March the 24th, 2023 - This week in Croatian politics, we've had ongoing issues with post-earthquake reconstruction, more arguing between Plenkovic and Milanovic, and former President Ivo Josipovic thinks its time for the Constitutional Court to get involved.

Zagreb mayor Tomislav Tomasevic has openly discussed his relationship with Andrej Plenkovic, saying that "of course there is some tension..."

Tomislav Tomasevic recently appeared as a guest on Dnevnik N1, where he discussed, among other things such as the post-earthquake reconstruction process, his relationship with the prime minister. In his words, there are tensions, but the pair still need to work together.

"We have to work together, and we need to cooperate because of EU funds, I guess it is in everyone's interest that this money is spent. I think that so far, we've managed to cooperate in a good way, and yes, of course there are conflicts, one concrete example is the increase in water prices. Several dozen cities raised their water prices without any hype about it,'' Tomasevic said.

When it comes to Zagreb, he says they don't have a single affair to discuss.

"A new tram line is being built for the first time after 20 years, new buses and trams are here, some order has been introduced on the street terraces... Before that, not a single new tram had been bought for 17 years, we have trams running in this city that are even older than me,'' remarked the Zagreb mayor.

The European Commission is set to get a much more detailed insight into what's going on with Croatia's post-earthquake reconstruction process

I don't know about you, but I personally didn't think anyone would still be saying the words ''post-earthquake reconstruction process'' three entire years after the Zagreb earthquake of March 2020, and well over two years since the Petrinja earthquake struck in December of that same year. Alas, things move slowly in the world of Croatian politics, and we are still uttering those words. The European Commission is going to be getting a detailed look into precisely what's going on. 

Today, the European Commission will be informed of the review of the state of Croatian post-earthquake reconstruction, which is being financed from the EU Solidarity Fund, as well as Croatia's view of costs across all of its ministries.

This meeting was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Construction, Branko Bacic, who, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the Zagreb earthquake (March the 22nd), assessed that the aforementioned segment of Croatian post-earthquake reconstruction is being implemented in full as planned, so this gives some hope that the money will be spent within the prescribed deadline.

You can read more by clicking here.

Has the much talked about Jarun bridge project been kicked into the long grass?

A large project which would have connected the western part of the capital city to Novi Zagreb appears to have stalled completely, with Tomasevic saying that he'd much rather strengthen the city's already existing bridges in case of another earthquake than build another. That all sounds alright, but there are people stuck in limbo because of this decision. People with properties situated along the route that would lead to the would-be bridge can't do anything to repair or reconstruct their houses which were damaged during 2020's earthquake. This issue affects 150 houses situated along this route which are awaiting demolition, but owing to only some things having been formally agreed upon and legalised by the state and other items having been simply disregarded, the situation sits stagnant. Experts say that the Jarun bridge is a classic example of the violation of various laws that ultimately put the City of Zagreb into a deeply unfavourable situation.

You can read more on that by clicking here.

Plenkovic claims that foreign leaders are set to come to Zagreb but none of them want to meet with President Zoran Milanovic

The trolling, mud slinging and arguments between Plenkovic and Milanovic have become somewhat iconic at this point. The pair were even depicted as part of the Rijeka carnival process this year. Endlessly taking swipes at each other, these two powerful figures in the world of Croatian politics can never resist a chance to throw each other under the bus.

In this case, however, Plenkovic has a point in the eyes of most when he says that Milanovic's often rather strange comments about the Russia-Ukraine war are simply not in line with Croatia's official position and that he is sending a very wrong message out to the rest of Europe and indeed the world with many of the statements he makes.

His politically damaging statements in regard to Russia and Ukraine have seen political figures from abroad question Croatia's official position, ask how he is ''being allowed to say such things'', and even had Russian media claiming Milanovic supports their country's disgraceful actions. A poor image for Croatia indeed, especially after the absolutely praiseworthy approach it has towards Ukrainian refugees and Ukraine's unfortunately all too familiar struggles.

Plenkovic went more deeply into the above during a recent official visit to Istria, where after initially emphasising everything the government has done so far, he once again referred to the strained relationship his government (HDZ) has with Zoran Milanovic (SDP), and why they refuse to cooperate with him. He enumerated the cases of him blocking the government's proposals for the appointment of various officials and representatives and said:

"This is just to make the general public aware of where the problem is and where the issues stand. Milanovic's views are completely opposite to the natural position of Croatia,'' he said bluntly, before touching on the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine back in February 2022, when Milanovic refused a meeting of the National Security Council.

"If there was a moment when we should have met because of serious security threats, that was the moment. After that came his distancing from Croatia's position and his repeating of pro-Russian positions that are completely contrary to what the stance of Croatia is as a European country, a country that is neither neutral nor non-aligned. We have diametrically different views," he said, as N1 reported.

He pointed out that foreign officials don't want to meet with or cooperate with Milanovic, who has isolated himself with his strange statements and views.

"To make you aware, the Spanish Prime Minister was here recently, he didn't meet with him, the Danish Prime Minister was also here as well, she didn't meet with him either, the President of the Canadian Senate came and he didn't meet with him, the Deputy Prime Minister of Italy was here and he did not meet with him. Do you understand what messages our allies and partners are sending him? They're saying; we hear what you've been saying for a year and we don't want anything to do with it,'' Plenkovic said.

Former president Ivo Josipovic says that Plenkovic and Milanovic are the only ones responsible for their poor relationship

Former Croatian president Ivo Josipovic was a recent guest of N1 Studio live, and during that appearance he commented on the constant conflict between President Milanovic and Prime Minister Plenkovic, as well as the elections that are coming next year.

"Both of them are responsible for their poor relationship and I'm sorry that it's happening," Josipovic said in regard to the constant arguing and insults being thrown around between the president and the prime minister. He says that he used to talk to Milanovic from time to time, but not about things going on in the sphere of Croatian politics.

"It's dangerous in a way even if there was a completely regular situation, and this isn't a normal situation [referencing the war in Ukraine]. This conflict creates a bad political climate and damages Croatia's international reputation, as well as the view of Croatian politics here at home,'' he added.

The war in Ukraine has implications for Croatia's immediate neighbourhood and our security, and it isn't a good situation when the two leading statesmen don't talk,'' warned the former president, reminding that both have responsibility for the functioning of the entire political system.

"I have the experience of being in a mandate with a government of the opposite political orientation as well. Did you ever hear such conversations between me and Jadranka Kosor? There was no idyll between me and Milanovic either, but it's important that everyone sticks to their political competence," said Josipovic, who believes that the Constitutional Court could declare this entire situation unconstitutional and force the president and prime minister to sit down and talk properly.

The situation with Croatia not moving quickly enough to absorb the EU cash given to it continues to be a burden

"Over the next 100 days, we must spend 403 million euros. A large number of projects are being implemented in the areas affected by the Zagreb and Petrinja earthquakes, and this gives us hope that we will be able to use this money. The works are now in full swing, the construction sites are filled with workers, and we keep receiving requests for reimbursement of funds daily", it was said by Spatial Planning Minister Branko Bacic.

As most people who have dealt with anything even remotely administrative here, Croatia tends to move at a snail's pace, and those of us who are better acquainted with this had our heads in our hands from the very day the earthquake struck. Of course, what Bacic is saying isn't good enough for most, and the University of Zagreb's rector claims that what Bacic has stated is simply not in line with previous forecasts. 

You can read more by clicking here.

For more on Croatian politics, make sure to keep up with our dedicated section and follow our Week in Croatian Politics articles which are published every Friday.

March the 24th, 2023 - Has a the long-awaited (and much talked about) Zagreb mega project of the construction of a brand new Jarun bridge been kicked into the long grass?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the would-be Jarun bridge would solve some traffic issues here in the capital by connecting western Zagreb with Novi Zagreb, but it seems as if things are stalling beyond the point of no return.

"I think that the first point we need to start with is strengthening the city's existing bridges before building any sort of new bridge, and this is something that may not be seen as desirable politically as much as a totally new bridge might be, but I'll still sleep peacefully because I know that I've done absolutely everything necessary for this city to be safer if there's another earthquake,'' said Zagreb Mayor Tomislav Tomasevic.

This is nothing more than a very small consolation for Milica Sparavalo, whose house was damaged back during the earthquake of March 2020, and she's not allowed to rebuild any of it because it is located on the future road route that would one day lead to this as yet somewhat mythical Jarun bridge. Because of all this, her life has been turned into total chaos, and she isn't even allowed to sell the land, as reported by HRT.

"For us, waiting no longer makes sense. Just let us be able to dispose of our property," pleaded Milica Sparavalo, whose house is just one of the 150 buildings situated along the route awaiting demolition. Experts say that the Jarun bridge is a classic example of the violation of various laws that ultimately put the City of Zagreb into a deeply unfavourable situation.

"Construction permits were issued for corridors that were defined by the GUP and some other documents, and there lies the problem. The problem is that the state has legalised some things, and some things only," said Marko Sevrovic from the Faculty of Transport Sciences in Zagreb.

The potential Jarun bridge would, as stated above, finally connect the western part of the city and Novi Zagreb, and 15,000 vehicles would travel along it daily, and a tram line is also planned. The continuation of the Jarun bridge project was also supported by part of the opposition, and they even proposed an amendment to break the deadlock.

"With that amendment, we provided two million euros for the creation of the project documentation, it was flatly rejected, that is, not reduced, but totally and utterly rejected, and it could clearly already be seen that this project wasn't a focal point for them,'' said Kristijan Jelic, a city representative of HSLS.

For more, check out our news section.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VL/Petra Balija writes on the 11th of February, 2020, the Jarun bridge is once again in focus, and in one of the drawers of Zagreb's city government, a projection has been gathering dust since way back in 2007. The documentation wad done by the late Jure Radic and his associates, and his work was selected in a public tender among ten applicants.

On numerous occasions, the Jarun bridge's construction was announced but nothing ever came of it, much like many projects in Croatia. Over time, the citizens of Zagreb began referring to it as a phantom project, which Mayor Milan Bandic mentions every now and then when it's convenient to bring it up.

Now the Jarun bridge project is on the table once again, and at the last session of the Assembly, the mayor said that a request for location permits for the route to him and a new bridge over the Sava had been submitted.

''We were looking for location permits for three sections on the extended Vrapcanska street, which would connect Ilica to Adriatic avenue, which includes the Jarun bridge itself. The first section, which is 1500 metres long, would involve the construction of a bridge, the second section would go from the bridge to Horvacanska road and would be about 1300 metres long, and the third section from Horvacanska to Zagrebacka road, and would include an overpass that would go over Zagreb avenue,'' says Dinko Bilic, head of the city construction office.

The design and technical documentation is being prepared, and location permits are expected by the end of April.

''After the issuance of the location permits, the preparation of the subdivision studies will be initiated, and after their preparation and verification, the project's technical documentation for the aforementioned sections will be submitted to the city office for property and legal affairs, which is expected at the end of summer this year,'' said the head of the construction office, adding that the plan for this year is to design the main and the implementation project.

This is not the first time that a location permit for the Jarun bridge has been issued, the 40 million euro project was also being discussed at this level back in 2011, when the same permit was first issued.

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