says that his cabinet is aware that the results in some fields have been better, whereas it is necessary to take additional efforts in some other fields. In this context, he points out the endeavours to achieve an even and balanced development in all corners of Croatia.

"In the year ahead of us, we are going to pay particular attention to strengthening citizens' confidence in the independence and efficiency of institutions. In that way, we will encourage a sense of justice and optimism in our society," the premier says.

Croatia will intensify its preparations for assuming the rotating presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2020 and for membership in the Schengen zone.

Let us together continue building a better and more prosperous Croatia. I wish you health and well-being, success and happiness in 2019, Plenković concludes in his message.

More news on the Croatian politics can be found in our dedicated section.

The Croatian Prime Minister looks back on his government's achievements during 2018, and offers and insight into what else will be implemented in 2019, from tax reductions and help with housing costs to demographic measures.

''If, because of the continued issues between Israel and America, the Republic of Croatia is unable buy the F-16 Barak combat aircraft from the Israelis, as it has chosen to, Croatia will cancel its decision,'' said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković in an interview with Vecernji list.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 31st of December, 2018, in his New Year's interview with Vecernji list, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković spoke about the government's 2019 announcements in the field of tax policy, economy and demography, Croatia's foreign and EU policy, and relations with neighbouring countries.

 When asked if Israel had written approval from America to allow for the sale of F-16 Barak aircraft to Croatia when they showed up at the Croatian tender for the purchase of combat aircraft, Plenković said that "Israel had taken on the obligation of needing to obtain American permission for the sale of the airplanes offered, ie, the F-16 Barak, which Croatia has chosen ".

"At this point, we have information that the US doesn't agree with the sale of Israel's airplanes [which have been] offered to Croatia and insists that all the equipment with which the Israeli aircraft has been upgraded and modified be removed from them. We expect an Israeli declaration in view of these new circumstances,'' the Croatian Prime Minister stated.

"As I said publicly three weeks ago, if we were unable to buy the airplanes we selected, the government will cancel its decision on the choice,'' he noted.

 Regarding a recent decision by the President of the Republic of Croatia to dismiss her adviser Mato Radeljić, the Croatian Prime Minister recalled the fact that there were a number of advisors who had also been dismissed, adding that he was talking about staffing issues under the authority of the Croatian president.

Commenting on Radeljić's allegations of alleged threats made to him from SOA, Plenković said that SOA had carried out internal controls and no pressure or threats of any kind had been found.

"I spoke with SOA's chief, he reported to me that SOA carried out its internal oversight of this issue, and even the slightest doubt that pressures or threats were being made to the former advisor were completely eliminated,'' he added.

 When asked about the now somewhat infamous SMS affair, the Croatian Prime Minister emphasised that this affair was particularly bad because it regarded absolutely unacceptable behavior.

''Fabrication, ie, the counterfeiting of alleged correspondence of the highest political and judicial officials, was aimed at destabilising the political scene, the institution and the legal order. We want to strengthen trust in our institutions, I expect the police, DORH and all the competent bodies to keep shedding light on this affair right up until the end,'' he said.

 Regarding the government's implemented tax reforms, the Croatian Prime Minister said that his government is continuing to reduce taxes, including VAT rates, as it committed to earlier in its program.

 "Our tax system is now simpler and fairer than it was at the beginning of this mandate, with a total tax deduction for citizens and entrepreneurs of 6.5 billion kuna,'' Plenković said, adding that tax on medicine will drop as of the 1st of January, 2019.

''We've seen that shops have already started lowering their prices, which hasn't been the case so far, and this way it [the tax reductions] will be felt by citizens,'' he added.

 Asked if he has now completely dropped the controversial idea of property tax, the Croatian Prime Minister simply said, "There will be no property tax."

Reflecting on the demographic measures implemented by his government so far, Plenković emphasised the fact that he believes that positive demographic figures are also showing that, over the first ten months of 2018, 351 children more were born than during the same period last year, and that this is a direct result of the Croatian Government's various demographic measures.

"When we keep in mind that this number has continued to decline over the last twenty years, and in 2017, 981 less children were born than there were one year earlier, this latest data provides moderate optimism," he said.

"We're subsidise housing loans for young people, thanks to which 5,200 families now have their homes. In the next two years, another 5 or 6 thousand families can expect to be helped to build or purchase a house or apartment," the Croatian Prime Minister added.

 In addition, he said, tax reforms had strong positive demographic effects on the country.

Make sure to stay up to date with our dedicated politics page for much more.

Years pass, but some things never change in Croatian politics. The year which is about to end has again been full of drama and scandals, and just occasional good news. Remarkably, many of the same issues which you will read about here have featured prominently in our reviews for 2016 and 2017 as well, which just shows that most problems in Croatia are just swept under the rug and never solved. What follows is Croatian Politics 2018, a review of events which will be remembered from the past year, as reported by TCN.

The year began with tensions in the Bay of Piran, part of the Adriatic Sea which Croatia and Slovenia both claim. In late 2017, Slovenia decided to implement the decision by arbitration tribunal which awarded Slovenia most of the bay. However, Croatia has refused to accept the decision, saying that the arbitration process was compromised by Slovenian government representatives who were in collusion with a supposedly independent arbitrator. The tensions raged for a few weeks, with MEPs proposing military solutions and war veterans talking about organising a rather provocative regatta. Eventually, reason prevailed, and the tensions died down. However, the issue is still unresolved, despite assurances to the opposite, with Croatia calling for negotiations and Slovenia insisting on the implementation of the arbitration decision. You are sure to read about this dispute in our 2019 review as well, particularly given Slovenia’s decision to file a lawsuit against Croatia.

Relations with Serbia are always in the focus of interest, and this year was no exception. In January, the government was surprised to hear that President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović had invited Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić to visit Croatia officially. After a short argument over who is really leading Croatia’s foreign policy, Vučić arrived in Zagreb. While the visit mostly went well, the relations between the two countries deteriorated steadily throughout the year and the debate about whether Vučić should have been invited at all continued. Another turn for the worse took place in April when a Croatian parliamentary delegation’s visit to Belgrade was cut short after an incident in the Serbian parliament caused by a notorious Serbian MP and war criminal Vojislav Šešelj. Tension rose again in August when the anniversary of Operation Storm is traditionally celebrated, marking Croatia’s liberation of previously occupied territories in 1995. Serbian President Vučić gave a series of provocative statements, including comparing Croatia to Hitler.

As for the economy, January brought the first worrying signs about the future of Croatian shipyards, a low number of new orders, and about the government’s apparent unwillingness to continue to cover shipyards’ losses. Later in the year, the crisis in the Uljanik shipyard in Pula and its 3. Maj branch in Rijeka would feature prominently in our reporting. Workers spent months striking due to unpaid wages. As the year ends, the situation is still dire and “strategic partners” which the government hopes to find are nowhere to be seen.

“Reforms” is one of the most popular words of Croatian politicians. Every year in January we can hear officials saying that the year ahead is “the year of reforms” which will make Croatia much more prosperous. Needless to say, these promises are never fulfilled, and 2018 did not disappoint. The issue served the president well since she was able to attack the government for lack of reform efforts whenever it suited her.

Ideological debates and historical revisionism attempts continued in 2018 as well. In February, the government-appointed historical commission published its recommendations on issues related to the authoritarian regimes from Croatia’s past, but the conclusions did not satisfy anyone, except for the prime minister, who likes to pretend that the recommendations have solved the problem.

The year which is about to end has again brought us the problem of censorship, questions about media freedoms, warnings about the rise of the far right, separate commemorations held in Jasenovac, the parliament refusing to sponsor anti-fascism events, people destroying flower beds because they reminded them of communism, historical revisionism on the public television, assaults on journalists, satirists receiving death threats, “suspect” politicians being assaulted, photos of Tito slipping from under Croatia’s coat of arms, former prime ministers being sentenced for corruption, and media regulators receiving death threats.

The Catholic Church is undoubtedly part of the political life in Croatia, so it is no wonder that rumours about changes coming to its leadership draw considerable attention. While nothing has been confirmed, it is expected that the Archbishop of Zagreb, Cardinal Josip Bozanić, could be replaced in the new year. In the meantime, the church has continued to receive vast amounts of money from the state budget, meddle in politics, as well as advise the government on the new abortion law, 

The demographic crisis continued, with high emigration and low birth rates bringing down the number of inhabitants. The president and the government argued about who and what was to blame. The president even presented her measures to solve the problem, which were soon forgotten, and demanded a special session of the government, which never took place. Proposals were presented on how to convince people not to move, as many sectors faced a lack of workers, while many schools started closing down. The extent of the crisis was such that even Serbian President Vučić became "worried." The only “good news” came at the end of the year when reports claimed that the emigration wave was calming down because everybody who wanted and could have left already did.

One of the issues we write regularly in these annual reviews is the construction of Pelješac Bridge, which will connect the Dubrovnik area with the rest of Croatia without the need for travellers to pass through a short stretch of Bosnian territory. After many years of delays, the project has finally moved into the implementation phase. Early in the year, a decision was made to award the tender for the construction to a Chinese consortium, despite protests made by Bosnia and Herzegovina that the bridge could not be constructed before the border between the two countries in the area is defined. The decision to award the contract to a Chinese bidder also brought about a marked change in relations between Croatia and China, which were later further improved by high-level meetings and visits.

Another perennial issue is the future of INA, Croatia’s national oil company, which is owned jointly by the Croatian government and MOL, Hungarian national oil company. In 2016, the prime minister announced that Croatia would buy back MOL’s share of INA. Two years later, nothing has changed. Earlier this year, the government selected financial advisors for the buyback, but the contract with them was never signed. One of the main issues is the future of the INA refinery in Sisak. While in January the relevant minister said he was optimistic about the refinery’s future, by the end of the year he apparently changed his opinion. Another issue is Croatia’s arrest warrant for MOL’s CEO, which Hungary does not want to implement.

Another year has passed, and the supposedly “strategic” project of an LNG terminal on the island of Krk has again gone nowhere. Multi-year delays have continued. The government announced two tenders trying to find out who would be interested in using the terminal once it is built (if that ever happens), but the results were dismal. Just two government-owned companies applied, presumably after receiving a nudge from officials to send their applications and help the government avoid a total disaster. While the project receives verbal support from foreign governments, no one seems to be interested in sending binding offers to use its capacity.

One piece of good business news was the apparently successful conclusion to the worst part of the crisis in Agrokor, one of Croatia’s largest and most important companies. The agreement between creditors was concluded, thanks mostly to Russian banks, although not without an accompanying scandal about high fees paid to consultants, some of whom actually took part in the secretive process of writing the special law which the government adopted to save the company from collapse. The scandal took out Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalić and government-appointed commissioner Ante Ramljak, who had to resign under pressure. E-mails were published which showed that the prime minister knew more about the dealings than he initially admitted, but he managed to escape more or less unharmed. Agrokor’s former owner Ivica Todorić, who fled earlier to London to avoid arrest, was extradited to Croatia late in the year, after multiple delays and court proceedings. Even Tony Blair’s wife could not help him. He has since been released on bail and is currently awaiting possible indictment. The legal proceedings are expected to last for many years.

Good economic news brought us the first upgrade in Croatia’s credit rating since 2004. Unemployment numbers were also down, although more due to mass emigration than to economic revival. Good tourism results, especially in the pre-season and post-season, helped Croatia achieve planned economic growth for 2018 (still among the lowest in the EU). Slightly more moderate growth is expected in 2019, with the lack of reforms being the main culprit. The budget recorded another good year, with spending and revenues being more or less balanced, while the public debt has continued to decline. The year ended with another round of tax cuts and pension reform. Croatia has also announced plans that it will adopt the euro as its currency. The process is expected to last many years.

The ratification of the convention on preventing violence against women, the so-called Istanbul Convention, somewhat unexpectedly turned into a crisis for the government in April when a large group of HDZ MPs decided to vote against the proposal, despite prime minister’s insistence that it should be ratified. While the convention was easily adopted thanks to opposition support, it turned into another attempt by HDZ’s right wing to weaken or possibly topple Plenković as party leader and prime minister. Just like several other similar attempts, it did not succeed.

A national security issue which has drawn a lot of media attention throughout the year is the acquisition of military fighter jets. The decision was first delayed for years, then it was supposed to be made in 2017, but again delayed first to early 2018, and then beyond. After much lobbying, the government finally decided to buy 12 F-16s from Israel. The questions about the deal persisted, with many asking why Croatia was “rejuvenating” its air force with ancient aircraft. By the end of the year, the contract for the deal has not yet been signed, amid disputes between the United States and Israel about what equipment Israel can legally sell to Croatia. Grand plans about “strategic cooperation” with Israel also appear to be on hold. Defence Minister Damir Krstičević has invested a great deal of personal effort in the deal, but the acquisition is still in question, and its final fate is yet to be determined.

As expected, the political circus took a break in June due to the World Cup in Russia. While the break was initially expected to last just a couple of weeks, until the Croatian national team is eliminated in the first phase of the competition as usual, its spectacular success extended the political break to a full month and more. Of course, leading politicians did not miss this opportunity to travel to Russia and have their picture taken with footballers and fans. Needless to say, even this occasion, which was supposed to unite the country, brought divisions, primarily due to an appearance by a controversial singer at the homecoming ceremony, which was attended by hundreds of thousands of people.

The Istanbul Convention ratification prompted one of this year’s two referendum initiatives to be launched. The other effort involved proposed changes to the election laws, which would substantially reduce the rights of national minorities to elect their MPs. The government was against the referendums, while the president seemed to be of a different opinion. While both initiatives claimed they had gathered enough signatures for the referendums to be held, the government checked the signatures and conveniently found enough irregularities to lower the number of accepted signatures below the required threshold. This was just one of several attempts to pressure the government from the right.

One of the rare reforms which have begun, at least nominally, is the reform of Croatia’s education system, the so-called “curricular reform.” The issue has caused conflicts between coalition partners, with HNS repeatedly threatening to leave the government if their proposals are not accepted. Their threats were not taken seriously by anyone since it is clear that early parliamentary elections would probably bring about an end for the party.

A scandal broke in September whose consequences are still unclear at this time. A ministerial driver was arrested under suspicion that he had informed a suspect about a police investigation against him. Interestingly, the driver is a close friend of Milijan Brkić, HDZ deputy president and Prime Minister Plenković’s chief intraparty nemesis. While Brkić has denied having any role in the scandal or leaking the information about the investigation, he has been conspicuously absent from public affairs in recent months. Other scandals involving Brkić have also resurfaced, prompting allegations that his opponents were trying to eliminate him politically. On the other hand, some potentially embarrassing documents about him suddenly disappeared. The scandal has even reached the president’s office, with the national security advisor resigning in December under still unclear circumstances.

Relations between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the connected issue of the status of Croats in the neighbouring country, were at the forefront of Croatia’s foreign policy efforts in 2018. With October elections looming, the year began with Bosnian Croats warning that the election law was unfair and that it could lead to a Croat representative in the Bosnian presidency being elected by more numerous Bosniaks. That is precisely what happened, with candidate Željko Komšić winning the post, although he apparently did not have the support of the majority of Bosnian Croats. This prompted Croatia’s government to launch a campaign within the EU to pressure Bosnia into changing its election law, which then brought accusations about meddling in internal affairs of the neighbouring country.

One of the potentially most explosive events of this year was a war veterans’ protest held in Vukovar in October. The veterans complained about the lack of prosecution of persons suspected of committing war crimes against Croats in the Vukovar area in 1991, which was a problem which they discussed earlier in the year as well. However, many believed that the protest was actually just a guise for a right-wing attempt to bring down the government led by moderate Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and replace him as HDZ president with a more extremist candidate. Plenković and his team appeared at first worried that the attempt might succeed, but with time they managed to limit its consequences. Once held, the protest passed without incident and has been more or less forgotten, except when occasional arrests in the area do happen, which then draw condemnation from local Serbs who say the police is arresting then just to satisfy the Croat war veterans. In the meantime, tensions in the town continue.

Throughout the year, rumours about impending ruling coalition reshuffle and/or early parliamentary elections continued. However, unlike in 2017, which brought about a change in the ruling coalition composition, with MOST being replaced by HNS, this year the government was more or less stable. One potential candidate for another reshuffle was Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, whose parliamentary group somehow manages to “convince” previously opposition MPs to switch parties and cross to his side. Numerous legal proceedings against him have not made him any less desirable patron. The substantial Zagreb city budget which he controls probably has something to do with it. In two years, he has managed to increase the number of his MPs from 1 to 12, with additional expansion of his parliamentary group expected early in the new year. The fact that people did not vote for his party did not discourage him at all. There are rumours that Bandić will use the increase in the number of his MPs, who are crucial for the parliamentary majority, to demand several ministerial posts in the new year.

As for the opposition, turmoil in SDP continued, with several attempts being made to topple the party president and “the leader of the opposition” Davor Bernardić. Fortunately for SDP opponents, these attempts have been unsuccessful, so Bernardić remains in his seat while his party’s popularity continues to plummet, with the latest polls showing it dropping to the third position, behind HDZ and Živi Zid. An increasing number of SDP MPs are leaving the party, with some of them joining the government ranks.

The migrant crisis continued, particularly on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the police employing ever harsher measures to control the borders and NGOs publishing increasingly critical reports about the alleged police violence and irregularities. The police have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, despite video evidence to the contrary.

The migration issue also brought us another controversy, this time with the signing of the Global Compact for Migration in December. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who this year marked three years in office, initially supported the agreement, but then suddenly changed her mind, announcing she would not travel to Marrakesh where the UN conference was held. The government immediately said that Croatia would support the declaration nevertheless, which caused protests from right-wing circles. In the end, the non-binding resolution was supported by Croatia, but no-one really expects it will be implemented.

The final few days of the year brought us another major scandal, whose consequences will become clear in the following months. The president decided to dismiss her domestic policy adviser Mate Radeljić, who many believed had influenced the president to take a more critical position towards the government. After he was dismissed, Radeljić said he was threatened by a Security-Intelligence Agency (SOA) official not to try to damage the president politically after being dismissed. He was allegedly told that the agency was ready to run into him with a car if necessary. The president’s office and the SOA issued statements saying they had acted legally, but interestingly they did not outright deny all of Radeljić’s claims. It is expected that Radeljić’s dismissal will result in better relations between the president on the one side and the government and HDZ leadership on the other, just in time for the presidential elections next year.

Another exciting political year is ahead of us. It will include at least two elections (for European Parliament in May, and for president probably in December), and there is always a possibility the early parliamentary elections might take place. Stay with TCN for all the latest political and business news.