ZAGREB, 30 April 2022 - Members of the Social Democrats parliamentary group presented in Split on Saturday their eponymous association and announced the establishment of a political party that would offer a different paradigm of political activity than the one currently on the scene.

Croatia clearly needs a serious Croatian policy based on different values, said Davorko Vidović, the association's president.

The Social Democrats are the largest opposition parliamentary group, formed after 18 Social Democratic Party (SDP) MPs were ousted from or left the party.

Vidović said their own political party would be based on values of social democracy present in Europe for the past 200 years, such as freedom, justice, equality and solidarity, but faced with new challenges.

"We wish to be the spokespersons of the modern Croatia, which needs representatives capable of articulating those needs."

The Social Democrats want to show that the country can be run differently, by respecting every citizen and introducing decency, respect, tolerance and arguments in the political discourse, Vidović said.

MP Katica Glamuzina said Social Democrats were" returning to the foundations of social democracy" and "the path of equity, equality and the fight for those disenfranchised."

Speaking of tomorrow's International Workers' Day, MP Davor Bernardić said citizens no longer wanted to watch the president and the prime minister row but were interested in how to live better.

It's key to help workers working on insecure platforms as well as all others, and also young people who can't afford to buy a flat, which the Social Democrats are dealing with, he added.

The key job is to help Croatia demographically and keep people from leaving, he said.