ZAGREB, May 25, 2020 – Croatian Parliament Speaker and secretary-general of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Gordan Jandrokovic, said on Monday that a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was out of the question, as was a coalition with Miroslav Skoro’s Homeland Movement, and that cooperation with Zagreb Mayor Milan Bandic was unlikely.
“The HDZ will run in elections by itself, our coalition partners are the citizens, there will be no grand coalition with the SDP, and we will also not enter a coalition with Skoro,” Jandrokovic told Croatian Radio, noting that the media should “ask Skoro and (SDP leader Davor) Bernardic if they will cooperate, I think it is about time to ask that question as well”.
“There will be no talks with Skoro,” Jandrokovic answered when asked if there was a possibility to at least talk with Skoro if that proved crucial for forming a government, and how much of a problem Skoro’s partners, for instance, Hrvoje Zekanovic and Zlatko Hasanbegovec, could be.
“You have mentioned certain people, we will not cooperate with them because they are not a team who we consider would be capable of leading Croatia responsibly and seriously,” Jandrokovic said, confirming that the HDZ’s cooperation with Zagreb’s Mayor, Milan Bandic, was also in question.
The HDZ objects to Bandic’s criticising the government over its response to the consequences of the earthquake which hit Zagreb on March 22.
“It is unusual that Bandic has accused the government unprovoked, and it seems that we are becoming distant to such an extent that cooperation after the election will be impossible,” Jandrokovic said.
As for cooperation with the Croatian People’s Party (HNS), Jandrokovic did not want to speak about it as of yet.
We first need to see their election result, I would not comment on it yet, Jandrokovic noted.
Jandrokovic, who will be running in parliamentary elections for the sixth time, did not reveal in which constituency he would run. The decision on the order of candidates on electoral lists must first be reached by the competent party bodies, and before that happens it would not be appropriate to go public with such information, Jandrokovic said.
