ZAGREB, December 12 2019 - Commenting on presidential candidate Zoran Milanović's criticism that she was cowardly evading debates of presidential candidates, President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is running for a second term in office, said on Wednesday that she was in favour of debating election platforms but that Milanović had none.

"Debates? Show the minimum respect to our people, tell them what you are offering, how you see the future of this nation and this state, and formulate it into a decent document so that we can compare our platforms," Grabar-Kitarović wrote on Twitter.

"Tell people which areas you would work on, what initiatives or policy proposals you have, what your social and state priorities are. Platforms rather than threats and noise," she said in a subsequent post.

Milanovic accused Grabar-Kitarović of "cowardly evading debates" after earlier this week she turned down invitations by Nova TV, RTL and N1 to a televised debate involving presidential candidates.

"In all democratic countries debates between presidential candidates are an integral part of the election campaign and Croatia is no exception. Former presidents Stjepan Mesić and Ivo Josipović did not shun debates with their rivals either," Milanović said.

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ZAGREB, December 10, 2019 - The Croatian Democratic Union's (HDZ) presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović held an election rally in Zadar on Monday, calling on voters to go to the polls, and in a comment on her rivals, she said that some had sown discord for their own gain while some, who today sang patriotic songs, had been out of the country during the 1990s war.

She said that five years ago, when she was elected president, pessimism reigned in Croatia.

"Some used to say that Croatia was an accidental state and you know best how you fought for it," Grabar-Kitarović told those who gathered for the rally, thanking war veterans and all victims of the Homeland War.

Speaking of Croatia's first president, Franjo Tuđman, she said that Croatia would mark the 20th anniversary of his death on Tuesday and recalled that she had put up his bust in her office and proposed introducing an order named after him, to be awarded to those who promoted Croatia's freedom and national identity.

In a comment on Tudjman's work, she said that one had to be guided by a sense of responsibility.

"He made mistakes, I make them, we are all human, the easiest thing is to shun problems because then you definitely do not make mistakes," she said, adding that "the sin of omission is a major sin and those who led Croatia after President Tuđman pushed it into 'the region', where it does not belong."

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ZAGREB, December 9, 2019 - The incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is seeking a second term in office, said on Sunday that her challenger Zoran Milanović of the Social Democratic Party represented a return to "arrogance and rows" and that another of her rivals, singer-turned-politician Miroslav Škoro, was "playing the tamburitza in America" while the Homeland War was raging.

"I'm not bothered about ratings and opinion surveys. People will go to the polls on December 22 and show whether they want to return to the arrogance, hopelessness, divisions, rows and humiliation that we experienced ... from the candidate Milanović or whether we want an experiment. I say maybe he wants the best, but you cannot enter politics that way, but we should simply maintain the continuity and people will recognise that," Grabar-Kitarović told the press in the southern town of Sinj.

Asked to comment on Škoro's message to voters from her Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party that he would be their president too, Grabar-Kitarović wondered where that came from so suddenly. "I have lived in my country since I was born and was here in the most difficult of times, in the early 1990s. Some people should be asked where they were when the going was tough. Some were playing the tamburitza in Amerika while we here were supporting our people and our troops."

Responding to a journalist's remark that exchanges between the candidates were increasingly being reduced to personal, Grabar-Kitarović said that this had been so right from the start. "I haven't yet seen a single programme apart from my own. I'm trying to speak about my programme, but am forced to answer such questions simply because you're asking me."

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ZAGREB, December 5, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, who is running for her second term in office, at midnight on Wednesday formally launched her campaign in Dražice, in the hinterland of Rijeka, which is her birthplace.

Addressing a crowd in the local cultural centre, the incumbent president recalled that she also launched the campaign for her first term in her birthplace five years ago.

She said during her campaign trail tour this time, she would travel through Croatia from its southernmost peninsula of Prevlaka to the eastern town of Vukovar.

"I believe that Croatia can become one of the most prosperous countries, but that cannot be achieved overnight," she said presenting her seven-point agenda for her re-election.

Commenting on the past five years, the president said that Croatia was no longer in a recession.

"The economic indicators are not the worst in Europe, wages grow higher, although still insufficiently, emigration is abating, and some of those who have left the country are returning home and we have also restored the dignity of war veterans," she said.

She also said that her campaign would be free of arrogance and despondency as well as of divisions.

Croatia's presidential election is set for 22 December.

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ZAGREB, December 3, 2019 - Incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović on Tuesday handed in to the State Election Commission lists with 231,652 signatures of support for her presidential bid.

"I thank everyone who gave their signatures, whether HDZ members, supporters or other Croatian citizens. I also thank the party for supporting my candidacy and other parties that have supported me as well as volunteers who collected signatures," Grabar-Kitarović said after handing in lists with supporters' signatures.

Commenting on her statement that she would take Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić cakes to prison if he was convicted, she said that "in every democratic society a person is innocent until proven guilty by a final court ruling."

She would not answer any other questions from the press and neither would HDZ party leader and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković who accompanied her at the helm of a delegation of officials of the HDZ and other parties supporting her candidacy.

Apart from the HDZ, the other parties that support Grabar-Kitarović's presidential bid are Bandić's Labour and Solidarity Party, the Croatian Christian Democratic Party (HDS) and the Croatian Party of Rights - Ante Starčević (HSP AS).

More news about the presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, December 3, 2019 - Prime Minister and HDZ party leader Andrej Plenković said on Monday that he believed President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović was joking when she said that if Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, who has been indicted for corruption in several cases, was convicted, she would visit him in prison and take him cakes.

"I believe she was joking," Plenković told reporters after a session of the HDZ Presidency and National Council when asked to comment on Grabar-Kitarović's statement to Media Servis.

Earlier in the day, responding to criticism over her singing at Bandić's birthday party, Grabar-Kitarović said that everyone was innocent until proven guilty and that if Bandić was convicted, she would take him cakes to prison.

Asked how many signatures of support for her presidential bid Grabar-Kitarović would hand in to the State Election Commission on Tuesday, Plenković said that the last signatures arriving from all over the country were being collected and that tomorrow "a large number of signatures of support for the president will be handed in."

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ZAGREB, November 27, 2019 - Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Wednesday in Mostar, which she visited during her campaign, that care for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) would continue to be an important plank of her state policy.

In that southern city in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian president promised that she would continue to advocate the achievement of full equality of the Croatian people, including their possibility to elect their own political representatives without being outvoted.

"The thing that is and will remain to be my state policy is care for Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatians have two homelands - the Republic of Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. And that is why I will not stop until Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina are provided with the rights they are entitled to historically, politically and under the country's constitution - and that is full equality and achieving their rights as a constituent people," said Grabar-Kitarović, addressing a conference on the anniversary of the establishment of the 'Prsten' Association of Bosnia-Herzegovina Croats with its headquarters in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

She said that it was necessary to prevent scenarios in which the more numerous peoples can impose their representatives on Croats in elections.

"No one else should be allowed to elect representatives for the Croatian people in BiH. They are deluding themselves if they think that Croats will bend and disappear from Bosnia and Herzegovina. No, they won't! With your help I will continue to be a guarantee that there will be no more ignoring of Croats in BiH which had happened in 15 years during the term of my two predecessors," she underscored.

Grabar-Kitarović called on Croatian business people to invest in Bosnia and Herzegovina and help stop the emigration of young people from the country.

"That is why in fact, I am encouraging Croatian entrepreneurs to turn to investments in BiH, to establish new companies and to launch new investments so that our young people can be given a job and keep living here," she added.

Grabar-Kitarović in particular underlined the significance of the Prsten association which was established by Croats from Bosnia and Herzegovina in an effort to preserve tradition and values and at the same time to assist their compatriots in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During its 14 years of existence, the Prsten association, which has 3,500 member and 200 entrepreneurs, has set aside 15 million kuna in aid for institutions, and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as an additional 3.5 million kuna for scholarships for poor students.

The Croatian president is due to stop in Skopaljska Gračanica near Bugojno and Vitez on her campaign trail in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday afternoon.

The incumbent president's candidacy for her second term is supported by the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and a few more political parties in Croatia.

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ZAGREB, November 25, 2019 - President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said on Monday that she supported an initiative to for non-working Sunday, announcing that she would ask the relevant ministry to consider the proposal to adopt legislation that would protect workers and assist families.

After the president receives representatives of the Croatian Sunday Alliance in her office, one of the representatives for the alliance and former MEP, Marijana Petir underscored that Sunday was family time.

She presented findings of a survey showing citizens see Sunday as family time which is why they ask for non-working Sundays. The survey conducted earlier this year show that 82 percent of Croatians support the introduction of a work-free Sunday in all stores in Croatia. The survey covered 1,000 respondents.

The biggest problem, she added, was seen in the retail sector where the majority of workers are women who work non-stop and sometimes for several weeks without one day of rest and earn a minimum wage even though most retail chains owned by foreigners are closed on Sundays in their countries of origin.

The alliance president, Friar Božo Vuleta, says that not only do stores that are open on Sundays fail to contribute to the economy, employers themselves have realised that due to the drain of the labour force, staying open on Sundays is not worth it and many of them are hopeful that legislation will be adopted banning work in the retail sector on Sunday. Some have even decided of their own accord not to work on Sundays.

"A new law would just reflect real needs and the will of almost two-thirds of Croatian citizens, Vuleta said.

The leader of the retail segment in the SSSH trade union federation, Zlatica Štulić, confirmed that there was no need for stores to remain open 0 to 24 hours, 365 days of the year because the social damage of that work were far greater than economic benefit with regard to deterioration of workers' health.

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ZAGREB, November 17, 2019 - The Work and Solidarity Party will support President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in the presidential election, party president Milan Bandić said on Sunday.

The president has strengthened Croatia's international position, promoted unity and shown social awareness as well as openness towards citizens, he said.

"One should appreciate her ability and diplomatic skills to strengthen Croatia's position in the EU, while at the same time keeping exceptional relations both with Trump and Putin as well as being an eminent guest at the most important global forums and initiatives," Bandić said.

Grabar-Kitarović has connected Croatia with central Europe countries and the Three Seas Initiative is a step forward in the foreign policy, which was imprisoned in the "region" for years, he said, adding that the president had correct relations with the neighbouring countries and that she pushed for the establishment of new bridges of cooperation.

The president encourages understanding others and those who are different and has been the spokesperson of the common man and the weak, Bandić said.

Croatia needs to have unity and optimism restored, which is what Grabar-Kitarović has been doing over the past five years, he added.

Bandić said he was not running for president because of what he still had to do as the mayor of Zagreb.

More news about presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, November 11, 2019 - Presenting her election platform for a second term in office on Monday, incumbent President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović said that she wants to be a factor of gathering and joining, a booster of new Croatian unity.

"Without you, my dear people, and without the support of Croatian citizens I would not be the president today. I am grateful to the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) for nominating me and I firmly believe that all HDZ members want me to be a factor of gathering and joining, a boost to new Croatian unity," the president said.

She recalled that five years ago to the day she presented her election platform for a better Croatia, saying at the time that she would not be the president of any political party but of all citizens and that she would not shun from taking responsibility. "I said: I will be your president and I deeply believe that I have achieved that," she said.

She underscored that today, like then, she believes in Croatia and in every single one of its people, their values and potential and everything that distinguishes the homeland. She particularly underlined that she is proud of war veterans and everybody who gave their lives and health in defending Croatia.

"I was convinced then, like today, that together we can achieve a better future for us all," she highlighted.

"I believe that you have recognised that I am one of you and that I have proved that I am working and fighting for you," said Grabar-Kitarović, convinced that a better Croatia is possible.

Grabar-Kitarović's slogans for a new five-year term in the president's office reads, "The president, because Croatia knows," and "Optimism for Croatia."

Her election platform, "Croatia knows and must do better," consists of seven areas on which Grabar-Kitarović will work in her next term: Croatian development, Croatian identity, Croatian resoluteness, Croatian justice, Croatian democracy, Croatian security and Croatian optimism.

The president launched her election platform at the Zagreb Trade Fair Centre. Attending the launch were Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandroković, Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandić, incumbent ministers and people from all walks of public and political life.

HDZ president and Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Monday called for strong support to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović for her re-election, saying she was the best choice for Croatia, embodying optimism, excellence and industriousness.

With Grabar-Kitarović's victory, we will continue to pursue that policy in the interest of the Croatian state and people as well as all Croatian citizens, Plenković said at the presentation of the president's re-election platform.

He said Grabar-Kitarović had proved in all key challenges that she stood for and protected national interests in the best way.

"In the new programme, you recognise the challenges that are ahead of us and propose initiatives that are in the interest of the Croatian people and Croatia's all-round prosperity," Plenković told her.

The upcoming presidential election is important as it will determine Croatia's course and winning it is crucial for continuing to achieve our political goals and the excellent cooperation and synergy of all government components, from towns, municipalities and counties to parliament, the government and the president, Plenković said.

That is the strength of the HDZ and, with your support and trust, we will transform it into one more victory for our president, he added.

By winning the election, we will ensure the continuity of a policy which is based on our values - nation-building, patriotism, and Christian democracy, he said.

That is the true policy of the centre-right which is based on the political legacy of Croatia's first president Franjo Tuđman, who achieved a sovereign, free and independent Croatia with the support of the Croatian people and defenders, he said, adding that a huge majority of the Croatian people and citizens supported that policy.

A better, rather than a normal Croatia, Plenković said, alluding to the slogan of the SDP's presidential candidate Zoran Milanović.

"For them, it's normal to leave Croatian citizens 70 billion kuna in debt, which is more than all the motorways built in Croatia, to lose 40,000 jobs, freeze salaries and pensions, not use European funds for Croatia's development. The president and the government, working together, have changed that."

Today the economy is growing on sound foundations, without borrowing at the expense of future generations, we are cutting taxes and the public debt, we are generating a budget surplus, increasing investments, we have restored the investment credit rating, employment has never been higher and unemployment lower, Plenković said.

Grabar-Kitarović has made an outstanding contribution to every aspect of the protection of national interests as well as to initiatives for the demographic revival of the country, he said, adding that he especially appreciated her work on and contribution to the promotion of Croatia's economic interests and recognisability.

President Grabar-Kitarović has become a Croatian brand on the global scale, Plenković said.

We will continue to work together for young people, who are the country's future, their education and inclusion on the labour market, we will strengthen social solidarity with all vulnerable groups, pensioners, the disabled, and victims of any violence, he added.

Together we will reinforce the homeland security system, the army, the police, we will step up the security of our borders and provide for war veterans and their families, constantly protecting the dignity of the Homeland War, Plenković said.

Together we will always defend the interests of the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina and strengthen the ties between Croatia and its expatriates, on which President Grabar-Kitarović has been working tirelessly, he added.

Thanks to the joint work of the government and the president, Croatia's standing in the world in stronger and more respectable than ever, Plenković said.

More news about presidential elections can be found in the Politics section.