ZAGREB, June 13, 2019 - The European People's Party (EPP) is a relative winner of the European elections and wants its lead candidate Manfred Weber to become the European Commission President, while allowing for other offices to be filled by parties that have come after it in the elections, said Croatian Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković in San Sebastian where the EPP was holding a meeting on Wednesday.
Our position in these negotiations is rather modest, and of all offices we want is that our candidate becomes the European Commission President, while other offices are at the disposal of the political groups that rank second, third or possibly fourth in the voting, Plenković said.
The EPP designated Plenković and Latvian PM Krisjanis Kariņs to participate in the negotiations with Social Democrats and Liberals on the appointment of new senior officials of the EU institutions. The Liberals designated Dutch PM Mark Rutte and Belgian PM Charles Michel, and the Socialists designated Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez and Portuguese PM Antonio Costa.
Those six negotiators are conducting an informal process so as to help the European Council and the European Parliament in the selection of nominees.
The Commission president should be elected first, followed by the Council president, the high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, and the president of the European Central Bank. In doing so, attention should be paid to geographical, demographic, gender and political balances.
During today's meeting in the Spanish seaport, Plenković informed the EPP group of the ongoing negotiations.
The process of selection of new leaders is more complex this time considering the fact that although they are still the most numerous groups in the new EP, the EPP and the Socialists are short of securing the absolute majority and therefore they are supposed to negotiate with other pro-European political groups, primarily the Liberals and the Green.
Asked by the press whether he was optimistic about reaching agreement on a set of appointments at the 20-21 June summit, Plenković said that he was realistic. "I am very realistic. This is a very complicated process. There is a plenty to do yet," Plenković said, underscoring that any prolongation is not good.
Our voters expect us to take over responsibility for the coming five years, he explained.
He would not answer the question who might be the next Croatian member of the European Commission, explaining that it should first appoint the EC President who chooses commissioners in cooperation with their respective countries.
Plenković recalled that five years ago the current President Jean-Claude Juncker had accepted all the candidates proposed by the EU member-states.
More news about Croatia and the EU can be found in the Politics section.
ZAGREB, June 7, 2019 - The ruling HDZ party's whip, Branko Bačić, said on Friday Andrej Plenković would complete his term as prime minister and remain the HDZ's president and prime minister also after the next parliamentary election.
Bačić was dismissing Hrast MP Hrvoje Zekanović's claim in parliament that Plenković would soon leave the office of prime minister and go to Brussels.
"Numerous opposition politicians in Croatia would like Andrej Plenković to go to Brussels to a high office in the European Union. I must disappoint them because Plenković will complete the term in Croatia and lead the HDZ to victory in the next parliamentary election," Bačić told reporters.
Addressing HDZ MPs earlier, Zekanović said they would soon have to elect a new party president.
"It's absurd that a man who entered parliament thanks to the HDZ's votes and who, had it not been for the HDZ, would never have had the chance to participate in debates in the Croatian parliament, is talking about this," Bačić said.
More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.
ZAGREB, June 5, 2019 - Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Tuesday evening that there were numerous indications that the recent election for the European Parliament had been obstructed within the HDZ.
Speaking to reporters after a session of the HDZ parliamentary group, Plenković said that there were numerous indications of obstruction but he did not give a specific answer when asked if individual HDZ branches would be dissolved because the party fared less well in the election than it had expected. "We will analyse everything in detail and determine measures to consolidate the party and win the next election," he said.
Plenković answered in the negative when asked if at the session of the HDZ parliamentary group he talked with his deputy Milijan Brkić whom he had criticised for not having been sufficiently involved in the recent election campaign. "No, I saw him at today's meeting of representatives of the parliamentary majority. When the time comes and when the analysis is completed, we will talk," said Plenković.
When asked what the head of the HDZ's election campaign, Robert Kopal, was referring to when he said that there had been sabotage in the party just before the EU election, Plenković repeated that the HDZ was not satisfied with the election result as it had expected to win five seats in the European Parliament and that according to all parameters, it should have won those five seats.
Plenković believes that the party's results in a number of counties were below expectations and even below the expectations of the party's county branches. He said that analyses and reports from the field were being gathered and that they would be studied over the next week. After that, party bodies will hold meetings to see if mistakes were made and where, he said.
As for the pension reform, Plenković said that almost all members of the parliamentary majority, including the HDZ parliamentary group, supported the pension reform, stressing that it was one of the incumbent government's most successful reforms that had also helped improve Croatia's credit rating.
"A large majority of members of the parliamentary majority, practically all, including the HDZ group, have supported the pension reform and there are no dilemmas about it," he said when asked if the session of the HDZ parliamentary group had also discussed the pension reform.
Asked what he thought of coalition partner Milorad Pupovac's having voted for the pension reform laws and afterwards signing a union petition for a referendum on the pension reform, Plenković said that he would meet with union representatives for talks and that the pension reform had been prepared for a very long time and very thoroughly as well as that several rounds of consultation on it had been held by the parliamentary majority and among experts.
"What we voted in at the end of last December was based on a firm consensus and full confidence that we are carrying out a good structural reform and support it. There are no dilemmas about that whatsoever," he said.
Asked to comment on demands by the leader of the Labour and Solidarity Party and Zagreb Mayor, Milan Bandić, that he fire Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak, Plenković recalled that the government last Friday issued a statement on the financing of textbooks for mandatory and elective subjects.
"As far as we are concerned, the law is clear and internationally assumed obligations are clear. We will find funds in the state budget to finance both groups of textbooks," he said.
As for the demand that Divjak be replaced, Plenković said that the matter would be discussed by the inner circle of representatives of the parliamentary majority.
More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.
ZAGREB, June 4, 2019 - Croatian Democratic Party (HDZ) deputy leader Milijan Brkić said on Tuesday that he did not want to comment on "ridiculous allegations" by the HDZ's chief analyst, Robert Kopal, that the party's slate for the recent European elections was sabotaged.
"I don't want to comment on those ridiculous accusations. The world has seen many a fake prophet and will see many more. Everything I have to say about politics and the party I say within the party, not through the media," Brkić told reporters outside Government House.
Speaking for the N1 private broadcaster, Kopal claimed that he has proof that the HDZ had been sabotaged at the EU election from within the party, which was why the party achieved a much poorer result than had been expected, winning only four seats in the European Parliament.
"A boycott, in the sense of an independent decision by a voter, is absolutely legitimate. But a situation in which someone organises, advises and motivates is sabotage. I certainly won't go public with any names or conclusions before the party makes its conclusions and takes a stance," Kopal said.
"I'm not pointing the finger at Milijan Brkić or anyone else," Kopal said.
More news about Milijan Brkić can be found in the Politics section.
ZAGREB, June 2, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Saturday would not comment on conflicts within the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party, saying that her main task was to provide for the stability of state institutions and promote national and state interests.
"Even though I was the presidential candidate of the HDZ and some other parties, I'm now a non-party person and president of all Croatian citizens, and I never comment on the work of my predecessors or anyone who held the post of prime minister or any other high post, or on any political party's internal relations," the president told reporters after attending a special session of the Osijek-Baranja County Assembly.
Asked if she expected the HDZ's support in the next presidential election, she said "All in good time."
As for the possibility that singer Miroslav Škoro might run for president, which the media have been increasingly speculating about, Grabar-Kitarović said that "under the Croatian Constitution, anyone who meets the necessary criteria can be a potential candidate for president or any other political office."
Asked about a protest by the civic group "Sons and daughters of the Neretva" and the letter it sent to her, Grabar-Kitarović said that she had replied to the letter and written to Health Minister Milan Kujundžić about it, adding that availability of healthcare was one of the fundamental human rights.
The civic group "Sons and daughters of the Neretva" is dissatisfied with the inadequate level of healthcare in that region and seeks the establishment of a helicopter medical service and a regional hospital.
Grabar-Kitarović said that a few days ago she met with representatives of the Croatian Doctors' Union and the Croatian Medical Chamber for talks on the situation in the health system and that she would inform Minister Kujundžić of the talks as well as that she expected the minister and his associates to ensure the conditions doctors were seeking.
"I'm worried about many trends, both as regards the treatment of patients and the treatment of doctors. We must be aware that the number of doctors who are leaving is large, that we need to keep them and value their work much more," she said, adding that she would discuss the issue of emergency helicopters also with Defence Minister Damir Krstičević but that she was in favour of buying modern western helicopters that could also fly at night and in bad weather.
More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.
ZAGREB, May 31, 2019 - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) parliamentary deputy Davor Ivo Stier said on Friday that the party experienced a failure in the recent elections for the European Parliament because it had become distant from the right electorate, and he expressed readiness to work on reuniting the HDZ and its voters also as party president.
Recalling that the HDZ won four seats in the EP vote, while the goal had been to secure five seats, Stier told the press in the national parliament that voters had sent a clear message that the party had become distant from the right electorate and that the HDZ must focus on the fight against corruption and clientelism.
"We cannot run in parliamentary elections with the approval ratings of 22% or 23%. Voters have sent us a message that the struggle against corruption and clientelism is extremely important and that it must be in the centre of our political activity," Stier said.
He insists that for the HDZ to ensure a convincing election victory, the party must also win the votes of the right electorate.
Many traditional HDZ voters went to the polls this past Sunday but this time they did not vote for the HDZ, Stier said.
Stier, who used to be an HDZ MEP and foreign minister, believes that it is his mission to work on consolidating the party and uniting the HDZ and its voters.
Asked whether this means that he is ready to take over the helm of the HDZ, he replied: "Why not? However, you will receive my precise answer when the time for intraparty elections comes."
Stier underscored that he despises the conduct of those who vigorously applaud the leader when he is powerful and turn their back on the leader when he finds himself on slippery ground.
Prime Minister and Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader Andrej Plenković said on Friday that the HDZ was a democratic party in which everybody could say what they thought as well as run for party presidency.
In his comment on Stier's statement, Plenkovic said: "It would be good if all those willing to help actually did so during campaigns and elections. As regards Stier's wish that as many people as possible support the HDZ's projects and programmes, that is a good idea," Plenković told the press while arriving at the Zagreb City Assembly for a special session on the occasion of City Day.
"We are a democratic party, everybody can say what they think, definitely. I don't think that it is a problem. When intraparty elections are held, all aspirants can submit their candidacies," Plenković said.
In his response to Stier's criticism, Plenković said that the HDZ did not become distant from anybody.
When reporters remarked that the right camp had won the support of 17% of those who went to the polls for the last EP election, Plenković said that "they voted so in this election." "When parliamentary elections come, you will see who they will vote for."
The HDZ will win the next parliamentary election, Plenković said, adding that he would certainly remain at the party's helm.
More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.
ZAGREB, May 31, 2019 - The chairwoman of the Conflict of Interest Commission, Nataša Novaković, said on Friday that Prime Minister Andrej Plenković's request that she be exempted from that case made the commission's work harder and added that if the prime minister considers that she may be biased, he had a lot more time to have made that request before yesterday afternoon.
Novaković did not wish to respond to reporters when asked if these developments were putting pressure on the commission and whether the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and prime minister were "waging a war" against her seeing that the commission has recently come under fire from HDZ's MPs and now that the prime minister has called for her exemption.
On Friday the commission was to have discussed if the prime minister was in conflict of interest regarding his activities in the drafting of the Act on Emergency Administration in Companies of Systemic Importance (Lex Agrokor) but failed to do so as Plenković on Thursday called for Novaković to be exempted from the case.
Novaković said the request posed a procedural obstacle to the further conduct of proceedings in the case until the relevant body makes a decision on her exemption.
Plenković claimed that Novaković had been an employee of the Croatian Employers Association (HUP), which was connected with Agrokor, which was why she had to exempt herself from any segment of the proceedings concerning the government's actions regarding Agrokor, including the adoption of a decision in the case against Plenković.
If the prime minister considers that I may be biased because Agrokor was a member HUP, then "there was plenty of time to have communicated that before yesterday afternoon," said Novakovic.
After Friday's meeting, Novaković said that they still do not know who the relevant body was that is to decide on her exemption as this is the first time this has ever occurred. She added that she has consulted with several experts about that relevant body but their opinions differ considerably.
Some experts said that should be a parliamentary committee while others claim that the relevant body is the Administrative Court, others yet again have said that the remaining members of the commission should make that decision.
More news about conflict of interest issues can be found in the Politics section.
HDZ officials have a strange addiction to making shows of themselves. Sometimes they get themselves in hot water and it is tragically amusing, other times, such as when they engage in corruption, physically abuse their partners, or beat up innocent people for no reason, it isn't funny at all.
One of the stranger things to come out of an HDZ official's mouth (and there have been many) is that Pamela Anderson is waging a special war against Croatia. Yes, you read that completely correctly. Pamela Anderson, from Baywatch, has apparently given up running around on a beach in slow motion with somehow still perfect, sea-proof makeup, to take to leading a war against Croatia. She must really be bored.
As Glas Istre writes on the 28th of May, 2019, Pamela Anderson is a woman who seems to have lived several lives, she's done a lot, and now much of her attention has been turned towards animal rights, such as exposing the horrors of the fur trade, and spreading awareness about the dangers of climate change, oh, and leading private wars against Croatia, at least that's what Split's HDZ boss Petar Škorić seems to believe. While we're sure Pam has a lot better things to be dealing with, let's have a look at what this HDZ official seems to believe she's doing.
Pamela revealed in a recent interview that she supports the left-leaning party Možemo! (We can!) on Twitter, because she has some good friends from Croatia.
''Maybe Croatia needs a political earthquake if you want to stop thousands of Croatian people leaving the country because the economy doesn't work, and if you want to be able to manage the situation where millions of climate refugees will come in two or three decades. My message to Croatia would be: Pay close attention to those movements, support the children who strike, get out of your nationalist past and come back to the future,'' Pamela said.
Her statements were reacted to on Facebook by Split's HDZ chief Petar Škoric, who publicly claimed that the Canadian-American actress and extremely dedicated animal rights activist is waging a special war against Croatia, merely for providing some quite reasonable advice.
Follow our dedicated politics page for more.
ZAGREB, May 28, 2019 (Hina) - The Prime Minister and president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Andrej Plenković, on Monday evening again commented on the results of the European Parliament election at which his party won four seats in the EP, saying he did not have complaints about the HDZ slate, platform and campaign, that all county and town HDZ branches would analyse the election results by the end of the week and hat this was only one game but that the championship continued.
Asked if the party would continue to run independently in elections, Plenković said this was the best decision.
Reporters asked Plenković if he would now place a conservative candidate on the slate given that the conservative part of the party had turned their backs to him. Plenković answered in the negative. "This is a fabricated argument," Plenković said.
Asked if in his opinion voters in the elections sent him a message that they do not like the way he was leading the party, given that conservative options received together 18% of votes, Plenković said he was leading the HDZ and the country in the right direction. He also said he did not plan to resign.
The Croatian Democratic Union secretary-general and parliament speaker, Gordan Jandroković, said on Monday that the result which the ruling party scored in the European Parliament election on Sunday was below-than-expected, however, the HDZ was still the first party that won the most ballots.
Coming to a session of the the party leadership in Zagreb, Jandroković said that the party bodies would analyse the outcome of the vote. The HDZ and the strongest opposition party the SDP won four seats each out of a total of 12 seats allotted to Croatia in the European Parliament. The party mustered the support of 22.72% of the vote, and was followed by the SDP with 18.71%.
HDZ won the highest number of votes in Sunday's European Parliament elections in 11 towns whereas the SDP won in the four biggest cities – Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek. In the capital city of Zagreb, the SDP garnered about 47,700 votes and the HDZ 30,400.
Jandroković said that the poor performance of the party in big cities would be particularly analysed.
Ivana Maletić, an party vice president and a deputy in the outgoing European Parliament, admitted that it was better to record under-performance in the EP elections than in parliamentary elections. She also underscored that the HDZ was "short of only a few ballots" to win a fifth seat in the EP.
Asked by the press whether it was too risky to put a young and not well-known candidate (Karlo Ressler) in first place on the slate, Maletić said that that decision had been very courageous and resolute. She believes that during the campaign Ressler gained publicity. According to the results, Ressler mustered nearly 53,000 preferential votes.
Asked by the press whether the HDZ should form a coalition with right parties, Maletić says that the HDZ definitely had to run in the EP elections on its own and without coalitions.
Some other party officials agreed that the HDZ had expected five seats and that despite the final result, the HDZ was again the strongest political option, mustering the highest number of votes.
More news about HDZ can be found in the Politics section.
ZAGREB, May 27, 2019 - The ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and the strongest opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) have won four seats each out of a total of 12 seats allotted for Croatia in the new European Parliament, according to the reports from the State Election Commission (DIP) after it counted ballots from 99.72% of polling stations when the voting for the EP ended in Croatia on Sunday evening
Thus, the HDZ candidates with the five-year MEP term will be Karlo Ressler, Dubravka Šuica, Tomislav Sokol and Željana Zovko, and the SDP will be represented by Biljana Borzan, Tonino Picula, Predrag Matić and Romana Jerković.
The Sovereignists, the independent slate led by former judge Mislav Kolakušić, Živi Zid and the seven-party Amsterdam Coalition have each won one seat. Other slates have not passed the election threshold of 5% of the vote.
The latest results show that the HDZ has won 22.71% of the vote, the SDP follows with 18.71%, whereas the Sovereignists' slate led by MEP Ruža Tomašić has mustered 8.51% of the vote.
The slate of Mislav Kolakušić, who is perceived by media as the biggest surprise of these elections, has won 7.89% and is followed by Živi Zid (5.66%) and the Amsterdam Coalition's slate (5.20%) which will be represented by Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) leader Valter Flego.
President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović congratulated all those who have won seats in the European Parliament at Sunday's EU election. "Congratulations to all those who will enter the European Parliament with wishes that on behalf of everyone they fight firmly for Croatian state and national interests and for a Europe of equals, not of those who are large or small but for those who are equal," President Grabar-Kitarović said.
Slightly more than 3.8 million Croatian voters in the country and abroad were eligible to vote in the EP elections to elect 12 Croatian deputies for a five year term.
A total of 396 candidates on 33 slates vied for the 12 seats in the European Parliament allocated to Croatia. Thirty-one slates are party and coalition slates while two are independent slates.
Of the 12 deputies to be elected, 11 will go to Brussels immediately after the elections while the 12th will go after Great Britain leaves the EU.
The elections were monitored by over 4,700 monitors from ten political parties and two nongovernmental organisations.
Only a smaller number of irregularities were reported during the voting process but they did not affect the process, DIP deputy chair Vesna Fabijančić-Križanić said.
The nongovernmental election monitoring organisation GONG stated on Sunday that the voting was proceeding in an orderly manner at polling stations throughout Croatia and that there was a small number of complaints from voters, and the majority of them referred to the breach of the ban of electioneering.
HDZ president Andrej Plenković said on Sunday night, after the State Electoral Commission (DIP) results showed that the party won four seats in the European Parliament, that he was not entirely satisfied because he had expected five seats, for which the party was short of about 1,000 votes, and that this was due to a big dispersion of votes and a big number of slates.
It's a relative victory, we will have four members in the European Parliament as of July 1 and I congratulate them, he said in the party's campaign headquarters.
Plenković said he was pleased with the higher turnout (about 30%) than in previous EP elections (20% in 2013 and 25% in 2014). He said it meant that Croatian voters identified with European topics and saw the EP elections as important for Croatian society.
He said it was important that the HDZ ran in the elections independently. We stand by that decision and I believe it was the right one, he added.
I believe our MEPs will continue to work on the achievement of our European ambitions. This is a very pro-European government, we lead a pro-European HDZ and I'm confident that we will slowly get to the point when voters will see which political forces are dealing seriously with the difficult problems of Croatia's transition, which is what the HDZ-led government is doing, Plenković said.
We will work with dedication, advocating European values in Croatian society as we have done so far, and which is what Croatian deputies will do also in the European Parliament, he added.
More elections news can be found in the Politics section.