ZAGREB, 2 June, 2021 - Recent frequent attacks on media, reporters and political analysts by Prime Minister Andrej Plenković were met on Wednesday with condemnation by opposition MPs, who called on him to accept criticism and on media not to allow to be intimidated.

Social Democrat Arsen Bauk said the prime minister had opted for the "attack is the best form of defence" approach.

"Some defeats at local elections are painful for the HDZ, notably the prime minister, because he chose or imposed some of the candidates. It is not good for the prime minister, who has both objective and real power, to try to square accounts with or intimidate reporters, media and their editors and owners. I hope you will not let yourself be intimidated by him," Bauk told reporters in the parliament.

Judging by their response, I can see that they are not intimidated, he said, adding that he was fascinated by Plenković's claim that rival broadcasters had colluded to devalue the HDZ's candidate for Zagreb mayor.

Stephen Bartulica of the Homeland Movement said that media were possibly responsible for the latest developments because they had been very mild towards Plenković from the start.

"I definitely support media freedoms and it is not unusual that media in Croatia and the rest of the world are leaning to the left, but I think that what is more important here are the so-called independent analysts who often have material interests and certain relations with political camps and NGOs and who act in public as if they were unbiased," said Bartulica.

The sole MP of the Reformists party, Natalija Martinčević, who chairs the parliamentary Media Committee, said that the prime minister was very nervous, which she considers inappropriate.

"Communication with the media must be civilised. We are all expected to behave that way and so is the prime minister. There is no justification for his behaviour," she said.

Most MP Marija Selak Raspudić said that media had been the PM's fetish for a long time.

"Let me remind you of his high school graduation thesis 'Means of Mass Communication' in which, apart from extensively quoting (Yugoslav Communist politician Edvard) Kardelj and Marx, he also says that the Party is the one to control all information in society. He then advocates some democratic trends and says that media should be democratised, but it seems that as an experienced politician he has accepted the principle that the Party should control all information and is surprised when he does not manage to do it," said Selak Raspudić.

HSLS MP Dario Hrebak said that every politician had their own style of communication, noting that the prime minister was evidently irritated by something.

"I, too, am sometimes unhappy with the media but everyone has the right to say what they think, I would not be a liberal if I thought differently," he said, adding that he believed the prime minister would mend his relationship with the media and some reporters.

aFor more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 1, 2021 - With the new Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomašević soon coming to the office, Sandra Benčić of the green-left platform Mozemo! (We Can!) spoke to Index.hr about the first moves of the new administration.

Following intense post-first round campaigns in Zagreb for the second round of local elections, Tomislav Tomašević is the new mayor of Zagreb. Additionally, Tomašević's green-left coalition Mozemo! earned 23 seats in the City's assembly, and if the previously announced support of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that has five, Mozemo! will have the majority in the assembly. 

The new mayor is expected to take his seat by the end of this week, and as Index.hr reports, Sandra Benčić, the Mozemo! MP says that ZG Holding chief and directors can be removed from their position immediately.

However, first and foremost, the earthquake damages seem to be taking the lead.

„The most urgent thing is to prepare documentation for the reconstructions of kindergartens, schools, and institutions in the city ownership that were damaged in the earthquake. We have to do that as fast as possible because the deadline to pull money from the EU Solidarity Fund is June 2022. I'm afraid there will be a fiasco regarding how much will the State pull from the fund, but we can only take the money for estates in the city property, and the damaged kindergartens and schools are our priority“, told Benčić for Index.hr

She added that they plan to start an Office for Zagreb Reconstruction and establish mobile teams which will help citizens to fill in documentation and requests for the reconstruction of damaged homes.

Regarding the statement about the fiasco with the State pulling money from Solidarity Fund, the conflict with the government was sparked yesterday when PM Andrej Plenković talked to the press regarding Tomašević's victory. He said he didn't congratulate Tomašević yet, but he will and that he expects good cooperation.

„I see that Mozemo! is paraphrasing my message from 2016 when I said that we are changing Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) so we can change Croatia. They say they are changing Zagreb to change Croatia. Clearly, they have something against this Croatia“, said Plenković, sparking controversy.

And Benčić is not the one to remain silent on such statements.

„Yes, we do have something against this kind of HDZ and evening HDZ with the State. They are not the State but an interest group that trapped our country. We want to see the country returns to all its citizens and that, of course, hurts them to the level that the prime minister allows himself these kinds of statements which, if they weren't malice, would be at minimal, unsmart“, said Benčić.

With the biggest number of votes in the history of mayoral elections in Zagreb, Benčić continues they are ready to justify this trust, and they start with work immediately.

„We are going with the financial revision of City's administration, restructuring City offices. We will do it step by step and connect offices while ensuring that functions and services need to deliver to the citizens. It should be noted that Zagreb used to have fewer offices, 17 until 2000 and then offices start to grow exponentially, only to put politically suited people to positions and raise their payments“, explained Benčić.

 And the new Mayor Tomislav Tomašević also gave an interview on Monday. As Jutarnji List reported, Tomašević also talked about his plans to improve Zagreb and fulfill his promises, particularly with so many earned votes.

„This big trust is also a big responsibility. Citizens can expect that we will lead by example from the start. The city administration and authority will be based on three things: decency, modesty, and being at the citizen's service.

He also added that Mozemo! is considering filing a lawsuit against Miroslav Škoro for the filthy instigating campaign, as Tomašević and many other public figures described it.

„I wouldn't like this to happen to anyone anymore on any other elections in Croatia, regardless are we talking about a candidate from the right, left or center," commented Tomašević.

Although no direct link can be proved at the moment, Škoro's rhetoric could've been the fuel for the attacker that set fire to the Mozemo! election headquarters at Zagreb Contemporary Museum on the election night saying to the gathered that „they are communists“ and how he will „kill them all“, on which T-portal reported. 

The elections are over, but will Zagreb continue to celebrate in such a majority as it did on election night? This is something only Tomašević on his new function can answer in the following months and years.

Learn more about Zagreb on our TC page.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June the 1st, 2021 - Croatian PM Andrej Plenkovic has claimed that despite the clear Tomasevic and Mozemo! (We Can!) win in the City of Zagreb, making him the new mayor and marking a significant political shift, that Mozemo! have something against ''this Croatia''.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, upon answering journalists' questions about the election results, PM Andrej Plenkovic (HDZ) said that he hadn't yet called Tomislav Tomasevic in person and congratulated him on his win and new title as the Mayor of Zagreb, but that he does intend to and will.

When he was asked how it is that everyone says they are winning, he simply said: "Count!"

“The numbers are always the best indicators. HDZ has 45 percent of cities and municipalities, 75 percent of the counties. HDZ has never won 15 counties before. I see that people Mozemo! paraphrased my message from back in 2016 when I said: "We're changing the HDZ to change Croatia." They're changing Zagreb to change Croatia. Obviously, they have something against the Croatia in which we managed to prevent social fragmentation, preserve 700,000 jobs, save 120,000 employers, pay 2.9 billion kuna within Zagreb alone for the salaries of 215,000 workers in the capital… I guess that's a message for change that needs to be done at the level of Croatia. I still have to listen carefully to precisely what changes they're calling for,'' said PM Andrej Plenkovic.

When asked what kind of cooperation he expects with Zagreb's new mayor Tomislav Tomasevic, he said that he has good cooperation with all leaders of local government units.

In a recent speech, he emphasised that the HDZ failed to win in only three out of six big cities. When asked by journalists whether or not the four largest Croatian cities are always the measure, Plenkovic pointed out the example of Velika Gorica near Zagreb, which, as he says, is growing, is now very large and that there is no big difference in population when compared to the likes of Osijek and Zadar as well.

"I'm delighted with the HDZ victory in Bjelovar-Bilogora County in the form of a young man of 36 years of age, who is one of those people of the new generation of HDZ. There, HDZ has returned to power after 20 years. It's the same situation in Varazdin County. For the first time in 20 years, Komadina had to go to the second round with Cappelli, where he won, although itsn't the sort of victory like he had before.

Of the 15 prefects we have, eight of them are "old" and seven are new. Of those seven, two are women and that’s just as important. The only women prefects are from HDZ - Antonija Jozic and Martina Furek Hajdin. The third candidate for mayor, Irena Hrstic, achieved the best HDZ result ever in Istria County, above 18 percent,'' he pointed out, emphasising that they also returned to power in Lika-Senj County.

He also accused RTL and Nova TV of deliberately mispronouncing the name of HDZ's candidate for mayor of Zagreb, Davor Filipovic, saying: "You should make a poster about what ideological television is like," to an N1 television reporter.

For more, make sure to follow our dedicated section on Croatian politics.

May 31st, 2021 - Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) leader and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Sunday evening that his party was the absolute winner of the local elections after the outcome of both rounds of voting showed that the HDZ won in 15 out of the 20 counties and in three out of the six biggest cities.

Addressing the press in the HDZ campaign headquarters after the second round of the elections on Sunday evening, Plenković said that the unanimous opinion of the HDZ leadership was that "the HDZ is the absolute, colossal winner of these local elections."

"We won 15 out of the 20 Croatian counties," he said, congratulating all the candidates who won the confidence of the electorate for their four-year terms as mayors, county prefects, or city and municipal councilors, and he also thanked voters for having gone to the polls.

Plenković said that the policy of gradual strengthening of the party in the west of Croatia yielded results.

After 20 years, Varaždin County and Bjelovar-Bilogora County have prefects from the HDZ, and the HDZ again has its prefect in Lika-Senj County, he said.

He added that the party would analyze why the incumbent prefect of Šibenik-Knin County, a member of the HDZ, was unseated.

Of the six biggest cities, the HDZ won the local elections in three: Osijek, Zadar, and Velika Gorica. Unfortunately, we did not win in Split. However, we won in Osijek for the first time since establishing our democracy, Plenković said.

Concerning recent developments in Split, he said that the elections had been smeared because the elected deputy mayor had publicly shown his antisemitism.

"This is a disgrace for him and Split. I expect the new mayor (Ivica Puljak of the Centre party) to distance himself clearly from him and the deputy to resign. It is unacceptable that the second biggest city in Croatia has such a man as the deputy mayor," Plenković said.

HDZ wins elections in 45% of municipalities, 45% of cities, and 75% of counties

As far as other cities and municipalities are concerned, the HDZ's performance in the local elections in at a similar level as four years before, according to Plenković.

The HDZ is the winner in 45% of municipalities, 45% of cities, and 75% of counties, he explained.

"We have won excellent, majority support of the electorate in the fifth year of this government's term," he said, promising cooperation with all the elected heads and councilors in local authorities.

For more on politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

ZAGREB, 26 May, 2021 - Amendments to the Capital Market Act, which are aimed at further aligning Croatia's regulatory framework with the EU acquis, were supported on Wednesday by both the Opposition and the ruling majority in the parliament, who expressed hopes for the revival of the capital market. 

This is one of the most complicated laws that summarises what kind of capital market Europe wants, said Social Democrat MP Boris Lalovac, warning that Croatia's capital market was far less developed than the European.

"The value of the capital market in Croatia is HRK 276 billion, 140 billion are stocks and 130 billion securities, the annual turnover of the Zagreb Stock Exchange is around HRK 3 billion while the turnover on the OTC market is HRK 27 billion," Lalovac said.

That shows that outside of the stock exchange and capital markets, which have strict rules, trading is ten times greater, Lalovac said, expressing hope this would change.

Grozdana Perić of the HDZ said that better oversight and regulation would enable further development of the capital market in Croatia.

She warned, however, that the coronavirus crisis had caused an outflow of funds from investment funds and that their value had dropped by more than 35% or HRK 8 billion.

That is one of the reasons for amending the law, said the State Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Stjepan Čuraj, who presented the amendments to MPs.

"If we take as an example the Zagreb Stock Exchange alone, during the pandemic in 2020 it dropped by more than 35%, from 2,000 to 1,300 basis points," Čuraj said, noting that there was room for improvement.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 22 May 2021 - Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said on Saturday that his HDZ party was a centre-right, state-building, patriotic, people's, Christian democratic party, calling on voters to vote in the second round of local elections in Zagreb on 30 May according to their conscience.

"The party's position has not changed... we know our values and platform. We respect our voters and recommend that they vote according to their conscience in the runoff," Plenković said during a visit to Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

Asked which of the two candidates for the Zagreb mayor, Tomislav Tomašević or Miroslav Škoro, would be easier to cooperate with, Plenković said that he respected voters' will.

"Whoever wins voters' trust is a collocutor to me as the prime minister. We have been pursuing a policy of balanced regional development in all parts of Croatia. It was never a problem for me to talk to representatives who are in the opposition at the national level and are in power in some part of the country. The same will apply to Zagreb," he said.

Vaccination as a way to achieve a better tourist season

Asked if current epidemiological restrictions could be relaxed sooner, that is on 27 May, as demanded by restaurant and bar owners, Plenković said that the epidemiological situation would be discussed in the coming week.

"The figures are very, very good. Compared to the week before, there are fewer infections, the number of people who have got vaccinated is growing, and vaccination provides protection against the worst outcomes. We must make decisions that will help maintain the current good trends and not jeopardise the tourist season," he said.

Plenković recalled that of the epidemiological restrictions, the only ones to remain in force were bans on events and gatherings of more than 25 people, on stay in indoor areas of restaurants and bars, and on indoor sport activities. As for everything else, we have been living more or less normally while other countries have had major restrictions, Plenković said.

Speaking of the tourist season, he said that it was up to Croatia to create conditions, through the vaccination of tourism workers and other workers in the services sector, that will help visitors stay safe.

Germany's decision very good, first wave of tourists in July

Germany has taken Croatia off the red list of countries with a high risk of coronavirus, and as of midnight on Sunday, Croatia will no longer be considered a high-risk but a risk region.

Commenting on this, Plenković said that the decision was good because Germany was one of Croatia's biggest tourist markets.

He noted that he had been in touch with state officials from other countries whose citizens could hardly wait to visit Croatia again and that the first bigger tourist wave was expected in July.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 21, 2021 – Interesting research suggests most Zagreb and Split citizens support the initiative to ban working on Sundays.

We have already reported on the Croatian government's initiative to ban retail stores from working most Sundays. It is an unusual idea in a time when businesses are getting more and more flexible with working hours. The initiative has been endorsed by the Catholic Church since the beginning. It promotes the idea of people being allowed to enjoy Sundays with their families or attend mass service if they are religious. How this type of decision would affect the tourism destinations is another issue altogether.

Results of the Poll

The opinion poll was done in the run-up to the last week’s elections. As reported by N1, which organised the research poll, 65,3% of Zagreb voters and 74% of Split voters support the initiative to ban working on Sundays. MASMI agency conducted the poll on a sample of 1300 people. There were eight reasons to choose from for those in support of the ban. The right to have a day off during the week ranked as the most popular reason in both cities. In Split, 43,2% of people in support of the ban chose this option. In Zagreb, that percentage was 45,5.

Seeing how this poll was tied to the election poll, it is interesting to note the differences in political affiliations and choices made. Most right-leaning voters see Sunday as a day for the family. Left-leaning voters see it more as a day of relaxation and rest for the workers. Protection of worker rights is an important reason for SDP’s (Social Democratic Party) voters. 31,8% of them support the ban for this reason in Split. 18,5% of all those who voted positively to the poll question in Split and 15,8% in Zagreb feel this decision would help protect the rights of the workers. In other words, they don’t feel these rights are being protected or respected at the moment. This might be the most interesting and worrying statistic in the entire research.

It is also interesting to note how religious reasons didn’t rank high, scoring only 3,9% in Zagreb and 1,4% in Split. Religious voters believed the church service can be attended in times outside of the person’s working hours.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

ZAGREB, 18 May, 2021 - During the local elections held throughout Croatia on 16 May, a total of 70 cities managed to elect their heads in the first round of voting, while others will have mayoral runoffs on 30 May.

Of those 70 mayors, who clinched the victory in the first round of voting when they gained the support of more than 50% of the voters who turned out for the elections, 36 winners are from the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), or six fewer than in 2017, whereas 13 Social Democratic Party (SDP) mayoral candidates gained outright victory, or one more than in the first round of the local elections in 2017.

Seven female mayors winners in first round

Of those 70 mayors elected in the first round of the elections, seven are women.

According to the report provided by the gradonačelnik.hr portal, there is a rising trend in the election of mayoral candidates who are not members of political parties and who are introduced as independent candidates. Ten independent mayors were elected on Sunday.

Donja Stubica mayor reelected with support of more than 83% of voters

Of the winners with an outright victory on 16 May, the most successful mayor who managed to gain the largest support was independent Nikola Gospočić, who was reelected for another term in Donja Stubica with 83.01% of the voters who went to the polls voting for him. In the previous term, he was a member of the SDP party and left it before these elections.

Another independent mayor, Dinko Burić, won 82.15% of the support for his new mayoral term in the eastern city of Belišće.

In terms of the percentage of support, Darijo Vasilić of the regional PGS party ranks third, winning 80.26% of votes for another mayoral term in the City of Krk.

Of the regional parties, the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS) remains the strongest. In the first round of the voting, five IDS candidates were elected mayors.

Four biggest cities to have mayoral runoffs

Zagreb

Tomislav Tomašević of the We Can!, New Left, ORAH and For the City coalition took the lead in the mayoral race for Zagreb on Sunday, winning 45% of votes, and will face-off with Miroslav Škoro of the Homeland Movement party (12%) in the second round of the elections.

Split

In the biggest Croatian Adriatic city, Ivica Puljak (Centre) and Vice Mihanović (HDZ) will face off in the 30 May runoff. Puljak won 26.82% and Mihanović 23.23%.

Rijeka

In the northern coastal city of Rijeka, the current deputy mayor Marko Filipović (SDP, HSU, IDS, HSS) won 30.25% of votes, followed by independent Davor Štimac (16.10%).

Osijek

In the eastern city of Osijek, Ivan Radić (HDZ) won nearly 39% of votes, ahead of independent Berislav Mlinarević, backed by the Homeland Movement and Bridge (about 20%), and they will vie in the second round of the elections on 30 May.

For more about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

17 May 2021 - Prime Minister and HDZ president Andrej Plenković said that the party's result in local elections was very good and victorious on Sunday night. In the next four years, the HDZ would have the most county prefects, mayors, and municipal heads.

"Our result is very good, victorious. Looking at the overall results, the HDZ will again be the party which will have the most county prefects, mayors, and municipal heads in the next four years," he said in the HDZ's campaign headquarters in Zagreb.

He congratulated everyone who took part in the elections and especially citizens who voted for the candidates of the HDZ and its partners.

Plenković said he was pleased that four HDZ candidates for prefects had won in the first round and that its candidates would be in runoffs with convincing leads in eight counties.

He singled out the results of Gari Cappelli and Anđelko Stričak in Primorje-Gorski Kotar and Varaždin counties. He congratulated Ivan Radić and Vice Mihanović for their results in Osijek and Split.

As for Davor Filipović, the party's mayoral candidate in Zagreb, Plenković said he was a new asset for the party. He did a fantastic job during the campaign, and that he was a first-class politician for big elections.

"The HDZ is the second slate in Zagreb, which is extremely good. It's a new generation of HDZ politicians in Zagreb, and I'm confident that in the years ahead, they will gain more experience and offer even better solutions for Zagreb."

Filipović, who ranked fourth in the Zagreb mayoral race with less than 10% of the vote, congratulated Tomislav Tomašević on receiving the largest number of votes in the first round and apologized; to the other candidates if, during the campaign, he said "one word too many."

He said his own result was almost twice as good as the HDZ mayoral candidate's four years ago and twice as good as in 2013. "Therefore, we have reason to be optimistic, and that's a pledge for the future to work for the good of Zagreb."

For more news about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

May 17, 2021 – Sunday welcomed the Croatian local elections. The elected officials will hold the political power on city and county levels which in many ways affects the everyday lives of Croatian people more than the national parliament or the president. A look at the elections in Dubrovnik. 

Croatian election results are the main topic this Monday. It has been a slow and quiet campaign compared to most previous ones. This is mainly due to the pandemic and the current financial situation. Without all the bells and whistles, there were some results that surprised the general public. Still, the majority of the winners were as expected. For the vast majority of the towns and counties, the election process is not over. Many of them will have to go into second round of voting to find new mayors and county prefects. The top two candidates with the most votes in the first round will go over to the runoffs for a head-to-head election showdown.

Race for Mayor

As reported by Dubrovacki Vjesnik, both Dubrovnik and Dubrovnik-Neretva County will have to go into runoffs in order to elect the mayor of Dubrovnik and the county prefect. On the city and county level in the Dubrovnik area, the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) is starting round two from the winning position. Mato Frankovic, reigning mayor of Dubrovnik, won the popular vote in the city with 36,7% of votes. Political veteran, Pero Vican finished behind him with 13,54% of votes. He won second place after a neck and neck battle with the former mayor of Dubrovnik, Andro Vlahusic. Considering the gap in results between Frankovic and Vican, the second round of Dubrovnik's race for mayor should confirm the results of the first one. However, everybody in Dubrovnik knows Pero Vican is not a politician to be underestimated.

Results on the County Level

Current county prefect, HDZ's Nikola Dobroslavic, took the win in the first round of voting with an impressive 40,12% of votes. The runner-up was Most party's Bozo Petrov with 21,11%. Petrov is a young, but already established politician. He is a current member of the Croatian Parliament and the leader of the Most party. He is a considerably younger and less experienced competitor than Dobroslavic. With this in mind, it will be an exciting second round of voting in Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The main dilemma before the voters is whether they want more of the same or are looking for a change.

For more news about politics in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.