February the 2nd, 2024 – This week in Croatian politics, doctors cite government betrayal as the groundwork is laid for another strike, HDZ thinks it will win every election this year, and more.
Doctors prepare new strike and cite “betrayal” from government
Doctors are making preparations for another strike after the last one seemed to fall on deaf ears. Citing betrayal by those in Croatian politics, the path is now being laid for union action.
The Croatian Medical Union (HLS) called out the government for violating the agreement they reached back in April 2023 with doctors which would have seen their conditions improved and their salaries upped. They also claim the government has been engaging “propaganda attempts” aimed at weakening the position of healthcare professionals.
“Prime Minister Andrej Plenković, Health Minister Vili Beroš and the government are pushing Croatian doctors to strike, encouraging them to go into private healthcare instead, and also to leave Croatia,” the union has claimed, adding that the public keeps being fed false stories of the allegedly “huge salaries” being taken home by doctors in order to portray them as greedy and unreasonable.
Plenković says HDZ will win in all of 2024’s elections
Of all individuals in Croatian politics, Plenković is known for his displays of confidence, and it appears that this year being full of elections isn’t phasing him at all. The Prime Minister is convinced that HDZ will come out on top in all of the democratic processes scheduled for this year, with others believing that Croatia will also end up with an HDZ president, as opposed to Zoran Milanović, who is from SDP.
“I’m sure we’ll secure another four-year mandate in government,” said the PM, noting that three main points are at the forefront for HDZ this year – Croatia’s burning demographic issues, decarbonisation, and digitisation.
Plenković says Croatia remains staunchly against antisemitism on Holocaust Remembrance Day
Holocaust Remembrance Day was marked on the 27th of January, and the Croatian Prime Minister used the opportunity to state how staunchly against antisemitism Croatia remains.
“The Croatian presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance persists in the fight against antisemitism and preserving the culture of memory so that such crimes never happen again,” the Prime Minister stated solemnly.
Wisely, the current situation in Gaza went unmentioned, as did the Independent State of Croatia and Croatia’s Axis-aligned past.
The new Croatian language Act has been approved
With the recently approved Croatian Language Act, the Prime Minister has stated that a welcome and necessary institutional framework that enables its unfettered development has finally been put in place. He added that this benefits both Croatian people and Croatian culture.
On the occasion of the adoption of the law in Croatian Parliament, the Prime Minister stated that the promotion of the culture of the Croatian language in official and public use and its further development will be discussed by experts within the Croatian Language Council.
Croatia’s new Black Hawk acquisition is discussed
Croatia is set to get its hands on several Black Hawk helicopters, and the Prime Minister has explained more about the upcoming process.
To briefly recall, the US State Department recently approved the potential sale of Black Hawk helicopters and related equipment and services to Croatia. The value of the contract for the aircraft is estimated to stand at 500 million dollars.
The Prime Minister said that the first four have already arrived according to the 2+2 model, two of which are based on the international military aid that the US gives to its allies, and Croatia purchased the other two.
“These eight will follow the same model. Four will be financed by the USA and its international military aid programme, and the additional four will be purchased by Croatia,” he said.
