ZAGREB, September 15, 2019 – The current government and the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) are not pursuing a policy of divisions and exclusions, and their policy is that of inclusion and mutual tolerance, which is in the interest of the whole state, Parliament Speaker and HDZ Secretary-General Gordan Jandroković told the commercial broadcaster N1 on Sunday.
“All of us active on the political and public scenes should be guided, first of all, by our conscience and the interests of the Republic of Croatia. I think that we must be responsible,” Jandroković said in his interview with the N1, which focused on the relations among members of the ruling coalition following recent statements by Milorad Pupovac of the Independent Democratic Serb Party (SDSS) which have stirred up many reactions including those from some other members of the coalition who have said that they are considering leaving it.
“Perhaps we would have scored more political points if we had had assumed a tough stance on Pupovac, and we would have received applause from a segment of the right-wing political scenes, however, the question is whether it would be useful for Croatia. I think that it wouldn’t be,” Jandroković said.
“Stability has priority over all kinds of polemical discussions that additional fuel the flames in Croatia.”
He underscores that the incumbent government and the HDZ led by Andrej Plenković will not spread any divisions in the Croatian society.
We insist on the fact that there are different ways of thinking, different world views and concepts, and we live with that and should be able to deal with that and our prevailing course should be inclusion, mutual tolerance and respect, Jandroković added.
He dismissed criticism from some right-wing circles that the persons in the government were “weak Croats insufficiently dedicated to the Croatian national interests”.
“We fight for (the national interests) in the manner we consider to be responsible, serious and in the interest of our state,” he said, adding that he hopes that people will eventually recognise their efforts.
He went on to say that the policy of inclusion and respect was also the policy led by the HDZ founder and the first Croatian president Franjo Tuđman who always tried to see to it that there were representatives of ethnic minorities, including the Serb minority, in the government and institutions and also in times which were much more difficult than the present-day circumstances.
I can’t see anything bad in having representatives of ethnic minorities, including the Serb ethnic minority within the ruling majority. Of course, those representatives are also supposed to behave responsibly, and take care of what they say and what kind of reactions they provoke among Croatian citizens. All that is connected, Jandroković says.
Jandroković underscores that Croatia is a stable democracy that has several representatives in the high-ranking positions in European positions.
He also cited the country’s recent successes such as the improvement of its credit ranking, economic growth, a good tourist season and believes that the credit for it goes to those who lead the policy of inclusion.
He also believes that the incumbent president Kolinda Grabar Kitarović has performed her presidential duties in her first term in a good and fair manner, and that she stands excellent chances of winning the second term if she completes the electoral campaign in a good manner and if the HDZ firmly supports her candidacy.
More HDZ news can be found in the Politics section.
