ZAGREB, Nov 4, 2020 - Split Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara, 53, said on Wednesday that he would not stand for another term as mayor in local elections next May, citing his health reasons.

"After medical examinations conducted last week and after talks with my family and consultations with my doctors, I have decided to be fully committed to the struggle for my health and to spend more time with my family," Krstulovic Opara told Hina.

He said he would continue performing his duties as a parliamentary deputy for the benefit of Split.

In late January 2018, Krstulovic Opara was diagnosed with melanoma.

Krstulovic Opara is a member of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).

November 01, 2020 -  At the very end of his term, Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara, just like his predecessor Ivo Baldasar, has decided to regulate the drinking of beverages in public areas.

A little more than a month and a half ago, this issue was raised at the City Council, and in the meantime, Krstulovic Opara appointed a Commission to draft a Decision banning alcohol consumption in public areas in Split with the task of drafting, more precisely, preparing a draft ban document, which will go to public consultation 30 days before the city hall.

Goran Dlaka, head of the Police Department, Leona Grgic, senior advisor for business management and control of city companies, and Jurica Salinovic, recently appointed chief municipal warden, were elected to the task.

The main problem is to determine whether the ban will refer to all public places or only to some. I think that the direction will go in the way of allowing it Matejuska, ballots, and banning it in front of shops, in close proximity to schools, kindergartens ... they told us from Banovina.

Baldasar's proposal, which didn't reach the councilors three years ago, was a ban on the consumption of alcoholic beverages in public areas, for which a fine of 500 and 250 kuna, respectively, would be imposed.

As we find out, this draft will also serve as a guide.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages.

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

ZAGREB, Sept 15, 2020  - Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Tuesday that Split Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara enjoys his support when asked if Krstulovic Opara would run in the next local election, set for May 2021.

Plenkovic made the statement for the press after meeting with Krstulovic Opara and Split County head Blazenko Boban, also a member of the HDZ party.

HDZ has a lot of candidates for local election

Asked who could be the HDZ's candidate for the mayor of Zagreb, Plenkovic said that "the HDZ has a lot of candidates."

"We will have good candidates, there is enough time left for that. The HDZ has a lot of candidates," Plenkovic said, denying speculation by some media outlets that Finance Minister Zdravko Maric was a likely candidate for the post of Zagreb Mayor.

Plenkovic also commented on the Constitutional Court's decision of Monday that laws on the powers of the national COVID-19 response team, passed by the parliament, were in line with the Constitution and that most of the team's decisions were lawful.

Constitutional Court's support very good in terms of legal security

"The COVID response team and the government yesterday received support from the Constitutional Court which either dismissed (complaints) or declared that practically all of the team's decisions were constitutional and in line with relevant laws. I believe this is very good in terms of legal security and the fact that our actions were based on Article 16 of the Constitution and we made decisions in the context of a declared epidemic, to protect citizens' health," he said.

If the fight against COVID-19 in the spring had not been successful, we would not have achieved 50% of the results of last year's tourist season, which was the best ever, he stressed.

Commenting on the HDZ's pre-election promise about a Sunday trading ban, and the fact that the Constitutional Court ruled that the COVID-19 response team's decision to ban Sunday trading was not in line with the Constitution, Plenkovic recalled that some surveys showed that as many as 80% of Croatians were in favor of a Sunday trading ban.

Gov't to put forward balanced law on non-working Sunday

"We believe it would be good and in the interest of the family and a healthy balance between work, rest, and spending time with one's dearest ones. During this term the government will put forward a bill that will seek a balance between a non-working Sunday and a certain number of working Sundays," he said.

For the latest travel info, bookmark our main travel info article, which is updated daily. 

Read the Croatian Travel Update in your language - now available in 24 languages

Join the Total Croatia Travel INFO Viber community.

March 20, 2020 - The Split Mayor has a message to all citizens - Stay Home!

From Thursday, Croatian citizens began life under a coronavirus lockdown. The borders are closed, everything that isn’t deemed necessary to work isn't operating, gatherings of more than five people are banned, and social distancing must continue at least one meter away, reports Slobodna Dalmacija and Dalmatinski Portal.

As a guest on the HTV program Otvoreno, answering the question of how Split is coping with these new, restrictive measures imposed because of the danger of the coronavirus pandemic, Split Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara said:

“In addition to the fact that this crisis is certainly a health and economic problem, it is also a sociological phenomenon. Unlike the Prime Minister and the four-member Staff, I will say something that is neither calm nor laid-back. It is not clear to me how people do not realize the gravity of the situation and still walk the streets. Today the promenade on Žnjan was full of people. People are walking around Marjan. Buses full of pensioners. 

We have sociological issues and by no means are the people listening to the nice, suggestive messages of the National Headquarters. If we want to overcome the crisis, we have to listen to the HQ, stay home. Stay home, especially the elderly. You have your neighbors, people you live with, and Red Cross activists to help you. Walking around town is incomprehensible to me.”

He also spoke about what was being done to avoid an economic disaster.

“The City of Split has already adopted a package of measures of HRK 150 million, a total of 11 measures. Among other things, no rent will be charged to outlets in City areas; furthermore, we will not go into enforcement. We must preserve the private sector, we must not allow ourselves to be the biggest loser. In addition to the scientific problem, we have an economic one. Tomorrow, my advisory team will meet and in parallel, we will align ours with the measures taken by the Government,” explained Opara.

The director of the Croatian Institute for Public Health and a member of the national crisis staff, Krunoslav Capak, said that staying outside can be beneficial if the weather is nice, but only with precautionary measures.

“Unfortunately, colder weather will come from Sunday and we will prepare a set of recommendations for behavior indoors,” he said and explained that not all Covid-19 patients need to be hospitalized.

*Follow this page for updates on the coronavirus in Croatia from Total Croatia News.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow. TCN's dedicated page. 

January 15, 2020 - At a press conference held on Tuesday, Mayor Andro Krstulovic Opara and his associates presented the largest project of energy-efficient public lighting in Croatia - "Modernizing public lighting of the City of Split using the energy service model".

The Mayor stressed the excellent cooperation between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) consultants and the City of Split project team, who worked together on a solution that resulted in a major reconstruction project and a proposal for modernizing the public lighting system.

"This is a significant project that will not only improve the quality of life in our city, but will also raise standards in an ecological aspect and increase the level of safety of our citizens. Therefore, ecology, energy savings and security are the guiding principles of all activities in this project,” said Opara. City Development and EU Funds Advisor to the Mayor, Kresimir Budisa, explained that the project covers 15,090 lamps or 88 percent of public lighting, with a total investment value of HRK 62 million. He said that the project includes not only the area of Split but also Slatine, Zrnovnica, Stobrec and Sitno Gornje and Donje.

"Annual energy savings and maintenance of public lighting systems are expected to amount to as much as HRK 6.2 million," Budisa said. According to him, the modernization of public lighting in the city of Split includes, among other things, introducing modern and energy-efficient LED lighting throughout the city area, reducing the cost of public lighting and reducing CO2 emissions. It also includes restoring lighting and raising safety in the Marjan tunnel traffic corridor and modernizing lighting on children's playgrounds and sports and recreational areas for citizens.

Budisa also recalled the EU project CitiEnGov, a smart public lighting pilot project implemented in the GK Bacvice, which has proven to be one of the best examples of modernizing public lighting in Central Europe using the latest technologies with exceptional results in reducing electricity consumption, increasing convenience and safety for citizens and visitors, as well as reducing CO2 emissions. 

The project presented was prepared with the help of free technical assistance provided by the EBRD, and the proposed financing for the said project is through the Energy Services Model (ESCO). The presentation was also attended by Radojka Tomasevic, Head of the International and EU Projects Department, Hrvoje Jazvic, EBRD representative, and Mate Rebić, EBRD consultant.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Split will host the Regional Conference of the Organization of World Heritage Cities of Central and Eastern Europe in October next year, announced the City of Split on June 6, 2019. Split was chosen as the host at the 15th World Congress of OWHC held in Krakow, where Split mayor Andro Krstulović Opara attended to accept the candidacy. 

The City of Split renewed its membership in this organization in 2018 at the initiative of Mayor Krstulović Opara, since the previously active membership, which began in 1993, was interrupted in 2007.

The inevitable issues of this year's world congress include tourism of cities of world heritage and the need to harmonize national legislation with the UNESCO and OWHC guidelines in order to unify the needs of the local population as well as the relations of the population with the business world and investors. 

Mayor Andro Krstulović Opara pointed to the importance of strengthening cities in Europe by achieving autonomous decision-making and lowering authority from the state and the European Commission to cities, as an increasing number of Europeans live in cities. 

“Particularly sensitive are the cities of cultural heritage that play a special role in this phenomenon of immigration and mobility of the population,” said Krstulović Opara.

As common problems of world heritage cities, the issues that the ancient city centers face regarding the mass of apartments rented through Airbnb and other platforms were highlighted. Difficulties also arise in traffic or inadequate infrastructure that cannot withstand increased numbers.

Split will host the most important historical cities of Central and Eastern Europe as part of the 40th anniversary of the inclusion of Diocletian's Palace and the old city center on UNESCO's World Heritage List. This and related topics will be proposed by the Split presidency to the Conference.

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

On Monday, Marijan Kustić, the executive director of HNS, met with representatives of Hajduk and the Split mayor in Zagreb. 

Split mayor Andro Krstulović Opara shared his impressions after meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, reports,  Dalmatinski Portal on March 22, 2019. 

“In the first part of the meeting, we spoke about the politics and the position of Split, as well as Split’s policy concerning our neighbor Bosnia and Herzegovina, about Split's future, the obligations of Croatia and the EU so that it becomes a truly equal member,” said the mayor.

The mayor claimed that Steinmeier was especially interested in the transformation of Split and the city’s efforts in developing the creative industry and the Technology Park, as well as the social aspects. 

“I’m glad they accepted our proposal and truly visited our exceptional example of social sensitivity in which we include not only homeless people but also those who need to be helped. They exceptional people in MoSt showed that,” said Krstulović Opara.

MoSt chairwoman Đordana Barbarić spoke with the  Steinmeier about working with homeless people and young people with behavioral problems.

"These topics are very close to him, he posed very specific questions to us, and we could see that he knows everything very well. He spoke with four homeless people, with volunteers and colleagues from the association. We presented our 20 years of work. He couldn’t believe that not a day goes by that no one calls and asks what we need, that people cook for the homeless people, and that young people volunteer in the association,” Barbarić said.

In the second part of the meeting, the mayor said they visited the city and cultural values.

"What a city is, is a lively place that has the specialties that make it well-known," the mayor concluded, revealing that the president and his wife said they could hardly wait to visit Split unofficially.

To recall, the German president chose Split on his two-day visit to Croatia. The day began with breakfast at the Park Hotel with mayor Andro Krstulović Opara and Split-Dalmatia County prefect Blaženko Boban. The president then met with the MoSt Association for the homeless. 

After his visit to MoSt, the president visited the Split Synagogue which is over 500 years old. There, he spoke with Ana Leibl and members of the Jewish community. The president met the culture of Split in the Meštrović Gallery, after which he met with members of the Island Movement before heading back to Germany. 

To read more about lifestyle in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

The two UNESCO cities will cooperate on finding ways to tackle the challenges of tourism together. 

The mayor of Split comments on his work thus far, his plans for the future and the highly anticipated Žnjan project.