ZAGREB, January 7, 2020 – Parliament Speaker and HDZ secretary-general Gordan Jandroković confirmed on Tuesday that the party leadership would meet on Tuesday afternoon to analyse reasons for the defeat in the January 5 presidential runoff, noting that “unlike the meeting of (today’s) parliamentary Presidency, that meeting will not be calm.”
“We will analyse what was crucial for the defeat but we will first discuss it at the session of the HDZ Presidency and then in public,” Jandroković told reporters after a brief session of the Parliament’s Presidency.
Asked if there would be intraparty sanctions over wrong moves during Grabar-Kitarović’s campaign, he said that that would definitely be discussed today but that it would not be fair of him to announce what would happen before the session.
“I expect to hear different opinions, we heard them during the campaign as well and when the election result was announced, and I expect us to discuss everything relevant for the HDZ in a democratic atmosphere,” said Jandroković.
He explained the meaning of his statement that the HDZ had pursued a wrong policy in the second round of the elections by going too much to the right.
“What I meant was that the campaign was such that it also motivated the voters of our political rival,” said Jandroković.
He said that he was not afraid that political ambitions within the HDZ could result in surprises already during a vote on confidence in Science and Education Minister Blaženka Divjak.
“I think that the parliament will complete its term,” he said, adding that the HDZ was prepared for any possible scenario “if a coalition partner or any individual should have their own ideas or plans.”
“We are prepared for elections but it seems that there is an understanding among all political protagonists that Croatia should complete its chairmanship of the EU, after which parliamentary elections will be held anyway. But I’m not ruling out any scenario,” said Jandroković.
He would not answer explicitly if parliamentary elections taking place before elections in the HDZ was more convenient for the HDZ.
“The HDZ has a statute, we have to comply with it and political decisions will be made by the competent party bodies,” he said.
Jandroković believes that there will be no problems in cooperation with the newly-elected president of the republic, Zoran Milanović, regardless of the strong words that could be heard during the campaign.
“The campaign is one thing, we have the obligation to cooperate in line with the Constitution and laws. In that sense, personal relations are irrelevant, we have to perform the duties we were elected to perform in a responsible way and I don’t think there will be any problems in that regard.”
Jandroković also confirmed that he had been informed about the withdrawal of Croatian soldiers from Iraq, saying that he supported the decision but that it was within the remit of other state institutions.
More HDZ can be found in the Politics section.
