ZAGREB, February 18, 2020 – President Zoran Milanović said in his inaugural address on Tuesday that elections are a way of reaching a peaceful compromise between the opposed wishes of different people, and that he will play a constructive role as President.
Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Milanović said that the truth and voters’ desire should be kept apart and that elections are not the way to find the truth but to reach a peaceful compromise between the opposed wishes of different people.
“It seems to me that there is only one right way, and that is full and active support by the government to academic and scientific independence and independence of the judiciary and media. That’s the strongest defence against tyranny, tyranny of any kind,” he said.
The scientific community, judiciary and media must work incessantly on perfecting the anti-corruption mechanisms. Protection and promotion of the independence of the judiciary, media and science are the most important constitutional responsibilities of the President of the Republic in ensuring the stability of government, Milanović said.
He stressed that he is not going to be a corrective, but a constructive factor in areas of direct competence or co-competence of the President of the Republic, adding that this arises from the spirit of the Constitution.
In foreign policy, he said he will focus on promoting cooperation and prosperity. There is no doubt that there are incomparably more points on which we can build cooperation and prosperity than those that distance us from our neighbours and from the world, even when it comes to countries with which we have the largest number of unresolved issues, he added.
In his speech, Milanović asked beforehand for “a seed of understanding” for possible mistakes on his part, stressing that they will never be intentional or made to hurt or degrade somebody. “I will do my best to make sure that this seed produces a presidential term to the benefit of Croatia and its citizens.”
He said it would be a mistake to doubt a person’s motivation or patriotism because of differences in opinion, noting that patriotism, unlike raw nationalism, is a critical commitment and negation of exclusiveness.
Patriotism implies an indelible memory and an eternal gratitude to men, women and children who were killed and who suffered for our freedom both in the 1991-1995 Homeland War and during the antifascist struggle in the Second World War. “Patriotism is also awareness of the failures of triumphalism that unfortunately sometimes accompanied our victories in the wars, but we should not compare or equate those failures,” he said.
Milanović said that the wars are over and that it is our duty and responsibility to ensure that no citizen of Croatia feels intimidated, discriminated against or in any way excluded just because they are different.
“When I say different, I also mean weaker or smaller in number, and that according to several criteria: gender, ethnic, social, religious, work and age. Such patriotism is based on the highest values of our constitution and our sheer humanity, if you will, and not on myths, past traumas and prejudice,” he said.
Our future depends, first and foremost, on the quality of education and the belief in the fact that knowledge is key to a more fulfilled and successful life, as well as on our treatment of our own culture, Milanović said.
He said that Croatia is the home of an unskilled worker and a respectable academic alike, stressing that promoting solidarity in society, a fairer division of national wealth, and the fight against clientelism, a culture of lies and greed is the most effective instrument in combating inequality and the growing gap between rich and poor.
“Our republic needs every person and every person in Croatia must be given a chance to find their way and their place, to live in dignity from decent work. This is a home to us all, to us who live here and to the generations to come, as well as to those who are yet to return,” Milanović said in conclusion of his speech.
More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.
