ZAGREB, January 17, 2019 – The presidents of GLAS, the Istrian Democratic Party (IDS), the Croatian Peasant Party (HSS) and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar Alliance (PGS) signed an agreement in Rijeka on Thursday on the PGS joining the Amsterdam Coalition.
PGS president Darijo Vasilić said what he and the others had in common was the fight for regional values, an open, modern and civil society and a civilised Croatia as well as against the growing radical right and increasingly strong populism in politics.
IDS president Boris Miletić said opinion polls showed that Amsterdam Coalition had become the strongest opposition force in Croatia. “We want an open and progressive Croatia, where people aren’t afraid and emigrating, where work and enterprise are encouraged, not blocked.”
GLAS president Anka Mrak Taritaš said the Croatian Pensioners Party (HSU) would join the coalition by the end of the month.
The Amsterdam Coalition firmly believes that it is necessary to oppose content- and idea-free radicalism and populism, and pushes for a new Europe and Croatia in it. We stand for liberal democracy and man’s right to choose, work and live in a functioning country, she said.
She said the coalition would run for the European Parliament and that its candidates would be capable of representing Croatia’s interests.
HSS president Krešo Beljak said the coalition’s approval ratings would be even better once the HSU joined them.
More news on the Amsterdam Coalition can be found in the Politics section.
