ZAGREB, January 18, 2020 – Prime Minister and HDZ leader Andrej Plenković on Friday dismissed interpretations that the party under his helm “has gone too much to the left,” reiterating that Croatia was enjoying political stability and economic growth thanks to the responsible policy of his government.
“I lead the party really transparently and, in my opinion, politically successfully as well,” said Plenković in his comment on criticisms from hopefuls for the presidency of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ).
He rejected claims by possible challengers that the party had moved towards the left of the political spectrum and added that the HDZ would hold party election conventions in due course.
Plenković recalled that the HDZ under his helm won the 2016 early parliamentary elections when he promised political stability.
“This is the principle we stick to. This is something we are implementing in cooperation with those protagonists with whom we can find the common ground for the government’s agenda, and I refer to the parliamentary majority,” said Plenković when asked by the press about the situation in the HDZ and the ruling majority.
The parliamentary majority is a precondition for the implementation of projects as well as for ensuring a sound economic growth and restoration of Croatia’s investment ratings, Plenković said.
During the term of this government, Croatia has experienced a growth of three percent without taking on additional borrowing. Furthermore, a positive climate for entrepreneurs to do business is being crated, and as a result, growth is being generated and new jobs created, Plenković said adding that pension allowances and monthly salaries are on the rise, demographic revival measures have been adopted and the country’s international position is being reinforced.
Dismissing the criticism about going too much to the left, Plenković called on his critics to specify their concrete objections.
As for the objections from some right-wing circles about the government’s support for the Marrakech Compact and the Istanbul Convention, he recalled that the adoption of the convention was also part of the agenda of the then HDZ presidential candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović in the 2014 presidential race, which means that this was part of the HDZ programme also before he took helm of the HDZ.
He pointed out that the the problem with the “disgruntled right-wing” actors had arisen when Nina Obuljen Korzinek became culture minister in 2016 after this position had been filled by Zlatko Hasanbegovic. “If you take a closer look, you’ll see that no objections were made before that personnel decision. There’s no ideology here, it’s a made-up story.”
Considering criticism about the HDZ forming a coalition with the Croatian People’s Party (HNS), Plenković described the HNS as a liberal and people’s party and said that their cooperation should be looked at through their programmes.
“Can the CDU and the CSU in Germany cooperate with the Liberals? I guess they can. Can we do that here? Yes, we can. Who else are we supposed to cooperate with? Who else is left? Do they want us to go with the SDP? Let them be a bit more specific.” the HDZ chief said.
He also recalled that the cooperation with the HNS was established after “the worst possible disloyal move by the MOST(party)” when the MOST ministers voted for a no confidence motion against their colleague in the government, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić, Plenković said.
More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.
