The cafe owner Tomislav Kovačević wrote in the last two days on his Facebook account that members and voters of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) are personae non gratae in his cafe, citing his feeling of humiliation by the HDZ party.
Kovačević’s statement ensued after the COVID-19 crisis management teams said that as of Monday, cafes and bars would be allowed to provide coffee to go as part of relaxed anti-epidemic rules following a more favourable trend in the epidemiological situation.
This move seemed to anger Kovačević who accused the national team of “being insult to people who use their heads.”
Kovačević’s decision on the ban of entry of HDZ members and voters prompted the local HDZ branch leader Josip Ostrogović to point out that this ban is as an act of segregation along the lines of political affiliation. This can be also perceived as an act of Nazism, the local HDZ said.
The mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel, an official of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), today responded to the latest developments and called for the defusion of tensions.
“I can understand the revolt and emotions of the owner of that cafe as well as the feeling of impotence and humiliation prevailing among many restaurateurs and other business owners in other sectors who are suffering the consequences of this long period of lockdown. However, I appeal for humanity, tolerance and understanding that exist in the hearts of all residents of Rijeka,” Obersnel wrote in his statement on Sunday.
He went on to say, that the novel virus is at the core of the problem and that the virus is not easy to control, and is the original enemy, dangerous for everybody.
