Several candidates for SDP president spoke at a conference of the Split party branch.
The SDP branch in Split held a conference on Saturday, and several candidates at the upcoming elections for party president used the opportunity to present themselves to members. SDP vice-president and a candidate for new party president Ranko Ostojić said that the future party leadership would need the outgoing party president and former Prime Minister Zoran Milanović, reports Večernji List on October 15, 2016.
“Those who say that SDP will not need Zoran Milanović are completely wrong. I believe that, as MP and president of the SDP Parliamentary Group, Milanović is at the moment absolutely important for anyone who will lead the party”, said Ostojić. Pointing out that Milanović made the decision not to run for SDP president at the upcoming elections, Ostojić said that it was up to Milanović to decide “what he will do and where he will do it”.
Asked whether the fact that there are as many as nine candidates for SDP president was a sign of weakness and crisis within SDP, Ostojić said that it was good that there were more candidates. It is a disappointment for those who wanted to criticize SDP for not having more candidates, said Ostojić, adding that it remained to be seen how many actual candidates will appear at the elections, since each of preliminary candidates has to collect at least a thousand signatures of support from party members. The official intraparty campaign will start on 5 November, after the signatures are collected. Ostojić said that nothing dramatic was happening within SDP, and that the party will be stabilized and ready for local elections.
“At the moment, I am focused on the elections for SDP president. I have been a member of SDP for 26 years, and for 17 years I did not have any important post in the party. Therefore, nothing will happen if I do not win”, concluded Ostojić.
Vesna Škulić, also a candidate for SDP president, spoke at the conference in Split. She said that all candidates should respect the principles of social democracy. “I hope that you will choose the party leadership which will consist of those SDP members who believe in social-democracy”, said Škulić.
Another candidate Duško Polovina said that the Split party branch was better than his own branch in Zadar. “You are better, because people in Zadar only think about promoting themselves”, said Polovina.
SDP president will be elected on 19 November by all members of the party. The winning candidate will lead the opposition in Parliament during the next four years.
